By Adrian Mastracci, KCM Wealth

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Is your nest egg a tangled patchwork of stuff in need of a retrofit?

Perhaps, purchased over time for no apparent reasons?

I’ve kept tabs on portfolios that I reviewed seeking second opinions. Investors range from do-it-yourselfers to those dependent on advisers, representing all ages.

The portfolio with the least number of investments had just three, while the highest had 97.

Most portfolios hold a patchwork of 15 to 35 mutual funds.

It’s a daunting task for anyone with a full time job to keep track of a dozen or more investments.

Several potholes can get in the way of your investing roadway.

There are two questions that every investor ought to ask:

▶ “Do I own a portfolio patchwork of stuff?”
▶ “If so, how did I get there?”

Here’s my summary of vital signs you’re a candidate for a portfolio retrofit: Continue Reading…

Mistakes? I’ve made a few! This weekend the Financial Post is running a column I wrote based on a speech in the spring reprising my seven biggest financial mistakes. It’s titled I sold my Apple shares too early and 6 other financial mistakes that still haunt me.

And of course, a week ago — as we mentioned in last Saturday’s Wrap — MoneySense.ca ran a series of blogs by me on “the mistakes you’re probably making” in various subsets of personal finance: saving, debt repayment, selling a home, investing and retirement.

I have no problem making mistakes, the key is to learn from them and try not to repeat them!

For some reason, the media seems fixated on financial mistakes. Curious, a Google search revealed more on this theme. Check out Investopedia’s Top 7 Most Common Financial Mistakes or Forbes’ The 13 Biggest Money Mistakes People Make.

Sneak peek of Victory Lap Retirement

On Sunday, I’ll be speaking in Calgary, giving attendees at Larry Berman’s education event a sneak preview of the new book I’ve written with Hub blogger Michael Drak: Victory Lap Retirement. Continue Reading…

By Greg Pollock, Advocis

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Over the years I have had the opportunity to have many meaningful conversations with members of Advocis across the country. They often tell me about the positive relationships they have with their clients and about the difference they are making in their clients’ lives.

As the president and CEO of a voluntary professional association of financial advisors, I take my role to heart and recognize that the work our members do plays an important part in helping millions of Canadians be financially prepared and protected. But I’ve often wondered if others, whether they be government, regulators, media, or the general population, truly understand the value of professional financial advice.

Do media, government, regulators and the public understand true value of advice?

This is part of the reason Advocis decided to conduct a national survey earlier this year to examine the level of value investors place on the advice they receive from their financial advisor and how satisfied they are with the services they receive and the fees they pay. More than 1,500 Canadian investors, whose financial advisors are Advocis members, participated in the study.

At Advocis, we have long proclaimed the value of advice and its impact on people’s lives. But we decided it was time that we formally heard from our members’ clients. The financial advice industry is currently at a crossroads, and two expert panels are set to present their recommendations on the regulation of financial advice in Ontario in the coming months.

Banning trailer commissions could lower access to advice

Continue Reading…

By Robb Engen, Boomer & Echo

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

New research from investment management firm BlackRock suggests Millennials are fearful of the stock market and sitting on too much cash in their accounts. It got me thinking – do Millennials really fear the stock market? Or are there other factors at work?

Millennials came of age during the global financial crisis and Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme era. They watched their parents lose half their retirement savings in just a few short months between 2008 and 2009.

Related:  A Conversation about Gen Y Money

But sitting on cash may not signal a fear of the stock market. On the contrary; it might be a prudent move, depending on their financial goals.

I started investing when I was 19 years old. The TFSA didn’t exist back then,  so I decided to put small amounts into my RRSP every paycheque, thinking I was wisely getting ahead.

Debt paydown can be a bigger priority than retirement

It turned out that wasn’t such a smart move, after all. Why? Because I was saving for a goal that was at least four decades away. Continue Reading…

Motley Fool Canada has just published my blog Why a $10,000 TFSA limit will help the middle class. It lays out my argument that if the new Liberal government truly wishes to help out the beleaguered middle class, then the logic used to justify the cut in the middle-income tax  bracket from 22% to 20.5% should apply equally to the 11 million Canadians who have  TFSAs.

As we have noted before, a poll by Angus Reid showed that more than half of those 11 million do NOT want to see Prime Minister Trudeau keep his election promise cut the TFSA limit almost in half.

And as Bill Tufts argued Wednesday on the Hub, the larger TFSA limit is only one step to pension parity vis a vis the generous public-sector pensions that are ultimately backstopped by those same middle-class taxpayers. See Let’s level the playing field between TFSAs and Public-sector pensions.

Finally, a reminder that Catherine Swift and her WorkingCanadians.ca group continues to attract support for its petition to preserve the $10,000 TFSA limit.

See also Catherine’s blog on the Hub, entitled Majority of TFSA owners want the $10K limit: join petition to preserve it.

As we have noted before, in order to get the arithmetic growth of petition signers, it’s not enough just for YOU to sign it. We’re suggesting you use email, social media and one-on-one conversations with like-minded family and friends, and get at least six others to sign it too.