Protecting Against Rising Rates
Floating rate notes can help cushion the impact There is no doubt that bonds have had an unprecedented run over the past 30 years or so, as falling interest rates drove bond prices higher, rewarding investors with outsized returns along the way. Returns have moderated of late, with the majority of central banks keeping short-term interest rates on hold. Recent bond returns have been more in line...
Read MoreUnderstanding ETF Liquidity
ETF Liquidity not as simple as it appears A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with an advisor about ETFs. We were talking about one in particular that I thought was interesting, the PowerShares S&P/TSX Composite Low Volatility Index ETF (TSX: TLV). While he agreed that the idea of low volatility investing was interesting, he said that he was a bit wary about using this ETF because...
Read MoreBank Funds Continue to gain in Popularity
A number of quality funds available from the big six banks! Mutual funds offered by the big six banks remain some of the favourites among Canadian investors. From being small players a just a few years ago, to major players today, there is no denying that the banks are now forces to be reckoned with in the Canadian mutual fund landscape. The banks have done this by using their vast network of...
Read More2013 Budget Impact
Flaherty cracks down on Income Conversion and LSIFs On March 20, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered the 2013 Federal budget. By most accounts, it is described as a “modest budget” in that it contains very little in the way of new spending initiatives and keeps the government on track to eliminate the $26 billion deficit over the next two years. For investors, there were a few changes that...
Read MoreU.S. Fiscal Cliff Averted
Last minute deal on tax cuts saves billions In the final quarter of 2012, the dominant headline overhanging the markets was the U.S. Fiscal Cliff. This so called cliff would have resulted in a significant increase in taxes for many American families and a sharp reduction in government spending, if an agreement were not reached. According to some estimates, the combined impact would reduce U.S....
Read More2013 – A look ahead
Expect more of the same in 2013 – continued uncertainty, modest growth and equities over fixed income Now that the holiday decorations have been put away for another year and my first New Year’s resolution has been broken, it’s time to look ahead at the investment environment for 2013. Not surprisingly, we expect that 2013 will look an awful lot like 2012 with headline risk being the main...
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