“To invest successfully over a lifetime does not require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insight, or inside information. What’s needed is a sound intellectual framework for decisions and the ability to keep emotions from corroding that framework.”
~ Warren Buffett
Risk Management
Let’s talk about bubbles
June 23, 2022 | All Columns, Investment Management, Risk Management
“I was talking with my friend Bruce about various financial things. One of the things that we talked about is how it seems that everyone has a story about knowing some guy that made a lot of money in cryptocurrency. Which is interesting, given that cryptocurrencies have been plummeting for some time. Bitcoin, the most prominent cryptocurrency, has lost more than 50…
350,000 Canadians qualify for a Registered Disability Savings Plan and yet they are not using it
April 4, 2022 | All Columns, Money Management, Risk Management
“I came across an unpleasant statistic this week. It’s not a surprising statistic but, still, it’s a darn shame. There are over 350,000 Canadians who qualify for a Registered Disability Savings Plan but have not yet established one. Often these are the people that could really use a hand, and yet they are not using…
What’s the big deal about inflation?
January 25, 2022 | All Columns, Investment Management, Retirement Planning, Risk Management
“There has been a lot of talk about inflation recently. Generally, this is the type of bland subject matter that only intrigues economists, but lately more and more people are paying attention. So, what is inflation, and why should you care?” Smart Money Whats the big deal about inflation
Chasing past performance
January 18, 2022 | All Columns, Investment Management, Risk Management
“All things being equal, if investment decision making was rational, then we would have seen record purchases of mutual funds in 2020 when investment prices were on sale, and a return to regular buying activity in 2021 after the big sale was over. Instead, we saw people stop buying in 2020 because the future was very…
How do you handle uncertainty?
January 18, 2022 | All Columns, Risk Management
“You can’t reach your goals without taking some risk. The question is, how much risk can you handle? Typically, there is no riskless financial planning strategy. Even “playing it safe” has an opportunity cost. You can’t just abstain from making decisions until you have perfect knowledge because then you would never leave the house.” Smart…
Protect yourself by naming a trusted contact person
November 29, 2021 | All Columns, Risk Management
“Think of naming a trusted contact person like wearing your seat belt. You may take 10,000 car trips and never need your seatbelt. But you put it on anyway, every time you ride in a vehicle, just in case. The trusted contact person is like a seatbelt. You may never need it, but its good…
These good times are here to stay, right?
November 9, 2021 | All Columns, Planning Encyclopedia, Retirement Planning, Risk Management
“Some people will look at past performance and extrapolate what has happened out into the future. They think the recent trend of good performance will continue without interruption, and they jump in because they want a piece of the action too. But trends don’t last forever. Just because an investment has already appreciated is no…
Are precious metals still precious?
December 15, 2020 | All Columns, Investment Management, Risk Management