Helping you make wiser investment decisions

General

What do de-influencers really do?

Wang started her content creator side hustle as a creative outlet when she was a pharmacy student. She posted her OOTD (outfits of the day) snaps on Instagram in 2015. Over time, her approach evolved—and she went viral after posting videos that exposed poor quality materials for a high price tag at popular retail stores.  […]

How new pay transparency and AI hiring rules will impact Canadian workers

Job seekers should understand that salary ranges are influenced by compensation trends in their chosen field of work, market rates for specific job titles, and even geographic location. For example, some employers may offer a “cost of living” increase if you live in an expensive city. Generally, you can expect entry-level salaries to be within […]

The Innovation Advantage: Private Market Investing

Innovation Drives Value Creation Innovation has always propelled economic progress and wealth creation. Investors once accessed the growth of groundbreaking companies through the stock market after these innovative firms went public. But the investment landscape has dramatically shifted in recent decades. Companies today often delay their initial public offerings (IPOs) and stay private for longer […]

What Canadian investors can do in times of world crisis and war

Emotions in investing The humanitarian crises taking lives and garnering headlines are heart-wrenching—particularly for Canadians who have family and friends in the affected regions. More broadly, no one knows for sure how these crises will affect global economies, access to resources and financial markets. It’s understandable that investors are scared and making investment decisions based […]

Canadians spending less on gifts (and donations) for the 2023 holiday season

Canadians are already planning to spend less, according to Deloitte Canada’s 2023 Holiday Retail Outlook. This is an annual forecast for retail businesses—but this year, there’s little for them to feel jolly about. According to a survey of 1,000 Canadians, we plan to spend an average of $1,347 over the 2023 holiday season. That’s down […]

Return to Tradition? Three Reasons to Consider a Bond Allocation

US government money market funds have enjoyed record inflows this year as their 5%-plus yields — the highest in decades — and lower-risk status have obvious appeal for investors.  But we believe intermediate high-quality bonds may offer an important and compelling option for clients’ longer-term portfolio allocations thanks to their historically elevated yields, longer duration […]

Responsible investing is growing in Canada. Which ESG factors matter most?

According to the 2023 Canadian Responsible Investment Trends Report, released on Oct. 26 by the Responsible Investment Association (RIA), the answer is yes: investors continue to prioritize responsible investing, and more growth is expected as local and international reporting standards improve. Survey responses are from Canadian institutional asset managers and asset owners who answered questions in mid-2023. […]

The best charities to donate to for impact in Canada for 2023

Ci uses publicly available information—including financial statements, annual reports and websites—to rate charities in four areas: results reporting, financial transparency, need for funding, and “cents to the cause” (how much of each donated dollar goes to a charity’s programs after paying for administration, management and fundraising costs).  In 2018, Ci started adding impact scores to […]

Borrowing money to invest – MoneySense

Opening a margin account A simple option to borrow to invest is by using a margin account at a brokerage. Depending on the existing investments in the account, a brokerage will lend up to a certain percentage of the value to an Canadian investor, at a specified interest rate. You can have access to an […]

Book Review: Validation of Risk Management Models for Financial Institutions

Validation of Risk Management Models for Financial Institutions: Theory and Practice. 2023. Edited by David Lynch, Iftekhar Hasan, and Akhtar Siddique. Cambridge University Press. Because of their high leverage, financial institutions need to maintain a strong focus on risk modeling, both for sound firm management and as a regulatory necessity. Modeling of current and potential […]

Making sense of the markets this week: November 5, 2023

Both hardware and software continue to siphon profits from all over the world back to the U.S.A. and into shareholders’ pockets. No big surprises. Air Canada and Cameco fly high Air Canada was so confident in its profits this quarter that executive vice-president of network planning and revenue management Mark Galardo stated: “We see relatively […]

Travel hacks to help you save money on your next trip

Many of us are also making sacrifices to afford our vacation plans. Forty one per cent of Canadians cut back on their grocery spending to afford travel, according to a survey by FlightHub Group. Plus, over one in four (28%) Canadians who can’t afford travel have taken on credit card debt to finance their trips, […]