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Making the most of the pension tax credit Nov 28th
Ask MoneySense
I liked your coverage of RRIF taxation. I would like to see more information on LIF taxation. More precisely, on the following scenario: Individuals do not get the $2,000 tax credit for RRIF withdrawals before age 65. Did I read properly that for LIF withdrawals the $2,000 tax cr.... More »
REITs are defying the odds + MORE Jun 9th
The interest-sensitive securities are supposed to tank when rates rise, but are one of the few bright spots on the TSX, Gordon Pape writes..... More »
Making sense of the markets this week: February 18, 2024 Feb 16th
Kyle Prevost, creator of 4 Steps to a Worry-Free Retirement, Canada’s DIY retirement planning course, shares financial headlines and offers context for Canadian investors.
Shopify struggles
Canada’s second-largest company (or third, depending on the day) had a relatively strong earnings da.... More »
Interac restoring e-Transfer service bank by bank Jul 1st
Interac said it began restoring e-Transfer service shortly before 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, "through all financial institutions on a sequential basis," after it was suspended Friday morning while technical issues were being worked out..... More »
How Green Card holders can get the most out of TFSAs and RRSPs + MORE Jan 7th
Getty Images/Chris Cheadle
Q. I am a Green Card holder as well as a Canadian resident, and have two questions: No.1. Which are the best securities to invest inside my TFSA to be “friendly” from an Internal Revenue Service and Federal Treasury Board (IRS/FTB) tax point of view? And .... More »
Former Fed chief Bernanke says Wall Street executives should have gone to jail for crisis role
– canadianbusiness.com
WASHINGTON – Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says some Wall Street executives should have gone to jail for their roles in the financial crisis that gripped the country in 2008 and triggered the Great Recession.
Billions of dollars in fines have been levied against major banks and brokerage firms in the wake of the economic meltdown that was in large part triggered by reckless lending and shady securities dealings that blew up a housing bubble.
But in an interview with USA Today published Sunday, Bernanke said he thinks that in addition to the corporations, individuals should have been held more accountable.
“It would have been my preference to have more investigations of individual actions because obviously everything that went wrong or was illegal was done by some individual, not by an abstract firm,” Bernanke said.
Asked if someone should have gone to jail, the former Fed chairman replied, “Yeah, I think so.” He did not, however, name any individual he thought should have been prosecuted and noted that the Federal Reserve is not a law-enforcement agency…
Billions of dollars in fines have been levied against major banks and brokerage firms in the wake of the economic meltdown that was in large part triggered by reckless lending and shady securities dealings that blew up a housing bubble.
But in an interview with USA Today published Sunday, Bernanke said he thinks that in addition to the corporations, individuals should have been held more accountable.
“It would have been my preference to have more investigations of individual actions because obviously everything that went wrong or was illegal was done by some individual, not by an abstract firm,” Bernanke said.
Asked if someone should have gone to jail, the former Fed chairman replied, “Yeah, I think so.” He did not, however, name any individual he thought should have been prosecuted and noted that the Federal Reserve is not a law-enforcement agency…
Royal Bank implements technology that can identify a client based on their voice
– canadianbusiness.com
TORONTO – Phone passwords and security questions could soon become obsolete as financial institutions race to implement technology that can verify a client’s identity based on the characteristics of their voice.
After a successful pilot project last summer, Royal Bank (TSX:RBC) is rolling out “voice biometrics” technology that can identify clients who phone the bank’s call centres in a matter of seconds.
Customers will have to opt in to the service, which is being phased in over a three-month period and has been created by tech firm Nuance Communications.
RBC says it is the first Canadian company to implement technology that can create and identify a client’s “voiceprint,” which consists of more than 100 different characteristics such as the client’s pitch and accent, in the course of a regular conversation.
Manulife implemented similar technology for its banking clients and its retail advisers back in September, although users have to say a predetermined phrase — “At Manulife, my voice is my password” — in order for their voices to be verified…
After a successful pilot project last summer, Royal Bank (TSX:RBC) is rolling out “voice biometrics” technology that can identify clients who phone the bank’s call centres in a matter of seconds.
Customers will have to opt in to the service, which is being phased in over a three-month period and has been created by tech firm Nuance Communications.
RBC says it is the first Canadian company to implement technology that can create and identify a client’s “voiceprint,” which consists of more than 100 different characteristics such as the client’s pitch and accent, in the course of a regular conversation.
Manulife implemented similar technology for its banking clients and its retail advisers back in September, although users have to say a predetermined phrase — “At Manulife, my voice is my password” — in order for their voices to be verified…
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A short while ago on My Own Advisor I wrote a controversial post about the intent to live off dividends and distributions from our portfolio. I know some investors don’t agree with my approach and I can see why. Readers have mentioned the following to me:
“The trouble with a “live off the dividends” approach is that I’d have to save too much in order to create my desired retirement income. For example, I’d need to save between $2.5M and $3M in order to generate $90,000 per year in dividend income. Alternatively, I could get the same $90,000 per year by simply withdrawing from a portfolio of $1.45M (assuming 5% annual growth and the portfolio lasts 30 years).”
“Some of the big banks’ income funds have proven to have unsustainable distributions.”
“Your universe starts to shrink if you demand an average dividend rate of 4% or higher from your stocks. I prefer to own everything and withdraw dividends plus retained earnings (in the form of capital gains) as I see fit…
A short while ago on My Own Advisor I wrote a controversial post about the intent to live off dividends and distributions from our portfolio. I know some investors don’t agree with my approach and I can see why. Readers have mentioned the following to me:
“The trouble with a “live off the dividends” approach is that I’d have to save too much in order to create my desired retirement income. For example, I’d need to save between $2.5M and $3M in order to generate $90,000 per year in dividend income. Alternatively, I could get the same $90,000 per year by simply withdrawing from a portfolio of $1.45M (assuming 5% annual growth and the portfolio lasts 30 years).”
“Some of the big banks’ income funds have proven to have unsustainable distributions.”
“Your universe starts to shrink if you demand an average dividend rate of 4% or higher from your stocks. I prefer to own everything and withdraw dividends plus retained earnings (in the form of capital gains) as I see fit…
Sprott Asset Management shifts from resources as bear market drags on
– canadianbusiness.com
CALGARY – Sprott Asset Management, the Canadian investment firm best known for precious metals, doesn’t want to solely be known for precious metals anymore.
The protracted bear market for commodities has forced the fund to diversify its investments and shift focus away from the resource sector, where it profited so substantially during the bull market of the 2000s.
Company chief executive John Wilson, who was brought on in 2012 to help lead the shift, says more than 80 per cent of the company’s actively managed business in not related to resources at all today, compared with only around a quarter in 2012.
In an interview, Wilson said that Sprott actually started as a small-cap investment firm and saw big gains on non-resource plays like Tazer International, but the commodity bull market pushed the firm more into resources.
“The firm grew incredibly quickly through there and grew this reputation as a resource manager, but at its core that’s not necessarily what it was about, it’s just that’s what worked, and that’s what people wanted to put money in…
The protracted bear market for commodities has forced the fund to diversify its investments and shift focus away from the resource sector, where it profited so substantially during the bull market of the 2000s.
Company chief executive John Wilson, who was brought on in 2012 to help lead the shift, says more than 80 per cent of the company’s actively managed business in not related to resources at all today, compared with only around a quarter in 2012.
In an interview, Wilson said that Sprott actually started as a small-cap investment firm and saw big gains on non-resource plays like Tazer International, but the commodity bull market pushed the firm more into resources.
“The firm grew incredibly quickly through there and grew this reputation as a resource manager, but at its core that’s not necessarily what it was about, it’s just that’s what worked, and that’s what people wanted to put money in…
