Your Personal Financial New Year’s Resolution
Find the mistakes you are making with your personal finances, writes Peter Watson. I have a suggestion for your new year’s resolution. But first a story. When my children were young, before they took an examination at school, I would ask them an important question: What are the chances you will get a perfect score? […]
Three Types of Investment Risk
The more you think about investment risk the more you realize the different ways your investment returns might be lower than expected, writes Peter Watson. The problem with risk is it comes in several different forms. The first risk is having poor investment returns. This is the one that gets all the attention. One option […]
Longevity is a Financial Risk
Running out of money during retirement is a possibility, writes Peter Watson. Planning your finances for later years often focuses on reaching retirement: work hard for decades for your golden years. Most attention is on earning an income and paying the bills. Managing ongoing living expenses is important. But it is only a start. Reaching […]
Fewer Investors Use a Financial Advisor
Investors purchasing mutual funds use an investment advisor almost two thirds of the time. When purchasing ETFs, only one third use an investment advisor, writes Peter Watson. This information is from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada’s annual investor survey that was recently released. Why are so few investors using the services of a […]
Is the Cost of Post-Secondary Education Worth it?
Postsecondary education is expensive, and families must make the decision whether it’s worth it, writes Peter Watson. The financial decision to spend money on a child’s postsecondary education can have major implications for a family’s finances. For many families, the dream their children will go to university is strong. And there are many advantages. Your […]
A Financial Strategy for Change
A strategy to make financial changes easier to implement, writes Peter Watson. One of the strengths of humans is our ability to change. Yes, we have the ability, but it is often very difficult. The strategy for change we are suggesting is to look ahead at the benefits of making changes that most likely will […]
Bridging Finance Failure Highlights the Importance of Diversification
The lesson to be learned about the risk of losing money is the importance of diversification, writes Peter Watson. Bridging Finance Inc was a well-known business that raised money from private investors and lent that money to companies. It has been in receivership since 2021. During the good times, Bridging managed $2 billion for 26,000 […]
Investing for the Long Term Can Bring Success
Two important ingredients to successful investing are patience and taking a long-term perspective, writes Peter Watson. One of the most important attributes to successful investing can be found in what you don’t do. Unfortunately, this flies in the face of how humans are programmed. We are taught from a young age to be proactive. When […]
Financial Pain is on The Way
Beware, the financial storm clouds are closing in, writes Peter Watson. That was the tone of a recent warning by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. Her conclusion was that many households are going to be adversely affected. Interest rates are being aggressively increased to try to control inflation. That will slow the economy, businesses will suffer, […]
How to Build Your Investment Portfolio
A good portfolio will address two important principles. Investing to achieve a higher expected return and managing risk, writes Peter Watson. As an example, we will consider saving for your child’s university education. The same logic can be applied to other financial objectives. Assume a university education will cost $25,000 per year over four years […]