Canadians’ reputation as savers has slipped in recent years, but that hasn’t slowed the competition between financial firms offering high-interest savings accounts, an increasingly popular product for advisors with clients who want a safe and accessible place to park their money, and want some growth to boot. Altamira, ING Direct, Manulife, Dundee Wealth Bank, and […]
No-one would ever consider building an entire investment portfolio around BRIC — Brazil, Russia, India and China — but why risk watering down your returns with fluctuations in other markets when you can focus on the ones that are growing? That’s how Excel Funds Management’s CEO Bhim Asdhir sees it, and so far the strategy […]
It’s often suggested that sex, politics and religion should never be discussed at the dinner table, but at least one of these topics shouldn’t be considered blasphemous when advisors talk with clients. Faith-based investing and financial planning is an emerging space. Since 1999, Dow Jones has been running Islamic equity indices. There are now over […]
Mutual funds have a dog’s life: they’re fed money, they occasionally mess on the carpet and they age faster then their owners. While investors can age gracefully over the next 10 years, mutual fund manufactures have half that time — at best — to prepare for 2016 if they expect to hold on to their […]
Advisors who are constantly aiming for that prized catch to boost their book of business are fishing in the wrong pond, a new study suggests. Forrester Research says advisors should look to the mainstream if they want to net some new business.
Advisors don’t generally recommend things they know will decrease in value. Then again, there are not many financial planners like Peter Ameli who help clients decide their next car purchase. Ameli is a planner with Berkshire in Toronto who sees giving advice on things outside of finance, including where to buy a car, as just […]
If you’re selling mutual funds, pushing equities or recommending some other actively-managed product then you are a fool — at least according to a consortium of top-fee only advisors in the U.S. The group, led by Mark Hebner, founder of Index Funds Advisors of Irvine, California, has dubbed April 1 as Index Funds Day in […]
The next federal budget should expose how much of the Conservative party’s election platform is motivated by “populist” promises that either cannot, or should not be implemented, John McCallum, the liberal finance critic, said in a breakfast speech at the Economic Club of Toronto on Thursday. Ottawa is expected to report a surplus of as […]
Remember the battle cry of the former federal government that it will avoid deficits “come hell or high water?” The C.D. Howe Institute is calling for an end to that practice, saying it has resulted in massive in-year spending hikes at the expense of long term planning. The conservative think-tank says the practice has resulted […]
Canada’s financial institutions need to work on their online banking services, according to a recent study. Forrester Research says only one of Canada’s seven largest bank websites is completely up to snuff. TD Canada Trust earned the highest ranking in the survey, scoring 74 out of a maximum 100 points in Forrester’s assessment. It was […]