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Happy volatile New Year! How to cope with turbulent markets

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Stock and fear concept on grunge backgroundAs I observe in my latest Financial Post blog, it’s not been the happiest of new years for investors heavily invested in equities. See How to play the market’s ugly start to the New Year: Top up your tax-free savings with ‘Bargains for the Brave.’ It ran on Wednesday.

Coincidentally, earlier that day the Hub ran the latest FWB TV video, on the timely topic of the difficulty of timing the markets, even if you’re a major economist like John Maynard Keynes.

See No one can time the market consistently.

That said, global shares have now been falling for six days as of Thursday and futures looked bleak for US markets, as Shanghai shares fell 7% and Chinese stock trading was suspended in less than a half hour after the market open: the second suspension in a week. European shares were down too. It certainly looks “ugly,” as one hedge fund manager told Reuters.

Watch my Twitter feed over the day for market updates. You can also see my latest tweets off to the right side of the Hub’s main page.

In the meantime, it may time to take a deep breath and put things into a long-term perspective. Here’s what regular Hub contributor Adrian Mastracci has to say on the current volatility.

Reduce effects of market jitters

“Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.”
— Jonathan Kozel, writer and educator.

 Continue Reading…

FWB TV Video: No one can time the market consistently

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davidchambers
David Chambers

The latest FWB TV investing video is now available by clicking on the linked title here: No one can time the market consistently. It’s also housed, as usual, at Findependence.TV.

The three-and-a-half minute video covers what may be familiar ground to seasoned investors: timing the market and trying to get in or out of stocks in an attempt to avoid the next crash is usually a futile activity.

Even Keynes found it hard to time the market Continue Reading…

16 Financial Habits for a Prosperous New Year

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MarieEngen
Marie Engen

By Marie Engen, Boomer & Echo

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

A Fidelity Investments study discovered that setting specific financial goals does help get your fiscal house in order. 56% of those surveyed said their finances had improved, a much better result than most New Year’s resolutions.

Give yourself a financial checkup and see where you can improve your savings and spending habits.

  1. Increase your savings. Save 16% more than you would normally on all your savings, including your employee pension if you are not contributing the maximum amount already. By making modest adjustments, you won’t miss the money as much.
  1. Automate your savings. One of the easiest and most effective ways to save is to automate the process, and yet less than 40% use this technique. Set up regular transfers with your bank. Some employers will take money directly of your paycheque to invest in RRSPs, Canada Savings Bonds and other savings vehicles. Set up savings for specific expenses such as a new car, home renovations and vacations, as well as children’s education and retirement savings.

Continue Reading…

Time to top up your TFSA by another $5,500

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Canadian Tax-Free Savings Account concept with a piggy bank against black backgroundHere’s my first FP blog of 2016: How to find the money to max out your TFSA in January to make the most of your tax-free savings.

As intimated in the Hub’s New Year’s Day post on Friday, it’s about the first major investing action you can take in 2016: topping up your Tax-free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) by an additional $5,500 (down from $10,000 in 2015.)

On a personal note, since we eat our own cooking here at the Hub, I made contributions for myself and my wife on Friday. Depending on how you execute the transfers, this may or may not be an instantaneous process.

Transfers may not be instantaneous

Continue Reading…

The Greatest Prospector in the World

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7ca4643d950f4bd09e96de75113a3031-GP_Cover_frontThe Greatest Prospector in the World is the title of a new work of “Business Fiction” focusing on the six “secrets” of sales prospecting success. The author is Ken Dunn, CEO and Founder of Las Vegas based Next Century Publishing.

The six secrets are slowly revealed over the course of a charming tale that begins in the year 1910, a story Dunn describes in the book’s subtitle as “A Historically Accurate Parable on Creating Success in Sales, Business, & Life.”

For those who wish to skip on to the six secrets, they are laid out in the short Afterword, in which Dunn acknowledges a literary debt to Jim Stovall’s Ultimate Life Series and Og Mandino’s classic The Greatest Salesman in the World.

Dunn himself is no slouch in the world of sales prospecting: after an early career in police work he started businesses in property management, finance, direct sales and publishing.

You can find more at the book’s web site, www.greatestprospector.com. Also check out Dunn’s recently launched ReadersLegacy.com, which is a kind of Facebook for book lovers. In an interview in his Toronto offices, Dunn described Reader’s Legacy as “Facebook meets Amazon.” The site even features a kind of literary currency called “Lit Coins,” (reminiscent of Bit Coins).

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Kenn Dunn (Twitter.com)

The 6 secrets of Sales Prospecting

I’ll reveal the titles of the secrets but you really need to read the story to get the context. As the cover image shows, it’s all about prospecting for gold nuggets.

Here are the six secrets:

1.) Dress for the Weather

2.) Know what you’re looking for

3.) Use the right tools

4.) Get in the River, Even when you don’t want to

5.) Make it Fun

6.) Work Hard for Six Days, Rest for One