It isn’t just the faint-hearted who cowered during this downturn; the world’s millionaires and billionaires also went underground, seeking refuge in safer and homebound investments, according to the 2009 World Wealth Report from Merrill Lynch and Capgemini. Globally, the recession-singed high net worth market — $1 million or more in investable assets — suffered a […]
More than 200 young hockey players will be drafted at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal on Friday. And the grinders, defencemen and smooth skaters who make it to the big league, will find themselves swept into a ritzy world of ice, admirers and mega bucks. While the fame might stick, the money often […]
Unless you delight in being the contrarian, it’s a truism, tried and tested, that investor sentiment yo-yos with market peaks and troughs. And a J.D. Power and Associates study released today confirms it. The Canadian Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study finds overall satisfaction among full-service investors in Canada declined considerably in 2009 — to 693 […]
Hopes that the recession may be drawing to a close were dashed Monday, as the World Bank issued a rather desolate forecast for global economic growth and trade — of output falling by 2.9%; world trade by nearly 10%; and private capital flows likely to plummet from $707 billion in 2008 to an anticipated $363 […]
The crippling downturn has done nothing to dampen the Canadian dream of owning a cottage, cabin or chalet that can serve as a year-round recreational property and, for some, as their primary residence, according to a Royal LePage Recreational Property Report released today. The poll shows recreational properties are still considered a safe long-term investment, […]
Grandma’s Cottage — the perfect summer retreat for your client’s kids and grandkids — could end up becoming a liability when they eventually inherit it. Jamie Golombek, managing director, tax and estate planning, with CIBC, says advisors should advise their clients to seek independent legal and tax advice to ensure that their clients’ most important […]
Mutual fund sales in May came in at the high end of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada’s preliminary estimate of between $497 million and $997 million, with actual net sales totaling $939.2 million. Among the companies that report sales data to IFIC, the industry saw $1.93 billion in long-term fund sales, which were partially […]
Global credit concerns and uncertainty in financial markets during the second half of 2007 resulted in a marginal year-end increase in Canadian foreign investments — $764.7 billion of foreign securities at the end of 2007, up 3.9% from 2006 but in sharp contrast with the 34.6% increase recorded between 2005 and 2006 — according to […]
Advisors might feel more empowered when hapless clients let them make all their financial decisions, but the simple fact is: Everyone benefits from more educated consumers. This was the recurring refrain at the Financial Literacy Forum on Wednesday, organized by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC), where a panel of regulators and educators discussed […]
This one was all about women. They converged from all over Canada on May 7 at the Park Hyatt in Toronto to be at our fi rst-ever event exclusively for female fi nancial advisors: Investing in You. The program platter was holistic, and very in tune with the audience: They attended industry-specifi c sessions; got […]