All posts by Financial Independence Hub

A walk along Risk Road, Part 2: Investing in a Slow-Growth world

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | March 21, 2016

MAWER_Jim Hall 4x6 Formal blue bg — Mawer’s CIO, Jim Hall

By Cameron Webster, CFA
Institutional Portfolio Manager, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

A few weeks ago in Part 1 of this series, we ran an interview featuring Mawer’s chief investment officer, Jim Hall (pictured, left) about current interest-rate trends and deflation.

This is the follow-up interview, where we look in more depth at the problem of investing in a low-growth world.

As noted earlier, we at Mawer spend a great deal of time asking and answering the question: So What? A company’s share price is down 6%…so what? A central bank moved interest rates up…so what? Google re-named itself Alphabet…so what?

It’s not always an easy question to answer and often leads us to ask even more questions in an effort to develop key investment insights. “So what?” is one of the questions that can lead us to investment action (or inaction) in our process of building well-diversified, resilient portfolios.

MAWER_Cameron-Webster-4x6-Formal-blue-bg — Cameron Webster

Cameron Webster: Jim, last time we discussed how Mawer’s quarterly risk review ranks macro risks on both probability of occurrence and degree of severity. Remind us why this is part of the investment process.

Jim Hall: It is not enough to just look at potential risks. We need to ask ourselves is it something we need to do something about? Is this something upon which we need to act? Is it important? That’s the value in evaluating these risks on both probability of occurrence and severity of consequence. Continue Reading…

2016 planning priorities for business owners

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | March 18, 2016

By Adrian Mastracci, KCM Wealth

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Today’s business owners are preoccupied with the day-to-day operations for 2016. They need plenty of encouragement in planning their tomorrows.

Owners know that curve balls can suddenly appear practically every day. A continuous challenge for many is trying to improve their business prospects.

Business plans can easily veer off course, often beyond one’s control. A refresh of your business elements is good value.

First, mull over what you would like to achieve with your business.
Then brainstorm with some solid ideas.

Assess, Analyze & Adopt

Paper-heavy financial industry will go from 10 to 50% digital in 3 or 4 years

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | March 15, 2016

By Anthony Boright

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

We live at a time when electronic communications is making rapid advances in many walks of life, but surprisingly, the financial-services industry still has a long way to go.

Incredible as it may sound, less than 10 per cent of documents in the industry are delivered electronically today. I refer to client statements, trade confirmations, bills, and a variety of other disclosure documents needed for regulatory requirements. Indeed, the industry and those who work in it are drowning in paper.

From my vantage point, three prominent trends in the industry right now are:

The migration from paper to electronic communications
An ever-increasing environment of regulation
A growing need for technology innovation and the cost savings that brings.

I have worked in the technology side of financial services for 20 years and been involved in lots of innovations. This includes providing Internet and custom web solutions for the industry, developing products that address what were then new Point of Sale (POS) regulations, and in the late 1990s creating the Fund Library, which was Canada’s online mutual fund resource centre, and also f/A Connect, the Internet workplace for financial advisors.

The benefits of digital

Trading ETFs can just make dumb moves cheaper

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | March 14, 2016

By Patrick McKeough, TSINetwork.ca

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Trading ETFs can work just as well in facilitating dumb moves as it does with smart moves.

Most investors would agree when we say that Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs started out as the most benign investment innovation that has come along in our lifetimes.

The problem is that ETFs work just as well in facilitating dumb moves as smart ones. And there are all sorts of dumb moves that ETFs can facilitate.

In fact, if you get an urge to invest in oil stocks, or gold stocks, or Swedish stocks, or windpower stocks, or any of hundreds of other stock groups and themes, you can act on that urge without doing any messy and time-consuming research on individual stocks—research that may give you pause and keep you from investing.

Manage your portfolio successfully into retirement

Three Credit Cards to help combat soaring food costs

Posted By Financial Independence Hub | March 10, 2016

By Alyssa Furtado, RateHub.ca

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

A University of Guelph report predicts Canadians will spend an additional $345 on groceries this year. However, there are ways to help offset the rising costs using certain types of credit cards.

Food is getting more expensive and the weak Canadian dollar hasn’t helped. The report notes that for every cent the dollar drops over a short period of time, fruits and vegetables are likely to rise by more than 1%. Unfortunately, more than 80% of all fruit and vegetables are imported.

Going out for dinner is also expected to cost more this year. Food prices in restaurants are forecast to rise between 1.5% and 3.5% in 2016.

RateHub.ca has found a few cash-back credit cards that can help neutralize these rising food costs. Here are our three favourites: Continue Reading…