In one way or another, economic indicators provide some insight into the future direction of the economy. The experience of past economic downturns tells us that this interest is, in and of itself, a sign that some progress has been made at moving through the economic downturn and that we’re getting closer to better and […]
It’s pretty hard to avoid financial market and economic news these days. Financial news is everywhere — radio, television, print, web — often appearing in articles and news broadcasts that might normally be reserved for other topics. Today, your clients are hearing, seeing, reading and surfing for more financial news than they ever have before. […]
It’s hard to be patient these days. Whether you are an advisor or an investor, markets are volatile, the economic news is terrible and clocks everywhere are ticking toward retirement. Patience, and lots of it, is what we need right now. In the current context, though, being patient doesn’t mean doing nothing. I’ll come to […]
This year’s federal budget was not obviously aimed directly at financial advisors and their clients. There’s nothing comparable to measures we have seen in recent budgets such as pension income splitting in March 2007 or the tax-free savings accounts announced last February. Nevertheless, there are aspects of the 2009 budget that we should be thinking […]
Extreme market volatility and declining portfolio values — trends that are most on the minds of financial advisors and their clients this year — point to the conclusion that 2008 has been a bad year for retirement economics. If volatility and portfolio values were the only criteria consider, this conclusion would be a slam dunk […]
It might be an obvious statement to some, but it’s one I feel needs to be made: your clients’ retirement will last longer than this market correction — much, much longer. It might be hard to think about this right now, given how much the markets have dropped, but it is important to keep perspective […]
(October 2008) Everyone knows that market volatility and retirement preparation can make for an unhappy combination. It’s bad for the advisor, but even worse for clients. However, the unfortunate fact is that we are in a period of extreme market volatility, and no one knows exactly how long it will last. When markets are as […]
(September 2008) Volatile financial markets are not helpful to the economics of retirement. They can cause stress, worry or, depending on your risk tolerance, buying opportunities. Understanding and applying behavioural finance theories can not only mitigate much of the potential damage but can also actually improve the economics of retirement during these difficult times. Behavioural […]
(August 2008) Fidelity’s research shows that, proportionately, more people retire at the beginning of the summer than at any other time of year. This makes sense, since it allows retirees to combine good weather with new-found leisure activities — golf, gardening, travelling, time at the cottage— the list is endless. Here’s another activity recent retirees […]
(July 2008) The C.D. Howe Research Institute recently published a paper on a proposal to change Canada’s pension system that deserves attention from every financial advisor in Canada. The paper discusses the Canada Supplementary Pension Plan (CSPP) proposal, created by pension expert Keith Ambachtsheer. If implemented, this plan could radically change how Canadians save for […]