When investment markets officially hit "bear market" territory in June 2022 - while Central Banks in North America and elsewhere were continuing to raise interest rates - questions began swirling about whether the US Federal Reserve (Fed) would once again rescue the markets by exercising the famous Greenspan "put"!
Looking back over the past few years, one thing is certain - we can never be absolutely sure what the financial markets will do at any given time. We can study charts and graphs, both historical and forecasted, we can consult with economic experts, business leaders, and government officials, we can look at inflation and interest rates, and still we cannot predict the markets with absolute certainty.
Almost 750,000 Canadians are living with some form of dementia1. The personal and financial challenges can be devastating for elderly individuals as well as for the adult children who care for them. Daniel, 63, knows this story all too well.
The investment markets have been very "volatile" since the start of 2022. Volatile is just financial industry jargon that means markets move up and down. For retail investors, the biggest concern is when markets move down. Retail investors love when markets go up and usually cringe or flinch when they go down.
Most Canadians take the correct steps to protect their property against loss in case anything they own is lost or stolen.
Concerns about recouping losses if a home is robbed, or a favorite vintage guitar is destroyed during a basement flood, are questions with very routine answers. But when it comes to considering the value of a human life, many people don’t take the necessary steps to protect their loved ones against the financial loss when a primary income-earner dies.
Business, investing and life in general follow predictable ebbs and flows. The Business Cycle is no exception. This is the cycle whereby the economy goes through strong growth periods, weaker growth periods and everything in between. Governments and the Central Banks try to manage this cycle and prevent any enduring excesses from building up, while guiding the economy along a sustainable path of growth.
Let us imagine that you have a plan to be a wise investor and use your funds to make strategic deposits into your various investment funds. You've heard about the investment strategy of buying any time the market is low with the plan of selling when the market turns upward.
By 2026, an estimated $1 trillion in personal wealth will be transferred from one generation to the next in Canada1, the largest transfer of wealth in our country's history. This transition involves financial complexities for both benefactors and their heirs. Without planning and clarity, wealth transfer can lead to confusion and misunderstandings.
If you are preparing to bequeath wealth to your heirs or anticipate receiving an inheritance, some of the information outlined below might be helpful.
There will likely be many impacts on the global economy resulting from the Russia-Ukraine War. The biggest casualty will most likely be the end of the "business as usual" mindset that most Canadians have lived by since at least 1980, if not since the end of World War Two.
