Practice

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

A new era

The year 2008 won’t be fondly remembered— it was a cruel year that hobbled the global economy and brought governments to their knees. And it gives me no great pleasure to inform you challenging times are here to stay. Our comfortable world crashed quickly and there’s no road map for getting back to the days […]

By Mark Halpern |March 1, 2009

3 min read

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

The quest

Prepare for the unexpected. That’s the lesson I grudgingly learned six years ago when my father succumbed to cancer. We had four days from firm diagnosis to his passing. It wasn’t enough time to say goodbye, let alone sort out an entire life. Thankfully my father, a project manager in the oil and gas industry […]

By Romana King |March 1, 2009

13 min read

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

Shine a light

Sometimes, you have to set an example; display some solidarity; share the pain. Which is why it was gratifying to see many high-level Canadian financial services executives recently forgo their bonuses or other compensation, and do so publicly. Naturally, the cynic in me sees it as a publicity stunt. But, even still, it was the […]

By Philip Porado |March 1, 2009

2 min read

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

Back to basics: A downloadable household balance sheet

A household balance sheet opens up a lot of discussion points. The economy and credit crisis have affected nearly every client. Maybe they haven’t lost their jobs but their salaries have likely been frozen at 2008 levels. Executive bonuses have been reduced — if not cut altogether — and stock options have dried up. Meanwhile, […]

By Deanne Gage |February 10, 2009

1 min read

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

To Clients: Managing debt (updated)

Dear [Client’s name]: With a volatile economy and turbulent markets, we know that managing your finances is top of mind more than ever before. But just because the news is full of financial doom and gloom doesn’t mean you need to do something drastic. In fact, your situation could be better than you think. To […]

By Staff |February 10, 2009

2 min read

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

Doctors’ retirement plans on life support

To gauge the impact of the financial crisis, all Dr. Maria Hugi has to do is look out the window of the home she purchased a few years ago in Dupont, Wash., with her fellow emergency room physician husband. The couple, who also are both ER doctors in Vancouver, where they have their primary home, […]

By Matthew Sylvain |February 9, 2009

7 min read

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

Handling statement shock

When your clients look at their next portfolio statement, the numbers aren’t going to be pretty. And even though they’ve heard the litany of bad news, when they see it, the reality of the steep declines will hit home. So how should you handle this statement shock? One of the smartest approaches is to provide […]

By April-Lynn Levitt and Kim Poulin |February 2, 2009

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

The Y factor

With the average age of Canada’s advisor community hovering around the 50 mark, that workforce realistically has about 15 years before it starts to deplete, potentially leaving older clients advisorless. To remedy this, firms are increasingly looking to Generation Y — those under the age of 30 — to repopulate the ranks. But three decades […]

By Mark Noble |February 2, 2009

11 min read

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

Claiming names

What does it mean when advisors describe themselves, or their services, as fee-only, fee-for-service, or fee-based? It’s a question investors are asking, so those of us in the industry need to hurry up and make those distinctions. The fee-advisor market is both fascinating and confusing. That’s in part due to the fact that titles are […]

By Marc Lamontagne |February 1, 2009

7 min read

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

No knockout punch

There’s this little intellectual quirk of logic that seems to bedevil many people who give serious thought to the relative merits of both active and passive approaches to investment management. As has been noted previously, both sides have some degree of validity and neither side has (to date, at least) managed to score a “knockout […]

By John De Goey |February 1, 2009

3 min read

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