The “Big Five” Canadian banks offer investment funds and include Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto Dominion Bank (TD Canada Trust), Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Let’s explore the best place for you to invest.
Latest News
A guide to five-year fixed mortgage rates + MORE Feb 28th
After consecutive years of record-low interest rates in Canada, many experts predict we are entering a period of rising rates—which would make the cost of borrowing money, be it for a mortgage or a student loan, more expensive. The possibility of these rate hikes can make the stability of a f.... More »
30 days - 1.75% + MORE Jul 11th
This GIC rate is offered by Oaken Financial and was updated on 2014-06-06. Click on the link above to get more details or apply online..... More »
Do you invest too much in Canada? + MORE Nov 10th
Canada is the second-largest country in the world. But is there such a thing as too much Canada?
Too much natural beauty, no. Too much poutine, never. Too much snow, yep. Too much Justin Bieber, yes. And too much held in Canadian stocks? Definitely yes.
The Canadian stock market represents l.... More »
The best balance transfer credit cards in Canada for 2024 + MORE Mar 1st
Spend
The best balance transfer credit cards in Canada for 2024
Moving your credit card debt to a balance transfer card can help you pay off the debt more quickly by paying little or no interest.
Compare now
&l.... More »
Before you start investing do these three things + MORE Jun 19th
Learn, save, invest and prosper with My Own Advisor.
In the My Own Advisor inbox I continue to get emails from readers about starting their investing journey. I’m going to revisit a few things I strongly believe in that should help you out on that. Let me know your thoughts and whether you agr.... More »
A sweeping review of nearly 90 investment firms that cater to high-net worth clients, found problems with Know Your Client forms.
CBC.caSaskatchewan Senator Pamela Wallin filing lists Toronto homeCBC.caSenator Pamela Wallin is listed as a resident of Toronto — and not Saskatchewan, the province she represents in the Senate — according to the corporate filings of a Bay Street investment firm. Wallin, a former Conservative now sitting as an Independent, was …For Wallin and other directors, any residence will doGlobe and MailSenate expense scandal: Pamela Wallin resigns from Gluskin Sheff boardToronto StarHey, isn't that Pam Wallin hiding from that camera?National PostCTV News -Canada.com -DigitalJournal.comall 13 news articles »
Weekend Readings
– IntelligentSpeculator.net
Man oh man, no matter how involved or not involved the White House is in all of this… it really looks bad. After Bengazi, the IRS and the spying on AP, now we seem to learn that the NSA is working with tech companies and phone carriers to spy on all citizens? Is the government out of control? Here are some readings that you will hopefully find interesting:)General Readings
-Should we trust economists? @ TheAtlantic
-Is the NSA spying on all of us? @ WashingtonPost
Passive Income/Dividend Readings
-Top Canadian dividend stocks @ TheDividendGuyBlog
-Coca-Cola (KO) dividend stock analysis @ Dividend-Growth-Stocks
-Pepsi (PEP) to buy Sodastream? @ Reuters
Tech Stock Readings
-The power of Amazon (AMZN).. fascinating @ TechCrunch
-Zynga (ZNGA) announces major layoffs @ TechCrunch
-Wall Street Hates Facebook (FB) @ Wired
-Apple (AAPL) getting ready for iRadio? @ Bloomberg
The post Weekend Readings appeared first on Intelligent Speculator.
Why I couldn’t care less about futures
– myownadvisor.ca
I’m focused on the future, just not futures. These things are not for me and I’ll tell you why. First, let’s start with a definition courtesy of Investopedia:
A futures contract is a type of derivative instrument; whereby two parties agree to transact. This contract obligates the buyer to purchase an asset (or the seller to sell an asset), at a predetermined future date and price. Futures markets are characterized by the ability to use very high leverage relative to stock markets.
Futures can be played a few ways but I’ll highlight a couple and the risks they mean to me:
Go Long!
When an investor “goes long” they are agreeing to a contract of a certain price – to profit from an anticipated price increase in the future. This is considered somewhat a “traditional” futures route since over time most stock prices tend to rise. You just hope this happens as per the contract made.
Stay Short!
When an investor “goes short” they are not looking for a price hike – they get the contract expecting a price decline…
A futures contract is a type of derivative instrument; whereby two parties agree to transact. This contract obligates the buyer to purchase an asset (or the seller to sell an asset), at a predetermined future date and price. Futures markets are characterized by the ability to use very high leverage relative to stock markets.
Futures can be played a few ways but I’ll highlight a couple and the risks they mean to me:
Go Long!
When an investor “goes long” they are agreeing to a contract of a certain price – to profit from an anticipated price increase in the future. This is considered somewhat a “traditional” futures route since over time most stock prices tend to rise. You just hope this happens as per the contract made.
Stay Short!
When an investor “goes short” they are not looking for a price hike – they get the contract expecting a price decline…
How To Build Your Own Mini Berkshire Empire
– IntelligentSpeculator.net
Every year, I read the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders letter, written by Warren Buffett. I highly recommend that anyone interested in the markets take the time read it. It’s an interesting long term perspective that we rarely see. Why would someone want to build a mini-Berkshire? I guess having a fund that grows steadily over time, that outperforms stock indexes such as the S&P500 would help me tremendously in my passive income objectives.What I Do Not Want From My Mini Berkshire
Two main things that I would not look to replicate:
-Having shareholders: Buffett and Berkshire have shareholders that they invest for and while using other people’s money is a great way to get bigger, it’s not something I’d look to do at this point.
-Paying Dividends: While Berkshire does not pay out dividends to shareholders, I do expect to depend on income from my investment fund at some point and would thus need to rely on some income at a certain point.
Similarities Between My Mini-Berkshire And The “Real” Thing
Positive cash flow: Berkshire gets very important cash flows from its insurance businesses that generate cash flows…
