Here’s an interesting development in the general field of discount brokers, ETF makers and robo advisers.
Last November, Questrade Wealth Management Inc. (QWM, a subsidiary off Questrade Financial Group Inc.) launched an “online wealth management” service called Portfolio IQ that bears a strong resemblance to so-called “robo” advisers.
A fact sheet bearing the slogan “Wealth Management isn’t just for the Wealthy anymore” described Portfolio IQ as “an online wealth management service” delivering professionally and actively managed portfolios at an ultra-low cost. It promised customized portfolios for those with as little as $2,000.
It’s easy to see how savers feel punished in today’s low interest rate environment. You have to look hard to find a daily savings account that pays more than one per cent.
Fixed income investments aren’t much better, with 5-year GICs barely touching 2 per cent. All of this means parking your short-term savings will do little more than keep up with inflation – you’re treading water, at best.
Rates have fallen steadily for a quarter century
We’ve seen a steady decline in rates for the past 25 years – around the time when the Bank of Canada adopted its inflation-control target to preserve the value of money by keeping inflation low, stable, and predictable. In January 1991, the overnight rate was 10.88 per cent, the interest paid on daily savings was 9.66 per cent, and inflation ran at 6.9 per cent. By 2002, the overnight rate fell to 2.25 per cent, daily savings interest dropped to 1 per cent, and inflation held steady at a now familiar 1.4 per cent.
Here’s my latest MoneySense blog, which looks at recent criticisms of Income Splitting for Families with children under age 18: aka the Family Tax Cut.
No big surprise that children and the Burbs go together
By Jonathan Chevreau
Further to this morning’s guest blog about Boomer downsizing by realtor Linda Evans comes a poll by TD Canada Trust that shows wide generational differences in housing preferences.
While aging baby boomers are more likely to prefer small towns (21% do) or rural settings (18%), given the choice a third of Canadians would prefer to live in the city (aka “urban environment”) while almost as many (31%) lean to a more suburban environment.
As you might expect, it seems the younger you are the more you wish to be in the downtown core, while the older folk tend to flee to the burbs or the country. Thus, 38% of Millennials and 36% of Generation X lean towards urban settings, but Gen X is almost as likely to choose the suburbs (33%).
No doubt this breaks down into those with and without children: you’d expect young singles to congregate where the action is downtown, while those who have met “the one” and started to raise families would prefer a larger home further away once they have to accommodate kids. Downtowners typically have short commutes and easy access to public transit and can get by easily without bearing the expense of vehicle ownership. As most parents in the suburbs well know, one or even two cars are almost a necessity outside the downtown core, and a long commute will likely be another price they pay.
Boomers gravitating to small towns and rural settings
Indeed, the TD survey found 39% of Canadian parents and prospective parents would prefer to raise a family in the suburbs, while 26% would choose a more urban environment. Continue Reading…
Downsizing is a positive thing. Of course it’s a big decision and most of us will face this dilemma at some point in our lives. Should we downsize or stay in the family home?
We all have our reasons. The kids have moved out or just come home from university. The house is too big for two people, too expensive to maintain, the gardening, the snow shovelling and oh boy those stairs (my knees). Wouldn’t it be nice to just lock the door and go south for a few months in the winter and not worry about burst pipes or icy sidewalks? Downsizing can be an alluring option at a certain stage of life.
Severing the emotional attachments
The hardest part for most people is the emotional attachments that we have to the family home, not to mention all the ‘stuff’ we accumulate over the years. Treat yourself to a good chuckle and find the Youtube video by George Carlin where he does a hilarious standup on ‘Stuff.’
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