Advisors who are banned by their securities commission better not think about setting up shop somewhere else, as the number of reciprocal orders has shot up over the past year. Since 2006, securities commissions across the country have been using reciprocal orders in order to sanction people in one province after they were sanctioned in […]
Monday night’s decision by the Ontario Court of Appeals allowing the asset-backed commercial paper restructuring plan to proceed was a mixed blessing for investors. The deal, hammered out by the Pan-Canadian Investors Committee, allows retail investors who bought less than $1 million of ACBP to get all their money back, while institutions and individuals who […]
There’s no shortage of advisors suggesting that clients look to the struggling markets for bargains, but not everyone has the cash to buy extra stocks. One way to shore up some dollars is by getting your client to stop aggressively paying down his mortgage, and use the funds on equities instead. With mortgage rates as […]
In the next few weeks Canada’s university students will be heading to their nearest big-box store to load up on pens and notebooks, but they also might want to consider visiting an accountant. John Wonfor, a national tax partner at BDO Dunwoody, in conjunction with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, released a list […]
It’s been bad month after bad month for the fund industry, as sales numbers keep falling, but July saw one of the poorest performances ever for the industry. According to new statistics released by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada, total industry assets were $685.4 billion at the end of July, down from $700.1 billion […]
A higher dollar might be good for your shopaholic clients, but it hurts manufacturers who rely on the American market for business. To combat the negative effects of a soaring loonie, the Canadian government introduced an accelerated capital cost allowance (CCA) in 2007, a tax deduction that, according to the Canada Revenue Agency, “allows a […]
Just because we live and work in Canada doesn’t mean we own the place — or does it? A new theoretical investment option that would allow investors to have an equity stake in the country’s economy could be on the horizon. But don’t think you can start calling the shots just yet. The “trill” — […]
Nearly everyone in the financial world remembers Jim Flaherty’s 2006 Halloween announcement that income trusts were to be taxed, but that wasn’t the only plan the federal finance minister has had that’s caused outrage in the business community. In March 2007, Flaherty discussed eliminating interest deductibility on foreign investments, which was one part of a […]
The last year hasn’t been kind to active managers — they haven’t beaten their benchmark in four quarters, but according to a new survey, they’re getting closer. Russell Investments Canada’s active manager report reveals that in Q2 of this year, 41% of active managers outperformed the benchmark. That’s an improvement of 21 percentage points over […]
(August 2008) Developing the right asset mix for your client can be tricky business. Advisors have to determine their clients’ risk tolerance, closely watch the markets, and there’s the not-so-small matter of making money. So what’s an advisor to do when clients’ portfolios are more volatile than an active volcano? Nothing. “I focus on the […]