General Motors' shareholder reject stock-split proposal + MORE Jun 6th

A roundup of investment ideas for active investors

Q: We have three rental properties in Vancouver (one is mortgage free) and own our own home (mortgage free) in the Fraser Valley.
We are both retirement age.
Should we use RRSP/ RRIF or sell the rental properties?
We have been told by different advisors conflicting opinions.
—Lee
A: Congratulations on your upcoming retirement, Lee. If you’ve owned those rental properties for more than a couple years, no doubt you’ve benefited nicely from Vancouver price appreciation.
I’ll tell you right off the bat that this isn’t one of those questions where there is an easy, obvious answer. What you should do is a personal decision, but I’ll try to highlight some of the considerations.
Ask a Planner: Leave your question for Jason Heath »
Selling real estate is expensive. Of course, there’s the obvious real estate commission payable, which is generally 7% on the first $100,000 and 3% on the balance of the sale price in BC. Some agents charge more or less. Some agents do cash back. And companies offering discounted commissions as low as 1% have gained popularity in cities like Vancouver where prices are high…

The president of Shell Canada says his capital budget will shrink by about half a billion dollars this year following the sale of most of its oilsands assets in a deal that closed last week.
Michael Crothers says it will be about $1.5 billion this year, down from over $2 billion in 2016, but the Canadian branch remains an important part of Royal Dutch Shell’s global operations.
He said in an interview the company’s sale of oilsands assets to Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) means it will now concentrate on its shale oil and gas properties in B.C. and Alberta, along with its refining and chemical businesses near Edmonton and its proposed West Coast LNG project.
He says Shell Canada will add about 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day this year to current Western Canada production of about 130,000 boe/d, with most of the new barrels coming from the Alberta Duvernay region.
In an interview, Crothers says the market for liquefied natural gas appears to be improving, but there’s still no timeline for an investment decision on the Kitimat, B…

OTTAWA —Nearly one in five first-time homebuyers received help with a down payment from a family member, according to a survey conducted by the federal housing agency released Tuesday.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said 18 per cent of first-time buyers polled said they received a gift from a family member as part of their down payment. It was the first time CMHC included the question as part of its annual mortgage consumer survey.
CMHC said first-time buyers who received some financial help with their down payment were less likely to find the process of getting a mortgage easy and straightforward.
“First-time buyers who received a gift from family as part of their down payment were less comfortable than others with their current level of mortgage debt,” the agency said.
“They were also less confident about knowing where to turn in the event that they run into financial trouble. Similarly, they were less likely to have other assets to supplement their needs should they run into financial trouble…

General Motors shareholders have overwhelmingly turned down an activist shareholder’s plan to split the company’s stock into two classes.