Making Sense of the Markets this week: June 26 + MORE Jun 24th

Among your different life insurance options, a universal life insurance policy is one of the most complex. It requires more involvement than both term and whole life insurance policies—so you can’t simply set it and forget it. And you have decisions to make regarding how much you pay, and how those premiums are used. You might be thinking: Life is short enough already, so why spend precious time managing a life insurance policy? Why not stick to a more straightforward solution, like term life insurance? 

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When the main objective is taking care of your loved ones after you’re gone, it pays to spend time figuring out how to care for them. That’s why you should familiarize yourself with the full slate of possibilities. For those looking for flexible premiums and the opportunity to accumulate wealth on a tax-deferred basis, universal life insurance can be a smart option…

A registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) is an investment that is registered with the Canadian federal government. RRSPs are often described as being “tax-advantaged.” That means you don’t pay income tax on the amount you are contributing to an RRSP, in the year you earn that contribution. However, you will have to pay income tax when you withdraw money during your retirement. The advantage is built on the assumption that your income is higher now than it will be in retirement. If you plan things right, you will be in a lower tax bracket in retirement, meaning that you pay less tax on your withdrawals than you saved initially by stashing your money inside an RRSP. 

You can open an RRSP and contribute income up until the year you turn 71, at which point it has to become a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) and you must begin to withdraw the money as taxable income. Read on to learn about the best RRSP accounts in Canada.

The best RRSP accounts in Canada for 2022

Best RRSP savings account: EQ Bank RSP Savings Account* (1…

It was the week of April 3, 2022, when I signed off from writing the “Making sense of the markets” column. It is wonderful to be back filling in for Kyle Prevost (he’s on vacation), who took over the column. Kyle’s insights and writing give the column a nice jolt. I am so glad to see it in good hands. 

Check out that April 3 column. I covered some of the major investment themes and ideas I put on the table. Many investment opportunities were identified, and they played out in our favour. 

So, what the heck has been going on these days? Not much. Or let’s say that not much has been working on the investment front as of late. Stock markets, bonds, commodities, gold, bitcoin, and even oil and gas stocks have been falling over the last few weeks. 

It’s all about inflation. 

In this column I’ve long identified inflation as a nasty beast—and a threat. Inflation has been ramping up around the world. Very few investors are familiar with inflation. You’d have to be on the far side of 70 to have experienced the stagflation of the ’70s and early ’80s…