Retirement in Canada is Becoming More Risky
Canadians financial risk during retirement is a reason to plan carefully, writes Peter Watson. Canadians underestimate the impact of longevity, inflation and healthcare costs have on retirement savings, and that’s making our country a less secure place to retire. This is according to the Natixis annual ranking as reported by Investment Executive. Greater focus needs […]
Lessons Learned from Golf That Apply to Investing
Golf and investing can show that sometimes you just get lucky, writes Peter Watson. Golf has a lot to do with luck. Luck happens in golf, and it also happens with investing. Several years ago, I played in a business golf event. We had a long time to hit as many practice balls. I attempted […]
Federal budget attempts to balance many priorities
Canada is at a critical stage of our evolution. The federal budget highlighted some of the challenges we face as a nation, writes Peter Watson. The goal of a federal budget is to outline the income and expenses and how the government navigates between different priorities. I cannot remember a time where there have been […]
War and the Effect on Stock Markets
When Russia invaded Ukraine there was disbelief, sorrow, and anger. From a financial perspective, how will this affect my investment portfolio? We can learn a lot about the stock market from past observations. That does not allow us to predict the future, but it can provide a perspective. Here is what is known. One. Over […]
Covid-19 Could Change Your Life for the Better
Bad news sometimes turns out to be good news, writes Peter Watson. For many, the Covid-19 pandemic will change your life in ways you could not have imagined. Sometimes change can have a negative impact, but it can also lead to positive results. This article will focus on the positive. Some will be able to […]
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 […]
Seven Steps to Building an Evidence Based Investment Strategy
Use what is known about investing to your benefit, writes Peter Watson Evidence-based investing uses research and what is known about investing to the benefit of individual investors. The evidence applies to solid investment principals and human behaviour that greatly impacts individuals decision-making ability. This column will provide seven solid principles of how to best […]
DIY investors charged fees for advice not received
There is trouble brewing on how the investment industry collects mutual fund fees from some individual investors. Approximately $25 billion of mutual funds are owned by do-it-yourself (DIY) investors. These are investors who have decided to forgo professional financial advice and make their own investment decisions. Many do this to avoid paying fees to a […]
Proposed changes to mutual fund fees
Proposed changes to how mutual funds are sold will benefit investors. After five years of study, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) propose prohibiting deferred sales charges (DSC) on the sale of mutual funds. Many investors don’t understand how DSCs work. When a mutual fund is sold with a DSC sales commission, that commission is shared […]
The 411 on mutual fund fees – the news isn’t good
It’s time to see if all the talk about decreasing investment fees has actually resulted in lower costs for those who own mutual funds. Don’t get your hopes up. The news isn’t good. To put mutual fund fees into proper perspective we should understand that mutual funds are very popular with Canadians. Strategic Insight reports […]
