Search found 464 matches

by max88
24 Mar 2024 21:16
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Market 2024
Replies: 56
Views: 3432

Re: Housing Market 2024

The root cause might be to do with the inherent contradiction between: 1. People wanting to live in large houses (which take a lot of space and require lots of infrastructure) 2. People disliking high rises in their neighbourhoods. 3. People liking green belts and imposing all sorts of other constraints. Liking tough environmental legislation which makes it next to impossible to build new roads, etc. Couldn’t agree more. 4. People wanting a super high rate of immigration and fast population growth Taxing and spending won’t solve anything at all. We either need to get to like living in smaller apartments or be prepared to take over some green field space. Wait… what? Who wants that? I am for immigration, but against the current high rate th...
by max88
19 Mar 2024 15:44
Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
Topic: The government is considering changing investment objectives for CPP
Replies: 35
Views: 1507

Re: The government is considering changing investment objectives for CPP

Max88, A pension collects premiums up front, does something with the funds, subtracts for overhead (and profit if run by for profit entity), then makes payments later. A pension defaults when it runs out of funds before last payments. Theoretically, in extreme cases, a pension can lose all its investments and folds before any payments. Most commonly, underperformed investments and the now-troubled investment policy alone are not the cause a pension is underfunded. That has to be combined with overly generous early payments relative to premiums and future obligations. The only fix is to increase premiums and/or reduce payouts and strive for better investment returns. The CPP is a common case. It was underfunded and not sustainable. The incr...
by max88
14 Mar 2024 14:58
Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
Topic: The government is considering changing investment objectives for CPP
Replies: 35
Views: 1507

Re: The government is considering changing investment objectives for CPP

If it were up to me: 1. Wind down the CPP investments. The proceeds go to buy Government of Canada bonds. 2. New CPP contributions go to pay CPP recipients. Surplus goes to more bonds. Shortfall comes from selling off bonds. Adjust contribution and payout to keep it sustanable. Win win: The surplus CPPIB workforce go to work in long term care to look after people in need or to work in a farm to grow food or do other useful work. We save CPPIB salary and in turn save on taxes. This idea might seem very appealing to a government which is about to issue lots of new bonds with larger coupons than the ones expiring now. Probably less appealing to Canadians who would be forced to contribute more and/or get less out. That budget balances itself d...
by max88
14 Mar 2024 14:54
Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
Topic: The government is considering changing investment objectives for CPP
Replies: 35
Views: 1507

Re: The government is considering changing investment objectives for CPP

If it were up to me: 1. Wind down the CPP investments. The proceeds go to buy Government of Canada bonds. 2. New CPP contributions go to pay CPP recipients. Surplus goes to more bonds. Shortfall comes from selling off bonds. Adjust contribution and payout to keep it sustanable. CPPIB returns have been substantially higher than GoC bonds. If CCPIB returns have been so good, can we issue more GoC bonds to invest with CCPIB? That sure is a welcome boost for everyone. The surplus CPPIB workforce go to work in long term care to look after people in need or to work in a farm to grow food or do other useful work. We save CPPIB salary and in turn save on taxes. CPPIB workforce salaries come out of the CPP pension, not from taxes. That's MER vs exp...
by max88
14 Mar 2024 13:58
Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
Topic: The government is considering changing investment objectives for CPP
Replies: 35
Views: 1507

Re: The government is considering changing investment objectives for CPP

If it were up to me:
1. Wind down the CPP investments. The proceeds go to buy Government of Canada bonds.
2. New CPP contributions go to pay CPP recipients. Surplus goes to more bonds. Shortfall comes from selling off bonds. Adjust contribution and payout to keep it sustanable.

Win win:
The surplus CPPIB workforce go to work in long term care to look after people in need or to work in a farm to grow food or do other useful work.
We save CPPIB salary and in turn save on taxes.
by max88
17 Jan 2024 12:14
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service
Replies: 3927
Views: 433366

Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Thanks all for chiming in on the delayed order status on TDDI.
NorthernRaven wrote: 16 Jan 2024 18:24 It shouldn't have made a difference for mutual funds/ISAs, but the US markets were closed Monday. Maybe some sort of weird side effect that affected some of the other systems either for the actual order fill, or just the posting of the status change to WebBroker.
I've also started to wonder if the US markets being closed on Mon Jan 15th having weird side effect to the rest of TDDI. That at least has been a co-incident.
by max88
16 Jan 2024 16:27
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service
Replies: 3927
Views: 433366

Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

I submitted an order on Sat Jan 13, 2024 to sell TDB2913. This normally should have posted Filled this morning Tue Jan 16, 2024, yet the order status is still Open in the afternoon. Not good.
TDDI_order_delayed.png
TDDI_order_delayed.png (20.8 KiB) Viewed 1975 times
by max88
14 Jan 2024 18:50
Forum: Under the Mattress: Protecting Your Money
Topic: TD Private banking
Replies: 78
Views: 9010

Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

I am curious about how a TD/CIBC private banker/HSBC relationship manager does enough billable work to justify a salary in the high 5/low 6 figures. All I have read are stories about good services they provide, free of charge. What makes you think they're evaluated on billable hours or that they even have billable hours? I am required to fill out timesheet with x% billable hours at work (a mega corp). :? :( Perhaps their job is to attract and keep HVC assets within the TD empire on the basis that (1) some if not all of those customers will increase the amount of revenue-generating business with TD and (2) those customers and their assets will stay at TD rather than go to one of their big-5 competitors. Think of the way grocery stores attra...
by max88
14 Jan 2024 17:05
Forum: Under the Mattress: Protecting Your Money
Topic: TD Private banking
Replies: 78
Views: 9010

Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

I am curious about how a TD/CIBC private banker/HSBC relationship manager does enough billable work to justify a salary in the high 5/low 6 figures. All I have read are stories about good services they provide, free of charge.
by max88
11 Dec 2023 21:02
Forum: Under the Mattress: Protecting Your Money
Topic: EasyWeb Online Banking
Replies: 162
Views: 14971

Re: EasyWeb Online Banking

Bylo Selhi wrote: 11 Dec 2023 19:00 Which is why I find the message so puzzling. They can tell what OS and browser type and version you're on. So why bother those who are on current supported versions of both?

It would actually be better if they nagged only those who weren't up-to-date because when they started seeing the message it might prompt them to wonder why. And if necessary update what they have.
That would require more code to differentiate OS/browser/version. A competent coder should be able to do so during lunch break and has probably done so, and the new code been waiting in or going through change management process involving 99 more bodies for months if not quaters. How many brain damaged/ing workders are needed to change a lightbulb? :idea: :wink:
by max88
05 Dec 2023 20:30
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Market 2023
Replies: 321
Views: 26383

Re: Housing Market 2023

randomwalker wrote: 05 Dec 2023 15:14 Not sure which homeowners are going to vote for lower house prices, but here you go.
The ones looking to upsize?
by max88
05 Dec 2023 19:46
Forum: Under the Mattress: Protecting Your Money
Topic: EasyWeb Online Banking
Replies: 162
Views: 14971

Re: EasyWeb Online Banking

For those who don't understand what Koogie and I are talking about, here's what I see on a 24" monitor. Now imagine an even bigger screen. Good thing there are at least some thin green lines to guide the eye from left to right on the corresponding rows. Yes, this is full screen. I don't like constantly resizing screens. That's how I roll. I've been doing it for years and I'm not going to change for TD. This is lousy design. It was lousy design 20 years ago when LCD panels broke the 1024x768 barrier. It's disgraceful today when 1920x1080 is the minimum. TD badly needs some adult supervision in their gen-Z IT development sandbox. Clipboard01.jpg Try zooming in and see how quickly it runs out of vertical real estate. At some point :rofl:...
by max88
03 Dec 2023 20:00
Forum: Under the Mattress: Protecting Your Money
Topic: Bribes from Discount Brokers
Replies: 301
Views: 24264

Re: Bribes from Discount Brokers

Wealthsimple has a boosted referral program at the moment for Premium(100k) and above referrers: $250 each if the referree deposits/transfers 100k+. $1000 each if the referree deposits/transfers 500k+. This can be combined with the iPhone or % based promos currently running. :D Looks like referral code can even be entered retroactively within 30 days of account opening. All you need is a Premium level friend’s referral code. :thumbsup: Does referral require revealing personal information such as name and email address? Or is that just a code that links the referrer to the new customer opening new account? EDIT: Found this on RFD https://forums.redflagdeals.com/wealthsimple-get-iphone-15-100k-iphone-15-pro-200k-hold-money-365-days-offer-exp...
by max88
14 Nov 2023 18:15
Forum: Under the Mattress: Protecting Your Money
Topic: Bribes from Discount Brokers
Replies: 301
Views: 24264

Re: Bribes from Discount Brokers

optionable68 wrote: 14 Nov 2023 17:48 Yes, we have several small-medium family accounts at Wealthsimple. Very happy. My plan is to move everything to WST when the right promo offer arrives. A new iPhone is the wrong offer.
It's all about timing. I will be in need of a "free" new iPhone, this works for me.
by max88
13 Nov 2023 18:10
Forum: Under the Mattress: Protecting Your Money
Topic: Bribes from Discount Brokers
Replies: 301
Views: 24264

Re: Bribes from Discount Brokers

NorthernRaven wrote: 13 Nov 2023 16:44
optionable68 wrote: 13 Nov 2023 16:39 Not interested in iPhones, TVs or toasters - especially if I'm not in the market for them.

Will gladly move my TDDI assets when the right cash offer comes along.
Normally I'd agree, and haven't even been tempted to move away from TDDI for (small) cash in the past, but since I was about to put out cash for a new iPhone 15 anyway, it's the same as cash in this case, and (gotchas aside), pretty painless. A couple securities that would sit in TDDI sit in WS. For those that aren't about to buy an iPhone anyway, the considerations are a bit different.
I am in similar situation, soon will be needing to replace an older iphone, might as well take wealthsimple's offer for the trouble moving some locked-in assets around.
by max88
08 Nov 2023 11:41
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service
Replies: 3927
Views: 433366

Re: TD Direct Investing (was Waterhouse) Service

Is anyone able to login to TDDI or TD Easy Web? I am getting this message at 11:35 AM EST.

"This should be working, but something's gone wrong. Please try again soon. [500.GENERIC]"

EDIT: nevermind. login at 11:42 AM EST after few more attempts.
by max88
13 Sep 2023 18:56
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Market 2023
Replies: 321
Views: 26383

Re: Housing Market 2023

If prices start dropping, it means supply is outstripping demand so what you call “imbalance” is solved. Prices don’t drop if demand at current price levels exceeds demand - why would they? If rich immigrants start flooding into Canada, it would indeed have an impact but in the real world its not the case. There is a long lag before immigrants start buying houses. That said, there will be impact but high interest rates can suppress demand and increase supply far more. In Canada an average person has 72m2 of housing. In Britain its 33m2 per person. Children could start living with parents more; households could rent out basements and granny flats… Construction and immigration effects could be easily overwhelmed by a factor of 2 squeeze. Int...
by max88
13 Sep 2023 11:10
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Market 2023
Replies: 321
Views: 26383

Re: Housing Market 2023

While increasing interest rate does depress RE prices, that does not solve the demand and supply imbalance. You are still counting bodies rather than dollars. That’s a basic mistake. House prices are not measured in people. They are in dollars. Yes, people need somewhere to live but they can squeeze. Easily in a country like Canada. Regardless of the number of immigrants, as long as fewer total dollars chase houses and the offering stays steady or goes up, house prices will drop. Interest rates will absolutely do that, as long as they stay high enough for long enough by reducing the overall money supply and forcing sales due to an economic slowdown. My line that's quoted does say "increasing interest rate does depress RE prices,"...
by max88
13 Sep 2023 10:07
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Market 2023
Replies: 321
Views: 26383

Re: Housing Market 2023

Mordko wrote: 10 Sep 2023 19:28 Looking at the long list of new taxes in Toronto… Its insane. A couple of them would require provincial and federal permission and may not materialize but the sentiment is clear: businesses, landlords and professionals are not welcome in Toronto. Surely imposing extra sales taxes would kill Toronto car dealerships overnight, and that's just one example. Property prices might fall after all.
Perhaps former mayor John Tory has foreseen this and staged his exit. Current mayor Olivia Chow may have thought this is hot cake, only to find out it's an oven.
by max88
13 Sep 2023 09:50
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Market 2023
Replies: 321
Views: 26383

Re: Housing Market 2023

Yes. Furthermore, new buyers are subject to price-fixing. The government is telling most of them that they cannot buy a house with a cost of ownership that exceeds 39% of their gross income. In that way, the government limits upswing in prices and makes these interest rate even more limiting to new buyers. If done properly, it means that a large portion of buyers will be forced to limit their demand and the prices should reach lower levels. The problem is that the government tinkers with the market by stimulating the demand in other ways that are politically-attractive (FHSA, increased amortization, etc.). Basically, the government says things like " Here's a $15,000 subsidy to buy a house. Too bad that it will increase your purchase ...
by max88
13 Sep 2023 09:44
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Market 2023
Replies: 321
Views: 26383

Re: Housing Market 2023

While increasing interest rate does depress RE prices, that does not solve the demand and supply imbalance. Sure it does. High interest rates sooner or later translate to lower real estate prices. They puncture the bubble by forcing those who overextended themselves to sell. That’s your supply side. New buyers get pooched because most need mortgages and can’t afford them given their salaries. That’s demand side. No it doesn't. Changing interest rate shifts the equilibrium, helping one group at the expense of another. The RE market includes these participants: 0. Multiple RE-unit owner. Some units are left vacant, intended use is unknown. If the overextended is forced to sell, the unused vacant unit is added to the market for grap, and that...
by max88
12 Sep 2023 17:29
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Market 2023
Replies: 321
Views: 26383

Re: Housing Market 2023

...Renter is other piece on the demand side. Those entering Canada without sufficient money to buy, renting is the only option. They have to compete with existing renters for a place to live, until god knows when enough money is saved. Sadly that is up to the local governments to enforce. So there will be no help from the Feds. They put an extra load on local services and street parking enforcement. Back in the 50s when the Italians were doing it, the only cost was for services. When they had enough money to buy another place, the longest-term renters got a house and another renter got sponsored from the homeland. In this economy, it will not work well because the rental period will be too long. Crashing the RE market is the only solution....
by max88
12 Sep 2023 16:50
Forum: Under the Mattress: Protecting Your Money
Topic: High interest savings, GICs and MMFs (2023)
Replies: 1056
Views: 87816

Re: High interest savings, GICs and MMFs (2023)

adrian2 wrote: 12 Sep 2023 11:30
poedin wrote: 04 Sep 2023 13:57 Meanwhile via TDDI CIB237 MMF & CIB238 Premium MMF are currently yielding 4.92% & 5.20%.
Over 7% current yield.
CIB237.png
Yup, the CIBC MMF yields are most likely erroneous.
MMF_yields_likely_erroneous.PNG
MMF_yields_likely_erroneous.PNG (56.3 KiB) Viewed 2095 times
by max88
07 Sep 2023 00:23
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: Housing Market 2023
Replies: 321
Views: 26383

Re: Housing Market 2023

kcowan wrote: 06 Sep 2023 12:16 The RE market in Toronto and Vancouver will probably be influenced by Chinese investors escaping their home market decline as long as RE here declines less than there. The money will likely be funneled through Chinese expats who are already here to circumvent foreign ownership rules.
Buyer is only one piece on the demand side, and the buyer pays market price to the seller.

Renter is other piece on the demand side. Those entering Canada without sufficient money to buy, renting is the only option. They have to compete with existing renters for a place to live, until god knows when enough money is saved.