Hub Blogs

Hub Blogs contains fresh contributions written by Financial Independence Hub staff or contributors that have not appeared elsewhere first, or have been modified or customized for the Hub by the original blogger. In contrast, Top Blogs shows links to the best external financial blogs around the world.

Who gets the Porsche — you or your investment firm? … Fees Matter! Introducing FWB TV

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The Financial Independence Hub is excited to unveil a new Internet video project on investing made possible by FWB TV,  a unit of Toronto based Financial Wealth Builders Securities.

Starting today and on a regular basis, the Hub’s sister site, Findependence.TV, will be housing video content provided by FWB TV Paul Philip CLU, CFP and his associates.  These high-quality videos generally run between two and four minutes and focus on investment strategies that are quite consistent with the content normally run on the Hub blogs.

You can find the first one by clicking on this headline:  Who gets the Porsche — you or your investment firm? … Fees Matter! Expect the next instalment in a week or two.

Q&A on the rationale for FWB TV

To introduce the series and explain the rationale, here is a Q&A between myself and FWB TV owner Paul Philip CLU, CFP:

Continue Reading…

Optimizing CPP: how to avoid missing out on $100,000 of retirement income

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Because the Financial Independence Hub was moved Monday to a new server to accommodate ever-rising volumes of web traffic, we took the liberty of posting the normal Monday “Hub” blog at sister site FindependenceDay.com. The guest blog below is on optimizing CPP benefits:  the same subject as my Financial Post column that ran online Monday under the headline: Optimizing Your CPP is no trivial exercise. Now let’s get it from the horse’s mouth: Doug Dahmer. — Jonathan Chevreau

By Doug Dahmer, Emeritus Retirement Income Specialists

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Canadians are an easy going and trusting people. Every year thousands of people, across the country, carelessly start their CPP payments and in the process forego hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to which they are entitled.

I call this “The Great Canadian Pass Up.”

To ensure you fully appreciate the value of making the right decision, before you elect to a start your Canada Pension, Emeritus Retirement Income Specialists has created a powerful tool called the CPP Optimizer. Give it a try at: www.cppoptimizer.com.

 Most people seriously underestimate their lifetime CPP income entitlement:

iStock_000034496492_Medium (640x427)-2Your CPP benefits are a big deal. For a couple, where both spouses have regularly contributed to the CPP plan, the lifetime CPP income they can anticipate will likely exceed $700,000. Consequently it represents an important strategic contributor to the creation of a sustainable retirement income. Therefore, decisions about this benefit need to be taken seriously.

Reliance upon “conventional wisdom” can be very costly

Continue Reading…

Weekly Wrap: Horizons escalates ETF price war, Questrade expands active ETFs, CSA to review robo advisers

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PRICE WAR red Rubber Stamp over a white background.

Three significant developments in the ETF and robo-adviser space late this week, the full recap of which can be found in my new Weekly Wrap that may run online Fridays in the Financial Post.  You can find the link for the first one here.

Horizons ETFs has rejigged fees on its popular Canadian equity fund, Horizons S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF [ticker HXT,] to just 0.03% or three basis points (plus taxes, down from the previous 0.05%. Previously the low-fee threshold was 0.05%, shared with three other providers.

Meanwhile, Questrade Wealth Management launched two actively managed ETFs, a global equity fund plus a fixed income ETF  subadvised by institutional money manager, Jarislowsy, Fraser Ltd. These expand the lineup of six Questrade Smart ETFs launched in March.

On Thursday, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) issued CSA Staff Notice 31-342 directed at portfolio managers providing online advice, popularly known as robo advisers.   The CSA says it may conduct compliance reviews of online advisors within one or two years following launch, particularly as operations become more complex than the first generation that had basic ETFs or mutual funds as its underlying  investments, and “uncomplicated” asset allocation models.

 

How to cope with stormy markets

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Depositphotos_1819942_s-2015By Adrian Mastracci

KCM Wealth Management

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

The top question directed my way these days is: “What do I do in these markets?”

Investors constantly fret about surviving stormy markets, like the present.
Rising some days then slipping on others.

For example, the Dow trimmed over 12% from its 52-week high.
Similarly, the TSX has fallen more than 14%.

Financial history repeats itself all too frequently.
Price swings of this size should be expected as normal by every investor.

The absence of global growth is felt in all markets.

Some questions

Many questions arise, such as: Continue Reading…

Plain-Sight Strategy #3: Controlling Costs — Don’t spend more than you need to

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Paul Philip CLU, CFP

By Paul Philip CLU, CFP Financial Wealth Builders Securities.

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

In the first two installments of our three-part “Hidden in Plain Sight” investment strategy series, we’ve covered the importance of staying invested to earn market returns, while managing the risks involved. We’ll conclude with what may be the most obvious and powerful piece of advice of all, even if it does not seem to receive the attention it deserves.

  1. Being there
  2. Managing for market risks
  3. Controlling costs

Plain-Sight Strategy #3: Controlling Costs

Don’t spend more than you need to.

Why do investors spend more than they need to on their investments?

Revealing the Numbers

While spending less to earn more seems obvious, the costs themselves aren’t nearly as apparent. Continue Reading…