Hub Blogs

Hub Blogs contains fresh contributions written by Financial Independence Hub staff or contributors that have not appeared elsewhere first, or have been modified or customized for the Hub by the original blogger. In contrast, Top Blogs shows links to the best external financial blogs around the world.

ETFs: the next 25 years

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Mark Yamada

By Mark Yamada, PUR Investing Inc.

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

From zero assets in 1989, to $79 billion in 2000, to $2.7 trillion into 2015, it has been quite a ride for global exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Few financial sectors have approached the over 25% compounded annual growth that ETFs have enjoyed. Yet many industry observers are disappointed.

ETFs’ value proposition is well known: diversification, professional management, shared expenses, all the benefits of mutual funds at a fraction of the price plus better transparency and continuous intraday trading. Yet ETFs represent only 12% of US and 6% of Canadian mutual fund assets (10% if US-traded ETFs owned by Canadians are included). If ETFs are so much better than mutual funds, why haven’t they replaced them by now?

Adopting new ideas Continue Reading…

Aging, longevity & the Urban Agenda

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markvenning
Mark Venning, ChangeRangers.com

By Mark Venning, ChangeRangers.com

Special to the Financial Independence Hub 

Unless extreme wild-card world events occur that might change the urban agenda, over the next fifteen years the global population will be at the highest level of its migration to cities. It is no longer a question of looking for clues in the shifting elements of demography. The lab results are in and the evidence is firmly in front of us.

I will submit here, that if there is one place where the longevity revolution is to play out most prominently, it is in the urban space. The evolution of cities will be every generation’s project – function, form, flow and the fabric of human interaction. Over the same next fifteen years, the percentage of persons older than 65 will be significantly higher and thus the need to adapt the urban agenda to a workable inter-generational model for an aging population is a key opportunity.

Need for more age-inclusive cities

Continue Reading…

Experiential Vacations as part of your Encore Act

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Couple snorkeling in Caribbean watersBy Frank Psoras, VP Credit Cards, TD Bank

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

A growing number of North Americans – both young and old – are using vacations as a time to embark on a new adventure or pursue a personal interest. In fact, my wife and I recently travelled to the Cayman Islands to snorkel with exotic fish and swim with local sting ray.

According to a recent TD travel survey, roughly three quarters (74%) of Canadians have already taken or are interested in taking an experiential vacation. And older baby boomers are also interested in trying new travel experiences, with 65% having taken or expressing interest in this type of trip.

But when it comes to travel, there are various factors people consider when determining the type of trip they will take. Continue Reading…

Weekly Wrap, Easter edition: finding purpose, Declaration of Financial Independence & more

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Light at end of the tunnel.By Jonathan Chevreau

Since it’s Easter weekend and Passover begins tonight, I thought we’d dedicate the Hub’s weekly wrap to more spiritual matters or at least view personal finances through a spiritual lens.

We’ll start with this essay from Peter Grandich:  A Biblical Perspective on Matters of Finance. As Peter noted in an email to me, “We know that matters of finance are the second most talked about topic in the Bible.”

One of five “Religious Personal Finance” blogs flagged on the Hub’s Top Blogs tag is Out of Your Rut. It recently ran an intriguing piece entitled 10 ways to be rich without being wealthy. Continue Reading…

No April Fool’s: it’s time to get serious about tax-filing

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Tax Due DateHere’s my latest MoneySense blog. Now that it’s April and Easter is almost here, you know what that means! It’s tax-filing time: April 15th for Americans, April 30th for Canadians.

As the piece recounts, even if you’ve been staying on top of inputting tax slips and receipts, if you have taxable income you’re better off waiting a few days before filing.

But the good news is that once you file, the onerous task is over for another year, and many can also expect a refund. Plus, of course, winter is finally all but over.  Continue Reading…