Fees and expenses are the single biggest reason professional money managers fail to outperform the market return. Learn a little more about what are reasonable fees and what makes up most investment fees.

One thing frustrated investors often lament are their returns. So here's a question. Do you know what your returns really are? Find out more about how to measure your returns including some great but simple investment benchmarks over the last 5 years.

Investors often remark that the world economy has changed and that it's more volatile than ever. They are less trusting of stock markets and they don't want to take risk. I can't say I blame them. I might ask though, if the world has changed, if it is more volatile, "how are you changing the

Do you make investment decisions according to what looks good at the moment? These purchases are often based on opinion and influenced by emotion. It can be exciting - much like buying lottery tickets. Clearly, following a predetermined, diversified, well-thought-out, long-term investment strategy is preferable. Here’s why. Dalbar’s study[1] of investor behavior shows how investor

Eventually investors move from the “saving-years” to the “drawing-years”, when they want to start drawing retirement income from their portfolios. This can be confusing. For many the natural inclination is to liquidate their diversified portfolio in favor of income-producing stocks or bonds. However, the idea that retired individuals should load up on dividend-paying common shares

It may be obvious to state that an investor only keeps the after-tax return. It is less obvious how to minimize the tax leakage from your portfolio. A good starting point is to identify the two primary causes of tax; portfolio turnover and an inefficient portfolio structure. Taxes resulting from portfolio turnover can cost you

Do you want a portfolio that’s vulnerable to wild swings in value? Likely not. In fact less volatile portfolios are both easier on the stomach and they help you achieve better long-term returns. For example, a portfolio that declines 10% this year requires an increase of 12% next year to recover its losses. If your

Our best technique for protecting portfolios is called Modern Portfolio Theory. This Nobel Prize winning idea said it is insufficient to look at investments in isolation as is done in the traditional approach of picking stocks and bonds. Rather rational investors will seek out “efficiently diversified portfolios” offering the highest expected return for each level

If you have a child that is 10 years old or younger (born in Alberta between January 1, 2005 and March 31, 2015) they are eligible for a one-time $500 grant from the provincial government. However, you only have until July 31, 2015 to submit the form and apply for this grant before it ends

The investment industry and media often refer to the “market” and the “market return”. Or that the market was up or down on the day and that a portfolio manager's return outperformed or underperformed the market return. So what exactly do they mean and how does it relate to you? The market generally refers to

Provincial legislation is periodically updated. In Alberta, a revised Wills and Succession Act came into effect in 2012, an updated Estate Administration Act was passed in 2015 and now an initiative is underway to co-ordinate the Trustee legislation across Canada. The Alberta Trustee Act is the provincial legislation governing the administration of trusts. A trust

Congratulations! You just sold and realized a profit on that promising investment (stock, mutual fund, ETF etc.). When you’re done planning how to spend your windfall you might also consider how much tax you owe on that gain. Unless the sale occurred within a non-taxable RSP or TSFA. Normally, this is fairly straightforward. You

A power of attorney for property is a written document by which a grantor appoints an attorney to act as a substitute decision maker with respect to the grantors property or financial affairs. This grant of power becomes effective immediately upon the grantor signing the document unless otherwise indicated. While a General Power of Attorney

In November 2016, Canada Revenue Agency warned investors who are deducting investment fees charged for the management of their registered accounts that they are subject to a tax penalty perhaps as great as that fee. A registered account is a TFSA, RSP, RIF and the various locked in versions. Investment fees charged to registered accounts