The Perfect Gift for Your Child in 2022
It’s a new year and why not give your children a gift they really deserve in 2022, writes Peter Watson. The gift: a mutual fund that invests in a broadly diversified portfolio of stocks around the world. Why is this important? It is not money, but rather the educational experience of owning an investment. The […]
Are you afraid of losing all your investments
Fear of losing money is a real challenge for investors, writes Peter Watson. There is a strong element of fear when it comes to investing. If your entire portfolio is invested in one or two stocks, then the risk of losing most or all of your money should be a significant concern. Many investors today […]
Canadians Will Spend More This Holiday Season
Holiday spending will increase this holiday season, writes Peter Watson. Holiday spending is forecasted to rise sharply from last year. After the pandemic lockdown, Canadians want to shop, celebrate, and spoil friends and family. This insight is according to Deloitte Canada’s 2021 Holiday Retail Outlook. Holiday spending during 2021 is expected to increase 31 per […]
Financial Stability on Pins and Needles
The new variant of COVID-19 has increased the financial worries of Canadians, writes Peter Watson. Last week the Bank of Canada warned that interest rate increases were likely to happen in the first part of next year in order to put the brakes on inflation. One particular concern we have seen is the rising prices […]
What Companies Should You Invest?
Owning many stocks in your portfolio may be a good investment strategy, writes Peter Watson. My suggestion is to change your perspective on investing. Don’t focus on which companies to invest. Expand your focus to be much broader. Considering having a globally diversified portfolio that could have many different companies. In effect, you are buying […]
Investing Can Be Simple: Do What Works
Picking the best mutual fund is a difficult task, writes Peter Watson. You would hope for two things: The mutual fund would stay in business, and the fund will outperform its benchmark. In 2001 there were 2,900 US-based equity mutual funds. Twenty years later only 41 per cent of those funds were still in existence. […]
Inflation Over Time is a Significant Personal Risk
Inflation is a hot topic these days, writes Peter Watson. People are concerned about the increased cost of groceries and higher price of gasoline for their cars. There is always the risk that when homeowners renegotiate their mortgage at the end of its term, interest rates will be higher. Inflation decreases the purchasing power of […]
Tax Avoidance Hurts Us All
It is unfair that most Canadians pay their fair share of taxes while some of the rich and famous do not, writes Peter Watson. The world has just had another glimpse of how the privileged have avoided taxes. This round of tax avoidance has been named the Pandora Papers. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists […]
Investing and Sports Both Include Competition
Let’s compare investing with sports. In both cases you want to win. It gets more complicated when you consider investing. For every stock trade there is a buyer and seller. The buyer wants a low price, the seller a high price. In stock trading terminology there is a bid and ask. Then the two parties […]
House Value Warning Issued by CMHC
A warning has been issued that house prices have become risky for our country, writes Peter Watson. This information was just released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. It issued its highest risk rating and specifically mentioned three cities, Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, many smaller communities have seen […]