Search found 8705 matches
- 18 Mar 2024 22:15
- Forum: Community Centre
- Topic: Canadian Universities Finances
- Replies: 11
- Views: 455
Re: Canadian Universities Finances
It seems to me that the underlying problem is that tuition fees for domestic students are much too low. While universities will continue to receive research grants, and a few of them have significant endowments, the vast bulk of the revenues should come from those who benefit, i.e. the students. I do understand that students may not have access to sufficient funds at the start of their adult lives. In consequence, student loans should be expended and conditions should be tailored to what a student can reasonably be expected to repay. The only argument I see for government subsidies (other than R & D) are positive externalities flowing to society from having students that have graduated from university (note that I am not saying "be...
- 18 Mar 2024 20:06
- Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
- Topic: Blackrock whitepaper on spending in retirement
- Replies: 4
- Views: 167
Re: Blackrock whitepaper on spending in retirement
On yet another hand, some investors' portfolios had yearly returns greater than the rate of spending. For example, using the very rough guide of spending 4% per year after adjusting for inflation would have required annual returns of 6%. Anyone who averaged above that would have grown their portfolio.
Given equity market returns over the past decade or two, investors heavily into equities would have beaten 6%. This suggests that most (two thirds?) had a relatively heavy weighting to fixed income or even cash.
George
Given equity market returns over the past decade or two, investors heavily into equities would have beaten 6%. This suggests that most (two thirds?) had a relatively heavy weighting to fixed income or even cash.
George
- 17 Mar 2024 19:23
- Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
- Topic: Single premium immediate annuity (SPIA)
- Replies: 92
- Views: 3132
Re: Single premium immediate annuity (SPIA)
In my experience they work the parents. I remember one who used to scan the birth announcements, and try to sell a policy while the infant was still insurable.OptsyEagle wrote: ↑17 Mar 2024 16:32 I'm surprised we don't see more life insurance agents working the high schools.
George
- 17 Mar 2024 19:14
- Forum: Financial Planning and Building Portfolios
- Topic: Your favorite asset class
- Replies: 23
- Views: 2045
Re: Your favorite asset class
My favourite asset class? Winning lottery tickets, purchased before the draw. Now if I could only find the right broker to identify them for me...
George
George
- 13 Mar 2024 23:47
- Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
- Topic: BCE (Symbol-BCE)
- Replies: 1857
- Views: 285345
Re: BCE (Symbol-BCE)
Closed at 48.19. Dividend yield at end of day today was 8.17% according to Yahoo Finance. Ex-dividend date is tomorrow.
George
George
- 13 Mar 2024 23:41
- Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
- Topic: Stocks you won't touch
- Replies: 44
- Views: 3066
Re: Stocks you won't touch
I believe that the contributor's taxable income in the year must be below the second highest taxable income bracket for Quebec, which is a bit above $112,000. But this ceiling, which was originally supposed to come into effect in 2022, has been postponed by three years and will now come into effect in 2025. So in theory you could contribute for 2024. This assumes, of course, that the proper legislation will be enacted. With Mr. Girard's recent announcement of an $11 billion deficit, all cards are off the table.formerpatriot wrote: ↑12 Mar 2024 12:52 One important detail: I believe that in order to get the 30% tax credit you need to have a net income below a certain level (and this would have ruled me out anyway).
George
- 13 Mar 2024 18:57
- Forum: Financial News, Policy and Economics
- Topic: Clippings 2024
- Replies: 110
- Views: 8724
Re: Clippings 2024
Preferably a liquid public market.
George
- 12 Mar 2024 00:01
- Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
- Topic: Stocks you won't touch
- Replies: 44
- Views: 3066
Re: Stocks you won't touch
Simplified prospectus here (in French) Basically it's a retirement fund. It does not trade and the shares are non-transferrable. You can only start to draw money after age 65 or if you are retiring and have a pension from another source (the younger you are, the more stringent the requirement). So totally illiquid. (The fund may in its discretion from time to time offer to buy back some shares, but it looks as if this is an exceptional event. You can also get your money back within sixty days of purchase.) The fund invests primarily in Quebec companies (I believe 70% or more of its investments) so lack of diversification. Also 55% of its investments are in private equities or ventures for which there is no market. More illiquidity. MER of 1...
- 10 Mar 2024 22:38
- Forum: Financial News, Policy and Economics
- Topic: Clippings 2024
- Replies: 110
- Views: 8724
Re: Clippings 2024
WSJ In mid-2022, JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon warned that a “hurricane” was about to hit the U.S. economy. It could be “a minor one or superstorm Sandy,” Dimon said at a financial conference in New York. “You’d better brace yourself.” Last year, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio predicted a “debt crisis” after earlier anticipating a “perfect storm” of economic pain. High-profile investors and economists including DoubleLine’s Jeffrey Gundlach and Rosenberg Research’s David Rosenberg were just as fearful, with Gundlach last March saying a recession would come “in a few months.” Early last year, economists predicted a 61% chance of recession in 2023. The experts were way off. Darts, that's what I need, darts... and a monkey to...
- 10 Mar 2024 16:46
- Forum: Community Centre
- Topic: Puzzles to keep the mind challenged
- Replies: 11
- Views: 425
Re: Puzzles to keep the mind challenged
Duolingo isn't my style, but there are many language schools with classes of four to six students each, either in person or on-line. Avoid the university language courses. A typical class of some twenty-five meets three hours a week, i.e. 180 minutes. With the prof talking half the time, that leaves 90 minutes for the students to speak, i.e. less than four minutes each on average. The only reason I can see for someone to take a language course at a university is to earn credits toward a degree -- and I'm no longer interested in that.
George
- 09 Mar 2024 00:26
- Forum: Community Centre
- Topic: Nurse Practitioners / Physician Assistants
- Replies: 90
- Views: 2222
Re: Nurse Practitioners / Physician Assistants
Angus Reid had a recent poll, asking Canadians which were their top three issues (presumably in regard to voting intentions).
43% of Canadians named health care among their top three issues. The breakdown by age is interesting:
22% for men between 18 and 34
33% for men between 35 and 54
47% for men 55+
43% for women between 18 and 34
46% for women between 35 and 54
62% for women 65+
I expected higher numbers for older men, and lower numbers for younger women. But I do find surprising that only one subgroup out of six have a majority where health care is one of the top three issues. Maybe the health care system that we currently have, is an appropriate reflection of Canadians, priorities.
George
43% of Canadians named health care among their top three issues. The breakdown by age is interesting:
22% for men between 18 and 34
33% for men between 35 and 54
47% for men 55+
43% for women between 18 and 34
46% for women between 35 and 54
62% for women 65+
I expected higher numbers for older men, and lower numbers for younger women. But I do find surprising that only one subgroup out of six have a majority where health care is one of the top three issues. Maybe the health care system that we currently have, is an appropriate reflection of Canadians, priorities.
George
- 08 Mar 2024 12:22
- Forum: Financial Planning and Building Portfolios
- Topic: Stocks versus ETFs
- Replies: 102
- Views: 6203
Re: Stocks versus ETFs
Feeds into the debate on investment style, dividend payers versus capital gains prospects.Bylo Selhi wrote: ↑08 Mar 2024 09:55 And better still, no distributions of any kind, so 100% of your holding grows tax-sheltered until you sell.
George
- 05 Mar 2024 22:07
- Forum: Community Centre
- Topic: Nurse Practitioners / Physician Assistants
- Replies: 90
- Views: 2222
Re: Nurse Practitioners / Physician Assistants
Yes indeed.
I have been saying this for decades, including to my (Liberal) MP. But, the answer always comes, that would lead to two-tier health care. Well, what do they think we have today? One tier for those with a GP and another tier for the 7 million who don't.
And a third tier for those who can go for treatment to the U.S. Ogdensburg N.Y., one hour by car south of Ottawa, has an amazing collection of physicians and clinics and imaging centers.
George
- 05 Mar 2024 21:43
- Forum: Financial News, Policy and Economics
- Topic: Federal Budget 2024
- Replies: 20
- Views: 1174
Re: Federal Budget 2024
Remember also that we have significant pent-up demand for housing, based on the anecdotes of all the Millenials still living with their parents and other doubling-up. As well, we are seeing an increase in households with a single adult (with or without children), which doubles the housing demand in those cases (although presumably for smaller accommodations). I don't know where all this will shake out, but I think that the housing crisis will be with us for a while yet.
And then there are the tent cities... In Canada?
George
- 05 Mar 2024 17:37
- Forum: Financial News, Policy and Economics
- Topic: Federal Budget 2024
- Replies: 20
- Views: 1174
Re: Federal Budget 2024
Best estimates I've seen suggest that it will take two to three years (at best) to bring new sufficient new supply to market to affect prices.
Remember, we are reducing immigration a bit, we are not returning to pre-2020 levels.
George
- 04 Mar 2024 23:13
- Forum: Under the Mattress: Protecting Your Money
- Topic: 5-year laddered GICs
- Replies: 29
- Views: 1230
- 04 Mar 2024 19:16
- Forum: Financial Planning and Building Portfolios
- Topic: What's your home country bias?
- Replies: 95
- Views: 31846
Re: What's your home country bias?
The Canadian stock market is a flop. Here’s why you should stick with it anyway ( Tim Shufelt, G & M ) The Canadian benchmark index has now trailed the S&P 500 in eight of the past 10 calendar years, and is well on its way to extending that bleak trend this year. Over that time, U.S. returns have outpaced Canadian by a factor of more than 2.5 to 1.... And yet the average Canadian with money in the stock market is heavily tilted to the TSX, with 52 per cent of their total stock holdings in domestic names, according to a Vanguard report published last July. <snip> “Some level of home bias makes sense for Canadians since there will always be a local preference for Canadian companies and securities that are familiar and in closer proxim...
- 03 Mar 2024 22:15
- Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
- Topic: Single premium immediate annuity (SPIA)
- Replies: 92
- Views: 3132
Re: Single premium immediate annuity (SPIA)
The big issue for me with considering annuities is the cost, and the lack of transparency in pricing. I don't perceive the insurance industry to be clear and visible with their pricing. It is like having to invest in high MER MF's without the option to consider low MER ETF's. Yes. Of course, if you have access to life contingency table that you think reflects your expected experience, and a discount rate that reflects the riskiness of the annuity (default risk, inflation risk), you can calculate the present value of the future payments. This is also called the money's worth. Then you can compare with the premium. The difference is the administrative cost. etc. You can also do simulations, varying your life expectancy. Moshe Milevsky has a ...
- 03 Mar 2024 21:53
- Forum: Financial News, Policy and Economics
- Topic: Clippings 2024
- Replies: 110
- Views: 8724
Re: Home Bias
On this, as on many other investing topics, we agree.
Perhaps I am a little more extreme than you,
George
- 03 Mar 2024 21:40
- Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
- Topic: Single premium immediate annuity (SPIA)
- Replies: 92
- Views: 3132
Re: Single premium immediate annuity (SPIA)
Male pensioners probably don't know this but our pension legislation requires pensions to be unisex. In other words for the same amount of money a male gets the same income as a female, of the same age. Now that may sound fair, but actuarially it is not. It is kind of a system where about 6% of the pension funds of the male workers gets transferred to the female workers, in order for both genders to get the same amount of income. This is because women are expected to live longer and therefore their pensions cost more...and money doesn't grow on trees, and no one seems to give this any thought. I do know about this (although I am not a pensioner). I had quite a lively debate about it some twenty-five years ago, using the Federal public serv...
- 01 Mar 2024 00:20
- Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
- Topic: BCE (Symbol-BCE)
- Replies: 1857
- Views: 285345
Re: BCE (Symbol-BCE)
Mirko Bibic..CEO of BCE recently bought, I believe was $500,000.worth of BCE shares and also other insiders, so they must be confident that the share price will recover at some time in the near future. As a shareholder I will collect the dividends and be patient. Globe & Mail On Feb. 12, president and chief executive officer Mirko Bibic purchased 9,900 shares at a price per share of $50.60 for an account in which he has indirect ownership, increasing this specific account’s holdings to 30,387 shares. The cost of this investment exceeded $500,000 Wonder what kind of account it is, and what the indirect ownership implies? Is Mr. Bibic single-h handedly trying to provide price support for the shares? I personally would expect some turbule...
- 29 Feb 2024 22:29
- Forum: Community Centre
- Topic: Electric Cars
- Replies: 601
- Views: 38972
Re: Electric Cars
Logically it follows that we should tax electricity. Since electricity is fungible (i.e. it can be used for many purposes), put a (heavy) tax on all electricity consumption. (I have natural gas stove, water heater, furnace, etc., so I don't mind.)Bylo Selhi wrote: ↑29 Feb 2024 21:42Brilliant incentive: The more I drive my EV the more damage I do to the roads but the lower the tax per kilometer
George
- 29 Feb 2024 19:36
- Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
- Topic: Single premium immediate annuity (SPIA)
- Replies: 92
- Views: 3132
Re: Single premium immediate annuity (SPIA)
That explains it. I was 43. At that point I knew that I would never get a pension from an employer, and that was my first attempt at providing my own.
George
- 29 Feb 2024 18:56
- Forum: Community Centre
- Topic: RIP 2024
- Replies: 32
- Views: 2546
Re: RIP 2024
Brian Mulroney, 84
In my opinion, a great Prime Minister. I will remember him for free trade and for introduction of the GST, a step in a very positive direction. Canada needs a meaningful VAT. I also remember him for Meech Lake, a valiant but flawed attempt at constitutional reform, that failed. Promoting these policies took personal courage.
Then there was Brian Mulroney the person, about as corrupt as they come in Canadian politics. The man had absolutely no shame.
George
In my opinion, a great Prime Minister. I will remember him for free trade and for introduction of the GST, a step in a very positive direction. Canada needs a meaningful VAT. I also remember him for Meech Lake, a valiant but flawed attempt at constitutional reform, that failed. Promoting these policies took personal courage.
Then there was Brian Mulroney the person, about as corrupt as they come in Canadian politics. The man had absolutely no shame.
George
- 29 Feb 2024 15:15
- Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
- Topic: Single premium immediate annuity (SPIA)
- Replies: 92
- Views: 3132
Re: Single premium immediate annuity (SPIA)
Back in the spring of 1989 it was clear to me that interest rates were coming down, and I wanted to buy a deferred annuity, with a deferral period of some twenty years or so. I couldn't fnd an issuer willing to sell me one.OptsyEagle wrote: ↑29 Feb 2024 14:36 any other life annuity can be deferred for quite a long time. Many years. Not sure if there is a limit but more then 5 years would be no problem.
(I should have bought a long bond instead, but didn't.)
George