Ground rules for adult children returning home + MORE Feb 2nd

Last week the venerable Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed above 20,000 for the first time. The event came as a relief to newscasters who could comment on the record rather than making up a reason for why the stock market moved a little higher that day.
But it’s important to know that the nightly news usually follows the “price” version of market indexes (and averages like the Dow), which do not include dividends. That’s a shame because “total return” market indexes exist and they include reinvested dividends, which, as any long-time investor will tell you, can make a big difference.

Do you need more stocks? »

The graph below shows both the price and total return versions of the S&P/TSX Composite. The S&P/TSX Composite tracks about 250 large Canadian stocks and has been the leading measure of the Canadian stock market for many decades. (It was formerly known as the TSE 300.)

The graph is based on monthly data from Bloomberg, which happens to start at the end of February 1987 and goes through to the end of December 2016…

TORONTO — Certified financial planner Rona Birenbaum says it’s becoming common for her to walk clients through the emotionally fraught terrain of providing financial support to adult children returning home.
The Toronto-based founder of Caring for Clients attributes the growing phenomenon to a perfect storm of factors.
“The current generation of parents on the whole are more financially secure than the previous generation, and then couple that with their children for whom education has become a lot more expensive,” she says.

How to explain net worth to your kids »

“They’re often graduating with debt and they’re also entering a workplace that is more challenging to access and with less certainty of income and benefits.”
Data from the National Household Survey bears this out. In 2011, 42 per cent of the 4.3 million young adults aged 20 to 29 lived with their parents compared with 27 per cent in 1981.
Birenbaum says the difference between a parent assisting a child through a short-term transition versus enabling them to remain mired in dependence boils down to a mature dialogue and defined objectives…

The Australian Financial ReviewTrump 'extremely upset,' but refugee deal with Australia to proceedThe Globe and MailU.S. ties with staunch ally Australia turned strained on Thursday after reports of an acrimonious phone call between the two leaders emerged and U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal between the two nations on refugees was “dumb.” Trump and …Donald Trump, Australian PM have conflicting messages over refugee dealGlobalnews.ca'Worst call yet': Trump's tense chat with Australian PM strains strong allianceMetroNews CanadaForeign relations, Trump style: president acknowledges 'tough phone calls'TheChronicleHerald.caHerald Sun -New York Times -Daily Beast -Voxall 731 news articles »

Chris Ambridge, president and Chief Investment Officer, Provisus Wealth Management. (Portrait by Erik Putz)
The mutual fund industry is on the brink of big change. Already losing business to low-fee exchange-traded funds and robo-advisers, it faces new fee disclosure rules in 2017. There’s even talk of a ban on trailer fees, an established way of compensating commissioned investment advisers. The days of fund managers charging you 2% or more of your account’s value per year, plus front- or back-end loads when you buy and sell, are probably numbered.
.cbR{box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:100%;margin:1em 0;border:1px solid #bbb;padding:.5em}@media (min-width:480px){.cbR{width:250px;margin:0 0 1em 1em;float:right}}Why mutual funds are about to get cheaper to own in Canada
What’s not clear is what will replace that standard fee model. For investors content to match the returns of stock and bond indexes, there are ETF providers. But what about the majority, who still want active management? A few fund companies have reduced their fees or eliminated certain sales charges without meaningfully changing the format…

Home sales plummet in previously red-hot Vancouver as market softensMetroNews CanadaVANCOUVER — Home sales in Metro Vancouver last month dropped by almost 40 per cent compared with January 2016 with the sale of detached houses falling hardest. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says the townhome and condominium …and more »