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“Get to know and minimize the investing fees you pay”: Michael McCullough, MoneySense contributing editor
– moneysense.ca
Financial writer and editor Michael McCullough has made a career of helping Canadians understand a wide range of money topics, from real estate to alternative investments. In addition to being a MoneySense contributor and contributing editor, Michael writes for The Globe and Mail and BCBusiness, and he’s a former managing editor of Canadian Business magazine and editorial director of Canada Wide Media.
Image courtesy of Wiley
Recently, Michael helped to update the Canadian version of Personal Finance for Dummies (7th edition), a comprehensive guide to everything from budgeting and spending to taxes and retirement. Below, he shares his own money experiences and what he thinks is the most underrated financial advice.
Who are your finance or investing heroes?
Maybe John Bogle, who founded The Vanguard Group, an investment firm in the U.S. that created the first index funds for retail investors. He was driven by more than self-interest. He wanted to empower small investors. Bogle also wrote The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, which made it into MoneySense’s list of 25 timeless personal finance books…
What is Sun Life’s new decumulation product?
– moneysense.ca
Late in September, Sun Life joined a small group of Canadian financial firms offering would-be retirees a decumulation product designed to help pensioners make the often-tricky transition from saving and accumulating wealth to drawing it down. It’s called MyRetirementIncome.
In doing so, it joins Guardian Capital’s Glidepath and the Purpose Longevity Fund, among others. Even so, Sun Life describes MyRetirementIncome as “a first of its kind in Canada” that “fills a gap in our industry in Canada.” It also resembles asset allocation ETFs (exchange traded funds), like Vanguard’s VRIF (Vanguard Retirement Income ETF Portfolio).
There appears to be a market in Canada for these kinds of products, despite tepid initial sales of some of the above-named pioneers. In Sun Life’s press release, it says that 5 million Canadians are “turning 65 this decade,” so there’s “growing demand for retirement solutions that help Canadian retirees transition from saving to drawing income…
Canada’s economy news: Are we growing enough?
– moneysense.ca
The Canadian economy was flat in August as high interest rates continued to weigh on consumers and businesses, while a preliminary estimate suggests it grew at an annualized rate of 1% in the third quarter. Statistics Canada’s gross domestic product report Thursday says growth in services-producing industries in August were offset by declines in goods-producing industries.
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