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“Knives, Guns or Fisticuffs; Keep In Mind That I Am Good At All Of Them” – Lorne Campbell

TSX Higher On Price of Oil

The Toronto Stock Exchange rose Friday, pushed higher by burgeoning oil prices amid concerns that global supplies could be at risk if an advance by insurgents in Iraq continues. The S&P/TSX composite index added 91.98 points to 15,001.61–only a few points shy of its record close of 15,073 in June 2008, just before the Great Recession sent stocks plummeting. The Canadian dollar was down 0.01 of a cent to 92.11 cents US. In Iraq, Islamic militants vowed to march on Baghdad after pushing deep into parts of the country’s Sunni heartland northeast of the capital that had been previously controlled by U.S. forces, raising concerns over global oil supplies. The July crude contract advanced 38 cents to US$106.91 a barrel. Meanwhile, gold added 10 cents to US$1,274.10 an ounce, while July copper added a penny to US$3.03 a pound. On Wall Street, U.S. indexes rallied as the Dow Jones industrials rose 41.55 points to 16,775.74, the Nasdaq climbed 13.02 points to 4,310.65 and the S&P 500 saw an uptick of 6.05 points to 1,936.16.

Seniors Say They Know It All When it Comes to Finance

Canadian seniors are more likely than other age groups to give themselves a high mark for overall financial knowledge, shows BMO Financial Group’s third annual financial literacy report. The study showed that 55% of seniors give themselves an “A” or “B” when evaluating their overall knowledge of key financial products, programs and terms. This is 10% higher than the Canadian average. But a recent report issued by the BMO Wealth Institute, Mind Your Taxes in Retirement, shows a significant number of baby boomers (those aged 45+) lack knowledge of key personal finance topics that can impact their income during retirement. The report noted that only a small percentage of boomers know how best to maximize their tax savings, leaving them vulnerable to having benefits and credits such as Old Age Security (OAS) and the Age Amount tax credit clawed back.

For example: 79% either answered incorrectly or did not know how dividend income and capital gains are treated from a tax perspective; 34% either answered incorrectly or did not know how interest income is treated from a tax perspective and 41% did not understand the tax implications of making a RRIF withdrawal.

Market Update as of June 13 2014

The TSX closed at 15002, up 163 points or 1.10% over the past week. YTD the TSX is up 10.13%.

The DOW closed at 16776, down -148 points or -0.87% over the past week. YTD the DOW is up 1.20%.

The S&P closed at 1936, down -13 points or -0.67% over the past week. YTD the S&P is up 4.76%.

The Nasdaq closed at 4311, down -10 points or -0.23% over the past week. YTD the Nasdaq is up 3.21%.

Gold closed at 1277, up 23.00 points or 1.83% over the past week. YTD gold is up 6.06%.

Oil closed at 106.81, up 3.98 points or 3.87% over the past week. YTD oil is up 8.32%.

The USD/CAD closed at 1.085502, down -0.0073 points or -0.67% over the past week. YTD the USD/CAD is up 2.10%.

Sources: Bloomberg; Investment Executive; advisor.ca; BMO

June is an exciting month. The Jazz Festival comes alive. Bard on the Beach resonates with our hearts. And, summer officially kicks off.

More exciting still are the new disclosure regulations being launched by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). Alright, perhaps “exciting” is a stretch (though this is to me).

Beginning June 13^th, clients will receive a 2-page summary when a new investment fund has been added to their account – instead of an unwieldy 50+-page prospectus.

As a result, returns – as well as costs – will be laid out clearly and openly for you.

New year. New reasons to celebrate.

Better yet, starting next year, advisor compensation and management fees will be listed on statements.

At present, statements display net returns after fees paid.

Typically, advisors are paid an ongoing 1% service fee; investment companies gets 1.5% for a total fee of about 2.5%.  Given how standard the fees are, it may not seem like a relevant change. Yet, the real difference between advisors is not in their prices. It’s in the value they provide through their breadth (or lack of) services.

We provide full financial planning, annual reviews and a host of other services. We also go the extra mile to answer questions on an ongoing basis. So, as someone who’s part of a team of true service providers, I’m delighted with this transparency. It allows clients to comparison-shop and make informed choices about who to trust with so critical a responsibility.

On the subject of full disclosure, I’ll admit that I’ve voiced my displeasure about all advisors being painted with the same brush (when I rant, my voice never raises but my hands fly everywhere!).

Now, thanks to the new regulations, clients will finally be able to see for themselves.

When New Year’s comes around, guess who’ll be celebrating?

There was a great article today in the Globe & Mail about tacking your Adjusted Cost Base.  This is essentially needed when you dispose of equity investments in a non-registered account.  Gains and Losses must be reported.  You do not get a Tslip for that investment income.  You only pay tax on 50% of the gain you make.  This article explains it very well.  Of course if you are our client, we will do this for you!!

“She Shoots! She Scores! “

TSX Down For The Day Up For The Week

The Toronto stock market gave up a modest gain to close little changed Friday while investors looked to the release of a disappointing read on U.S. home sales last month.The S&P/TSX composite index slipped 4.65 points to 14,205.72 at the end of a positive week for the Toronto market. The Canadian dollar continued to pile up losses for a third day, down 0.28 of a cent to 89.82 cents US as Statistics Canada said that December retail sales tumbled 1.8% from November. Economists had expected a drop of just 0.4%. The agency also reported that the Canadian consumer price index was up 1.5% in January compared with a year earlier. U.S. indexes were lacklustre as the National Association of Realtors said existing house sales dropped 5.1% in January following a 0.8% rise in December.

The Dow Jones industrials fell 29.93 points to 16,103.3, while the Nasdaq lost 4.13 points to 4,263.41 and the S&P 500 index dropped 3.53 points to 1,836.25. Techs were the biggest TSX drag as BlackBerry shed 24 cents or 2.3% to $10.17. The TSX ended the week with a solid gain of 1.07%, reflecting general satisfaction with fourth-quarter earnings reports and positive U.S. manufacturing data on Thursday. The Dow faltered somewhat this week, down 0.3% but strong earnings reports have left the index up 2.57% for the month while the TSX has jumped 3.73% so far in February.

Canadians Don’t Understand CPP, OAS

Canadians appear optimistic about their retirement lifestyle, but few have a firm handle on what their cost of living will be and what their pensions will offer, shows a February 2014 survey by Investors Group. More than two-thirds (69%) of people near retirement are unaware of what the maximum monthly payout is for Canada Pension Plan ($1,038 at age 65) and Old Age Security ($551), yet more than 80% of them say they plan to use these programs as a source of retirement income, and more than 33% anticipate this will be their primary source. Employer pension will be a source of income for 60% of those surveyed, and 37% say it will be their primary income source. However, of those who say they have workplace pensions and plan to rely on it as their primary source of income, 55% didn’t know the monthly benefit they could expect.  Nearly three-quarters (72%) of pre-retirement individuals are confident they’ll be able to maintain their current lifestyle in retirement. This number jumps to 91% among those working with a financial advisor. In addition, 66% of Canadians are less confident in governments’ ability to continue to provide an acceptable level of pension and retirement benefits.

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Market Update as of February 21 2014

The TSX closed at 14206, up 151 points or 1.07% over the past week. YTD the TSX is up 4.29%.

The DOW closed at 16103, down -51 points or -0.32% over the past week.YTD the DOW is down -2.86%.

The S&P closed at 1836, down -3 points or -0.16% over the past week.YTD the S&P is down -0.65%.

The Nasdaq closed at 4263, up 19 points or 0.45% over the past week.YTD the Nasdaq is up 2.06%.

Gold closed at 1323, up 4.00 points or 0.30% over the past week.YTD gold is up 9.88%.

Oil closed at 102.27, up 9.34 points or 10.05% over the past week.YTD oil is up 3.71%.

The USD/CAD closed at 1.1124, up 0.0136 points or 1.24% over the past week.YTD the USD/CAD is up 4.63%

Sources:  Bloomberg; Investors; adviser.ca; Investment Executive

“They Can Because They Think They Can” -Virgil

Markets Sweet on Valentine’s Day

Rising gold stocks helped push the Toronto stock market higher Friday as traders digested a mixed bag of economic indicators. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 58.15 points to 14,059.8. The Canadian dollar was down 0.01 of a cent at 91.09 cents US as manufacturing shipments declined 0.9% during December. It was the first decline since last August. New York indexes turned mainly higher after the latest reading on U.S. consumer confidence, the University of Michigan’s index, was unchanged at 81.2. A slight drop had been expected. Another report showed that harsh winter weather led to U.S. factory output falling by 0.8% during January. The Dow Jones industrials moved up 63.35 points to 16,090.94, the Nasdaq was 9.56 points lower to 4,231.12 while the S&P 500 index was ahead 3.38 points to 1,833.21. Elsewhere, China’s consumer prices rose 2.5% over a year earlier in January, unchanged from December. Traders found the inflation data encouraging because it leaves the Chinese government room to stimulate the world’s second-biggest economy. Other data showed that economic growth across the eurozone was stronger than expected as gross domestic product grew by 0.3% in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter. That adds up to an annualized rate of about 1.2%. Analysts had been looking for fourth-quarter growth of 0.2%.

RCMP Arrest 7 in Alleged CRA Fraud

The RCMP has arrested seven people as part of alleged fraud that involved Quebec Canada Revenue Agency employees. Charges laid include bribery of public officers, conspiracy, fraud, breach of trust by a public officer and fraud against the government. Five of the accused allegedly received commissions on tax credits that were obtained through fraudulent means. The Mounties say that three of those five were active CRA officials at the time the alleged offences took place. The five are scheduled to appear in court in Montreal on April 7. One of the five, plus two other people have also been charged in a separate component of the investigation and will appear in court on March 19. The investigation, known as Project Coche, began in 2008 and resulted in the arrest of 15 people, including eight former CRA officials. National Revenue Minister Kerry-Lynne Findlay says any misconduct by agency officials is “completely unacceptable.” She adds, “CRA will continue to investigate any allegations of misconduct and continue to cooperate with the RCMP to ensure that the individuals responsible face the full force of the law.”

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Market Update for February 14 2014

The TSX closed at 14055, up 267 points or 1.94% over the past week. YTD the TSX is up 3.18%.

The DOW closed at 16154, up 360 points or 2.28% over the past week.YTD the DOW is down -2.55%.

The S&P closed at 1839, up 42 points or 2.34% over the past week.YTD the S&P is down -0.49%.

The Nasdaq closed at 4244, up 118 points or 2.86% over the past week.YTD the Nasdaq is up 1.60%.

Gold closed at 1319, up 52.00 points or 4.10% over the past week.YTD gold is up 9.55%.

Oil closed at 92.93, down -7.03 points or -7.03% over the past week.YTD oil is down -5.76%.

The USD/CAD closed at 1.0988, down -0.0052 points or -0.47% over the past week.YTD the USD/CAD is up 3.35%.

Sources: Bloomberg; Investment Executive; advisor.ca.