Financial Planning will be taught in elementary schools
Ontario’s overhaul of math teaching will include financial literacy, writes Peter Watson. Young children will start learning financial planning at school. This is an excellent life skill and, in my opinion, an educational upgrade. One of the foundations an individual carries through life is a strong education. Reports over the years show a correlation to […]
Scams and fraud are a real threat
Canadians need to re-think how we combat scams and other attempts of theft, writes Peter Watson Scams and frauds are part of everyday life. Policing is difficult because most cases are not reported. The Canadian Anti-Fraud website is a useful source of information. Protect yourself by anticipating fraud attempts will occur against you. As an […]
Stock market declines can result in panic selling
In 11 out of the last 15 recessions, the value of the US stock market fully recovered in two years. In all 15 recessions the market eventually recovered every time, writes Peter Watson. Losing money in the stock market can drive some investors away from owning stocks altogether. There are two problems. First, you see […]
Stock market volatile annual returns
The formula for success is holding stocks for the long-term, writes Peter Watson. Since 1926, as reported by S&P, the average annual return for the US stock market is very close to 10 per cent. That includes the Great Depression of 1929, one of many times the stock market crashed. Returns vary between positive and […]
Protect Yourself Against Fraud
Canadians are being targeted and they should protect themselves, writes Peter Watson Have you been scammed yet? If not, it’s just a matter of time. Fraud attempts include CRA scams, request from a romantic partner, identity theft, and bogus investment schemes. Just under half of all Canadians have either been scammed or know someone that […]
Protecting your investments before a stock market crash
Address this before a stock market crash, not after, writes Peter Watson Protecting your assets is the key to investment success. Perhaps consider diversifying your portfolio with more than one asset class and security type to mitigate downside risk exposure during times of market volatility. A popular question after severe stock market crashes is how […]
Portfolio Overactivity can Backfire
Sometimes human nature tricks us into doing things with our investments that end up causing us harm. Emotions are part of being human. One of the biggest mistakes many of us make when managing our investment portfolio is making decisions based on emotions, often triggered by financial media biases or past performance. Even when you […]
Tips on decision-making when investing
The trouble with investing is there are so many decisions that have to be made. Are you better to manage your investments yourself or should you select an investment advisor to assist? How do you choose the right advisor? What is your allocation between investing in stocks or bonds? Should you diversify outside of Canada? […]
Human brain not built for smart financial decisions
Why is much of financial behaviour so ridiculous? Excuse me if this sounds a little insulting but many people realize they have a very poor track record when it comes to managing their finances. As it turns out, the answer to my question is a short one. Because we are human. Many people think we […]
It is human nature to want to speculate
A question that comes up from time to time is whether it’s a good idea to purchase a specific investment versus a balanced and diversified portfolio consisting of many different investments. For a few months Bitcoin was getting a lot of press. Some wondered if they should invest in it because its value was skyrocketing. […]