How the Bank of Canada’s rate cut may have added $100,000 to your pension in one day
When the Bank of Canada lowered the overnight interest rate by 0.25% this week, the obvious benefit is for those with variable rate mortgages. They will see an immediate benefit in lower interest payments on their mortgage. Another group who just received a big win may not even realize it: If you have a pension…
TriDelta Investment Counsel – Q2 2015 investment review
Performance Summary – TriDelta clients minimizing the damage Overall, the second quarter of 2015 was one of the weaker quarters in a long time. Of interest, there wasn’t really anywhere to turn to find good numbers on the quarter. Among indices, the results were the following: Index % Change S&P/TSX -2.3% S&P500/US –…
How to get richer, faster: Dump the cash for equities in your TFSAs
If a 30-year-old couple opened their first Tax Free Savings Accounts today, they could contribute up to $82,000, which is a big reason why such accounts are starting to be serious money for many Canadians. As far as investing the funds, they could choose cash, GICs, stocks, bonds and preferred shares, as well as use…
A world with TFSAs vs without, Part II: Which helps a family with a modest income save an extra $1.5M?
Recently we did an analysis of a world before TFSAs vs. the world today that took some flak online. Using a 40-year-old couple with $80,000 of income each, and $100,000 of annual expenses, we concluded that they could save $1.1 million of taxes in their lifetime as compared to the world without TFSAs. There was…
A world with TFSAs vs without: Guess which can help a middle-class couple save $1.1M?
Will the tax-free savings account’s expansion only help the rich? That seems to be the popular belief, but the middle class may in fact be the biggest beneficiaries of all. It might not be that noticeable for a few years, but crunch the numbers and there is strong evidence it will make retirement immensely better,…
TriDelta Investment Counsel – Q1 2015 investment review
Executive Summary – Good times in the stock markets may last a while Another quarter rolls by, and overall, it was another quarter of very solid returns for our clients. Can the good times for investment markets continue? The pessimists of this world say “this has got to end soon”. The optimists say “maybe…
Collateral Mortgages – The Good and the Bad
Most people think of mortgages as pretty straight forward products. Our message is don’t be fooled, they are not. Finding the right solution is best done by partnering with an expert such as a mortgage broker. The last couple of days have delivered the lowest rates ever, which is great news for those of us…
Less than half of Canadians will contribute to an RRSP this year
According to a recent poll done by a leading Canadian bank, more than half of us won’t be contributing to an RRSP this year. To better assist you in making effective savings decisions and as importantly how best to invest it, we invite you to connect directly for a no obligation discussion – simply click…
Renting during retirement? 10 cases where it might be right for you
Home ownership is the deeply ingrained Great Canadian Dream. Adding to the dream is retiring as a homeowner without debt. Although that dream is alive and well, and something that most retirees hope for, there can be some very good reasons not to be a homeowner in retirement. While renting in retirement may not be…
Turn a spouse’s loss into your gain
Before rebalancing a portfolio for a new client, I make it a habit to confirm the Adjusted Cost Base (ACB) of any holdings in non-registered investment accounts. In knowing the ACB, I’m able to know the capital gain (or loss) that would be triggered and the associated tax liability (if any) of selling the portfolio….
Should you contribute to your RRSP, TFSA or pay down debt
Lorne Zeiler, VP, Portfolio Manager and Wealth Advisor at TriDelta Investment Counsel spoke with Catherine Murray on BNN’s Market Sense. Lorne discussed the tax benefits of RRSP contributions, at which income levels RRSP contributions are most advantageous and he also reviewed strategies for consolidating and reducing debt. Click here to watch the full interview. Written…
3 ways to benefit now from historically low interest rates
There are those who think that interest rates are going lower. They may be right. But this column is for those other folks. The ones who feel that the only place for interest rates to go from here is up. While many of us follow the prime rate that is tied to a variable rate…
How long will I live?
Any which way you look at it, life is too short and we must learn to love life, each and every day as if it was the last. We help our clients find perspective and balance by having them complete our ‘Creation of true wealth’ questionnaire, which will hopefully get you thinking about how you’re…
RRSP vs. TFSA
Like many Canadians most of us won’t be able to contribute the maximum to both a TFSA and an RRSP so what is the best strategy? Let’s say you have $5,000 to invest and assume for illustration that this is invested for 20 years, grows at 5.5% each year after fees and that your tax…
TriDelta Q3 2014 Investment Report – Keeping the faith when the news is bad
Executive Summary Last quarter, our message was that Q3 is historically a positive quarter, but not as strong as Q1 and Q4. The message was also that we should expect to see our recent string of 1%+ monthly returns come to an end. Well it took until September, but it did indeed come to an…
Why giving your grown children an allowance may make financial sense
There is a saying “once your child, always your child.” For many seniors, the new saying is “once a dependent, always a dependent”. So does it ever end? With reports suggesting that today’s seniors are the richest in history, maybe it shouldn’t end. As the pile of cash for some wealthy seniors keeps growing, the…
Four things you might not know about investment fees
Many mutual fund investors simply don’t know what they are paying or even that they are paying anything at all. A research study was done in 2013 by Environics of 1,004 Canadians over 25 years old and with more than $25,000 in investable assets. Of them, 25% said that they did not pay their advisor…
Here’s why you should show your group pension plan some love
If your boss offered you a $5,000 raise for the same amount of work, would you say no? That fact is that many Canadians are turning this down by not taking advantage of their companies matching of RRSP contributions. The obvious reason is that money is tight for many people and the idea of having…
Three Ways High Earners Can Earn Higher After-Tax Returns and Help their Kids
For those of us born before the 1980s, we enjoyed the benefits of affordable higher education and a fairly low entry point to the real estate market. For kids about to enter University, the tuition cost of a three year law program could easily run over $100,000, a two year MBA between $60,000 -100,000 and…
1% in your pocket is better than 1% in the taxman’s pocket
We often tell clients that while you can’t always control investment returns, you can be tax smart in terms of how you invest. If you can add 1% after tax a year to whatever your investments happen to return, you will be much better off over time. Very roughly, if you are in Ontario and…
RRSP – When an RRSP is not enough
RRSPs are simply one big tax game. The aim is to get at least the same (if not better) tax refund when you put money in, than you will be forced to pay when you ultimately withdraw from your RRSP or RRIF. For those who make a high income – let’s say $300,000 in taxable…
In retirement, the rich get richer
If you were born in the United States in 1930, your life expectancy was 59.7 years. If you were born in the United States in 2010, your life expectancy was 78.7 years. In 80 years, average life expectancy grew by 19 years. Society is still trying to sort out this massive shift when it comes…