Articles & Insights

What a crazy world we live in. For the last number of weeks, we have been jostling around to find our new normal. I still have my surreal moments… on a daily basis.

The title to this year’s economic forecast is…the same as last year. Admittedly, I will fail to earn any creative title credit, but the fact of the matter, there are similarities between 2019 and 2020 with a few exceptions.

As of this past July the current US economic expansion is now the longest since World War II. And while there is little evidence to suggest it is over, we do need to consider that it is closer to its end. Let's be clear, recessions are difficult to predict. But then again, in the context of asset allocation it isn't as black or white as whether we are in a recession or not. There are multiple shades of grey. And we may want to consider how to position during the transition from one to the other.

Often, I get questions about the differences between RSP’s and locked in retirement accounts (LIRA’s). While both share very similar properties, they do have some key differences. RSP’s were originally introduced so that people who did not have access to a pension plan at work could effectively use an RSP to create their own pension plan.

What ever happened to the lazy, hazy days of summer?! Labour day has come and gone, the kids are back in school and the days of wearing shorts all the time are numbered. August was anything but relaxed as far as global events were concerned. Brexit continues, the US and China are no closer to agreeing on trade issues, Hong Kong unrest is in its third month and various hotspots keep the headlines churning. The markets, in turn, have been volatile. In spite of that, most assets are up quite handsomely, year to date.

How often do you review the values of your investment portfolios? Every year? Every quarter? Daily? A study was done involving the S&P 500 Index which is a broadly accepted index out of the USA that depicts the overall health of the economy.

I’m writing today about historical rates of return and how we perceive them. Let’s take a fictitious person Jean – who in late October tells her friend Wendy that she reviewed her Q3 statement and the 5-year return was 9.12%. Wendy is impressed, she doesn’t get a quarterly statement, only semi-annual, and tells Jean she...