Research by the Wharton School of Business asked what clients of financial planners deemed the most important aspects of their professional relationship. The top 3 were: Trust, understanding of the family’s needs and goals, and the advisor’s communication practices....
The mayor of Rome Italy recently refused to back an Olympic bid for her city because as she said “we can’t even collect our own garbage.” New Delhi India, has closed schools for a few days because the air pollution is seriously affecting its citizens. Did you know...
Beginning in 2017 the performance reporting on your investment statement will compare your rate of return to a particular benchmark. The stock market is classified into sections by companies that have similar characteristics or investment objectives. Each section is...
The financial crisis of 2008 was a memorable event worldwide. Central banks want to prevent another catastrophic event like that. The Bank of Canada’s role is to provide favorable conditions for the Canadian economy to grow which in turn benefits its citizens. Zooming...
I had a client call me the other day to ask why she had not received her statements in the mail. It turns out she had electronic delivery but had never accessed her statements online. So I walked her through the process, and it got me thinking about the rest of you....
Hope you are all enjoying the first few days of autumn! This blog post will highlight a few important topics from Portfolio Strategies’ annual conference which I recently attended. The presenters at the conference are leaders in the investment and related professions,...
The above is a full page ad in a local newspaper which I happened to glance at while waiting for a medical test. Poor spelling aside(which incidently makes it difficult to take this ad seriously), this pitch for easy credit is a good example of predatory lending. If a...
Are you better off than you were five years ago? Note I did not say financially better off though I am sure that is what most readers would interpret that to be. Throughout my adult working life I have observed that a recurring theme with people is that they feel that...
Once again I must apologise for the long pause in between blog posts. Unfortunately in mid July I caught the flu and was very sick right up to our family trip for a wedding. Yes I did get the flu shot last fall. I had a forced hiatus off regular work, although I did...
Just past the second anniversary of my tenure at Portfolio Strategies Corporation, I thought the open letter format would be appropriate as I haven’t written you all in a long time. I remember long ago handwriting a stack of postcards and putting stamps on them to be... 
