The “Big Five” Canadian banks offer investment funds and include Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto Dominion Bank (TD Canada Trust), Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Let’s explore the best place for you to invest.
Latest News
“Which reverse mortgage is right for me?” + MORE Sep 8th
When Vancouver condo owners Maggie and Rob found out they were on the hook for $400,000 in improvement costs to their building and unit as required by an assessment from their Strata Council, they weren’t sure what to do. (We’ve changed their names and some details to protect their privacy.)
.... More »
US stock indexes drift lower in early trading; oil up + MORE Aug 8th
U.S. stocks drifted lower in early trading Monday as investors sized up the latest company earnings and deal news. The major stock indexes were coming off new highs set last week following a strong U.S. jobs report. Energy stocks surged the most as oil prices rose, while health care companies were t.... More »
Untangled Money’s Kristine Beese on why financial plans aren’t gender-neutral Aug 9th
Kristine Beese didn’t originally set out to disrupt Canada’s financial planning industry. She began her career as an engineer in the oil and gas sector, but after a bad experience with a financial advisor at a bank, she was inspired to learn how to manage her own investments. Beese went back to .... More »
TD profit falls, missing expectations as economic downturn looms - The Globe and Mail + MORE May 25th
TD profit falls, missing expectations as economic downturn looms The Globe and MailProfits dip as BMO and Scotiabank set aside hundreds of millions to cover bad loans CBC NewsLive news: TD Bank adds to disappointing earnings for Canadian lenders Financial TimesBMO an.... More »
European leaders debate timing of UK's exit; Britons sign petition for new EU vote - The Globe and Mail (subscription) + MORE Jun 26th
The Globe and Mail (subscription)European leaders debate timing of UK's exit; Britons sign petition for new EU voteThe Globe and Mail (subscription)German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought on Saturday to temper pressure from Paris, Brussels and her own government to force Britain into negotiating.... More »
A sweeping review of nearly 90 investment firms that cater to high-net worth clients, found problems with Know Your Client forms.
CBC.caSaskatchewan Senator Pamela Wallin filing lists Toronto homeCBC.caSenator Pamela Wallin is listed as a resident of Toronto — and not Saskatchewan, the province she represents in the Senate — according to the corporate filings of a Bay Street investment firm. Wallin, a former Conservative now sitting as an Independent, was …For Wallin and other directors, any residence will doGlobe and MailSenate expense scandal: Pamela Wallin resigns from Gluskin Sheff boardToronto StarHey, isn't that Pam Wallin hiding from that camera?National PostCTV News -Canada.com -DigitalJournal.comall 13 news articles »
Weekend Readings
– IntelligentSpeculator.net
Man oh man, no matter how involved or not involved the White House is in all of this… it really looks bad. After Bengazi, the IRS and the spying on AP, now we seem to learn that the NSA is working with tech companies and phone carriers to spy on all citizens? Is the government out of control? Here are some readings that you will hopefully find interesting:)General Readings
-Should we trust economists? @ TheAtlantic
-Is the NSA spying on all of us? @ WashingtonPost
Passive Income/Dividend Readings
-Top Canadian dividend stocks @ TheDividendGuyBlog
-Coca-Cola (KO) dividend stock analysis @ Dividend-Growth-Stocks
-Pepsi (PEP) to buy Sodastream? @ Reuters
Tech Stock Readings
-The power of Amazon (AMZN).. fascinating @ TechCrunch
-Zynga (ZNGA) announces major layoffs @ TechCrunch
-Wall Street Hates Facebook (FB) @ Wired
-Apple (AAPL) getting ready for iRadio? @ Bloomberg
The post Weekend Readings appeared first on Intelligent Speculator.
Why I couldn’t care less about futures
– myownadvisor.ca
I’m focused on the future, just not futures. These things are not for me and I’ll tell you why. First, let’s start with a definition courtesy of Investopedia:
A futures contract is a type of derivative instrument; whereby two parties agree to transact. This contract obligates the buyer to purchase an asset (or the seller to sell an asset), at a predetermined future date and price. Futures markets are characterized by the ability to use very high leverage relative to stock markets.
Futures can be played a few ways but I’ll highlight a couple and the risks they mean to me:
Go Long!
When an investor “goes long” they are agreeing to a contract of a certain price – to profit from an anticipated price increase in the future. This is considered somewhat a “traditional” futures route since over time most stock prices tend to rise. You just hope this happens as per the contract made.
Stay Short!
When an investor “goes short” they are not looking for a price hike – they get the contract expecting a price decline…
A futures contract is a type of derivative instrument; whereby two parties agree to transact. This contract obligates the buyer to purchase an asset (or the seller to sell an asset), at a predetermined future date and price. Futures markets are characterized by the ability to use very high leverage relative to stock markets.
Futures can be played a few ways but I’ll highlight a couple and the risks they mean to me:
Go Long!
When an investor “goes long” they are agreeing to a contract of a certain price – to profit from an anticipated price increase in the future. This is considered somewhat a “traditional” futures route since over time most stock prices tend to rise. You just hope this happens as per the contract made.
Stay Short!
When an investor “goes short” they are not looking for a price hike – they get the contract expecting a price decline…
How To Build Your Own Mini Berkshire Empire
– IntelligentSpeculator.net
Every year, I read the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders letter, written by Warren Buffett. I highly recommend that anyone interested in the markets take the time read it. It’s an interesting long term perspective that we rarely see. Why would someone want to build a mini-Berkshire? I guess having a fund that grows steadily over time, that outperforms stock indexes such as the S&P500 would help me tremendously in my passive income objectives.What I Do Not Want From My Mini Berkshire
Two main things that I would not look to replicate:
-Having shareholders: Buffett and Berkshire have shareholders that they invest for and while using other people’s money is a great way to get bigger, it’s not something I’d look to do at this point.
-Paying Dividends: While Berkshire does not pay out dividends to shareholders, I do expect to depend on income from my investment fund at some point and would thus need to rely on some income at a certain point.
Similarities Between My Mini-Berkshire And The “Real” Thing
Positive cash flow: Berkshire gets very important cash flows from its insurance businesses that generate cash flows…
