Wealthsimple review 2022 + MORE Jun 28th

For years, low interest rates have been a boon to borrowers but a curse to older investors wanting low-risk interest income options. Now, after a decade of minuscule rates, interest rates are starting to inch back up again: another 0.5% as of June 1st. That’s good for GIC investors (guaranteed investment certificates), as we covered in my recent column on the alleged “death” of bonds.

This is also welcome news for retirees seeking so-called “longevity insurance,” even if it’s probable that the same forces at work are also depressing stock prices. In other words, the time may be fast approaching when near-retirees and full retirees start to consider annuities.

Are fixed annuities a safe investment?

I’ve written about annuities from time to time over this low-interest journey, but it never got to the point for me to pull the trigger personally and buy life annuities. It’s generally a bad time to annuitize when interest rates are low. And it’s worse in periods of high inflation…

After eight years on the marketplace, the Wealthsimple brand has developed a strong reputation for offering easy-to-use, low-fee financial services online. But it’s come a long way since its humble beginnings exclusively as a robo-advisor, branching out to include a discount brokerage (Wealthsimple Trade), and a peer-to-peer money transfer and spending app with a prepaid rewards debit card (Wealthsimple Cash). Of course, the robo-advisor—now called Wealthsimple Invest—is still a major part of the company’s business. So which, if any, of these services are right for you? Here’s what you need to know about investing with Wealthsimple, including its various product offerings and how it all works.

Open a Wealthsimple Invest account*

Investing with Wealthsimple: robo-advisor or discount brokerage?
Both Wealthsimple Invest and Wealthsimple Trade are excellent low-fee investment options. Choosing between the two services basically comes down to two factors:

How much time and effort you want to put into managing your investments…