How your tax bracket decides whether a TFSA or RRSP contribution is best + MORE Feb 25th

I was a bit surprised to learn recently that TFSAs had just ‘turned ten’.  It seems like just yesterday that I was answering questions from the media about how these newfangled government-sponsored programs might change the landscape for investing in general and retirement planning in particular. Former Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty sang the praises of the new program a decade ago by stressing the ability to avoid paying tax when using TFSAs. Many pundits weighted in expressing regret that the third word was “savings” and not “investing”.  In actuality, the program is used primarily as a tax-free investing account, so perhaps TFIA would have been a better moniker.
Irrespective of what people thought TFSAs might mean when they were first introduced, there is no denying that they have been wildly popular and broadly embraced by Canadians of all walks of life. Now that RRSP season is upon us (the deadline for 2018 is March 1, 2019), many people wonder if they should contribute to their RRSP or their TFSA since most people don’t have enough money to maximize both options…

It wasn’t long ago that robo-advisors were thought of as a newfangled millennial-made idea for investing-inept 20- and 30-somethings. Now, though, all sorts of Canadians, including high net-worth boomers and new-to-saving youngsters are pouring money into these easy-to-use and low-cost online operations. According to research aggregator Statista, Canadian robo-advisors hold US$5.5 billion in assets under management, which, it predicts, will climb to an estimated US$14 billion by 2022 for a 36.8% compound annual growth rate.
When the first robo-advisors came into being years ago, they offered investors two things: easy access to low-cost ETFs and an eye-catching interface that made tracking gains and losses a cinch. Now, there are robo-advisors that let you buy insurance, include over-the-phone financial and investing advice, access to RIFF and RESPs and more.
Our annual look at the best robo-advisors in Canada digs into the differences between the growing number of robo sites available to Canadian consumers…