All posts by Financial Independence Hub

When and when not to hedge currency risk

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | November 26, 2016

By Tyler Mordy, Forstrong Global Asset Management

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

An old Japanese proverb states “many a false step was made by standing still.”

So it is with currency exposures in investor portfolios. Consider the recent experience of Brazilian, Russian and even Canadian investors — to name a few countries with steeply depreciating exchange rates. By electing to remain invested in their domestic currency, they have all experienced a steep “loss” in their own global purchasing power (even if nominal values held up). An ostensibly conservative position has cost them dearly.

Welcome to the new, hyper-globalized world. Since the financial crisis, unorthodox policies — with central banks trying to outdo the effects of one another by plunging into a subterranean universe of quantitative easing and negative interest rates — have driven currency volatility much higher. Now, capital has a way of swiftly seeking out safe harbours and penalizing others who are not safeguarding their national currencies. Who would have thought the once-august Swiss franc would lose its safe haven status?

Indeed, currency exposures are having an outsized impact on portfolio returns. Currency-focused ETF vehicles could not have arrived at a better time, introducing yet another evolution in the portfolio management process. Today, gaining global currency exposures is as easy as buying stocks.

Beyond the academic view

Which type of credit card is best for you?

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | November 24, 2016

Travel and tourism concept. Air tickets, passports and credit cards, tourism and planning, vector illustration — Travel a lot? A travel rewards credit card may be just the ticket.

By Alyssa Furtado, RateHub.ca

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

When it comes to choosing a credit card, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the number of different options available. Although it might seem simplest to choose one with your current bank or go with whatever your friends use, you could be leaving rewards such as cash back on the table by taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

Here are four common profiles and the best type of credit card for each.

Frequent flyer

Making the most of vacation days can be expensive, especially if you like to travel. However, you can often help offset these costs using a travel rewards credit card. There are some great travel rewards programs in Canada where you can start collecting points. But because each program is different, make sure you know how they work.

The BMO Rewards Program is a good example, because for every dollar you spend you can earn up to two points. You can then redeem 100 points for $1 back on a wide range of categories including flights, hotels, car rentals and even merchandise or gift cards. Your everyday spending can really start to add up – for example, if you spend $1,500 a month using the BMO World Elite MasterCard, after a year you would have enough points to redeem $360 in value.

Travel cards often also offer good value because most come with a range of insurance benefits such as lost or delayed baggage, trip delay or cancellation and medical coverage. You can then relax on your travels, knowing that if something does go wrong, you’ll be covered.

Big spender

If you like to use your credit card for most of your everyday purchases and bills, you should look to maximize your rewards with a premium rewards credit card. Many of these cards have an annual fee, but if you’re a big spender, the net reward from premium cards are often much higher because the earning potential is usually much higher than with no fee credit cards.

The best rewards cards typically fall into two categories – travel and cash back. If you’ve decided that you don’t fit into the frequent flyer category above, consider instead a cash back credit card. With this type of card, the amount you can redeem typically starts at around 1%, but can get as high as 4% or even more with special promotions.

Game-winning shopping hacks for Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | November 23, 2016

By Sari Friedman, Ebates Canada

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Get the coffee brewing and put your game face on! Thanks to our American neighbours, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are about to kick off the busiest shopping season of the year, with deep discounts and exclusive online offers.

Canadians are feeling pretty generous this holiday season, with 84 per cent saying they plan on spending almost $200 more than last year, according to our recent Ebates.ca poll. Whether looking for deals in Canada or across the border, more Canadians are turning to online shopping to avoid the chaos, with 82 per cent saying they will make at least some holiday purchases online.

While you won’t need a helmet and elbow pads to score a deal for these two big shopping days, a little preparation and some savvy strategies will help make sure you stay ahead of the competition – and within your budget.

Don’t believe the hype

The best way to know whether a deal is really a deal is to do your research beforehand. Make a list of items that you’re interested in, then do some recon to compare prices, features, quality and special offers across various retailers. You may find a similar item to what you’re looking for that is a better deal, or at the very least, you’ll have a solid back-up choice that you can still be confident buying.

Limit your spend

It’s easy to get carried away in the chase for a deal, but it’s important to set yourself limits or you risk blowing your budget: game over! Stick to the items on your budgeted list and avoid impulse purchases. That ‘blowout’ price may seem cheap in the moment, but is it really worth it if your purchase sits in your closet or on a shelf, unused?

Sign up ahead of time

The US Forex trading market after the Election

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | November 22, 2016

By Justin Duke

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

All over the world, trading markets are rapidly evolving. There are a lot of factors influencing the difference in the high and low of global currencies. In America, the influencing factors only get bigger: talk of oil prices, the outcome of the election, and many more factors. Currency pairs are moving with the market trends. What exactly does this mean for forex traders? The market can be lucrative, and it can be resilient.

In the past few weeks, a lot has happened in forex trading that the investors of this market should be aware of. Risky trends in the market have been amplified lately, but with the American Thanksgiving holiday coming up soon, forex traders in the U.S. are looking at some sort of break, but this time off from the market trends also means a period away from the optimism that some currencies were showing in the past week.

How commodities impact Forex

The market is still recovering from the somewhat aggressive election run by Trump and Clinton. Other trading commodities that influence the Forex Trading market, like oil and gold, also experience major changes. Thanksgiving, in the past, has rigged the market of its liquidity. The S&P 500, for instance, hits some of its highs during such holidays, leading many investors to believe that holiday cheer is an influential factor that can move the market from a low to a high.

Oil rigs moved from 452 to 471 in just a week, while gold is making a move towards $1,200. Last week, US stocks were trading at a low thanks to the loss of the bias previously owned by the GBP/USD currency trading pair. The Fed is looking to diversify some of its policies so as to help strengthen the current position of the dollar in the market. The position of the Euro, on the other hand, might just be about to get very interesting given the current market flux in Europe. Forex traders should consider the word of trading experts before placing their investments on any currency combinations in the current risky markets. Continue Reading…

Should I start CPP early? Real-Life Examples

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | November 21, 2016

By Ed Rempel, CPA, CMA, CFP

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

The most common Canada Pension Plan question I am asked is: “Is it smart to take my CPP early?”

A quick review of the facts:

The maximum CPP benefit in 2017 at age 65 is $1,092.50 per month, or $13,110 per year.
You can start as early as age 60, but you get 7.2% less for every year before age 65. If you start at age 60, you get 36% less, so the maximum is $8,390 per year.
New rules in 2012 increased the penalty for starting early, but you can start CPP even if you are still working.

The simple breakeven calculation misses many important factors. For example, if John starts receiving $8,390 per year at age 60 and Jane starts receiving $13,110 at age 65, it will take her nine years to catch up. The simple breakeven is age 74. John gets more before age 74 and Jane gets more after.

This implies that if you expect to live past 74 (and most people will), you should delay your CPP. But this is not the full answer.

The answer depends on five main factors: