Monthly Archives: April 2016

Debt is more than a four-letter word during your drawdown years

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | April 15, 2016

By Doug Dahmer, Emeritus Financial Strategies

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

The month of April is always a particularly busy time for Retirement Income Specialists. One of our key roles is to provide each of our clients with a year-by-year draw-down recipe: outlining how much and where to source their annual cash flow needs.

The ultimate goal is not to minimize the amount of income tax they pay on any given year, but instead to minimize the amount of tax they pay over the balance of their lives. (Please note these two goals are frequently confused, and seldom accomplished simultaneously as often you will need to pay more tax sooner in order to pay significantly more later.)

One of our many sources of insight for the guidance we provide is found within our clients’ annual tax returns. At the same time our clients’ previous year’s tax returns act much like a report card, keeping them informed as to how well we performed our role over the previous year, as we endeavor to accomplish this important long term goal.

Debt can more than offset taxes

Sensible Investing TV: final episode of How to win the Loser’s Game

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | April 14, 2016

Our journey is almost done.

We’ve explained how the odds are heavily stacked against the ordinary investor – and how, by settling for an average return, and refusing to pay a small fortune in charges, you can end up as one of the winners, saving yourself a great deal of time, effort and worry in the process.

But there is a much bigger issue here. It’s not just we as individuals who are losing out. The whole world faces a pensions crisis. We’re living longer, and although most of us will work longer, there’ll be huge numbers of people retiring without enough funds to sustain them through their later lives.

How to cope with the looming global pension crisis

Book Review: Ian Brown’s Sixty

Posted By Jonathan Chevreau | April 14, 2016

Perhaps it’s because we are contemporaries who went to the same college and are slightly acquainted, but my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ian Brown’s recently published memoir/diary: Sixty (Random House Canada, 2015).

While attempting to read some other book, I was constantly interrupted by the laughter Brown induced in my wife. I was soon hooked, in part because some of the names Brown drops were familiar to us.

Sixty started as a Facebook post and a declaration that Brown — a feature writer for the Globe & Mail — would be conducting a diary of his 61st year. It reads more like a personal memoir than a mere day-by-day chronicle of events, although Brown deftly does both.

Not surprising, since Brown is a skilled proponent of what is variously known as creative non-fiction or literary journalism. He has over the years been a literary journalism instructor at the Banff Centre, where we once enjoyed a pleasant dinner with him.

The angst of Boomer envy

What’s a Fiduciary? Why does it matter?

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | April 13, 2016

By Graham Bodel, CFA

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

There’s a lot of furor in the US right now over the Department of Labor’s proposed legislation to make all those providing retirement advice in the US actually act in the best interest of their clients (I know, a crazy concept).

Regulators in Canada are also pondering the issue and no doubt we’ll eventually see some change here too. But interestingly most investors have no clue that there are two different standards (fiduciary vs suitability).

You’d think people would without question want to work with someone with their best interests at heart. There are relatively few who give advice in the investment industry either side of the border who are currently required by law to act in their clients’ best interest.

It’s not like this is a crazy idea – think doctors and lawyers – all required to act as fiduciary. Now clearly being an official “fiduciary” doesn’t mean you’re perfect and there are certainly many advisors who don’t technically have a fiduciary responsibility who still act in their clients’ best interests, but the incentives are strong and studies suggest there’s something to this.

The difference between fiduciary and suitability

Anyhow, I recently read an analogy written by Peter Lazaroff, a Forbes Online contributor, that I thought highlighted well the difference between fiduciary and suitability: Continue Reading…

An investing guide for beginners

Posted By Robb Engen | April 12, 2016

By Robb Engen, Boomer & Echo

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Young readers often ask for investing tips and wonder how to get started. My typical response is that once you have a good handle on your finances – no credit-card debt, student loans fully paid (or close to it), some cash saved up for emergencies, short-term goals are funded (or on the way) – then it’s probably a good time to start your investing journey.

Finding the right investing approach can be tricky for beginners. There are plenty of options available, from GICs and bonds to mutual funds, stocks and ETFs. Then you need to consider your age and risk tolerance. Do you have the stomach to handle stock market fluctuations of 25 per cent or more, or would you prefer to see returns that are lower, yet less volatile?

If you’re serious about saving for retirement, you need an investing guide. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

First time investors: Building your portfolio

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