Friday, September 2, 2011
Topsy Turvy Markets mean Opportunity
But you have to be a disciplined investor to benefit....
The turmoil of the markets of early August were gut wrenching but not entirely unpredictable. After all market volatility is a fact of life in today's rapid fire electronic marketplace where the economic hiccups in one part of the world can become headaches in markets globally. If you have no need to liquidate or withdraw from your investments during a particularly topsy turvy market, the conventional wisdom is to simply wait out the storm. But if you have already set up an automatic investment purchasing program, such as through a direct debit from your chequing account to purchase mutual funds or a Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), you are well positioned to benefit from any market downturns through the magic of dollar-cost averaging.
Dollar-cost averaging simply means that over time, while you may pay more for an investment purchase one month, chances are you will pay less during another month, given the ups and downs of market volatility. Since most of us have neither the ability nor the nerves to sit in front of a trading screen all day to decide when to "buy low", the setting up of an automatic investment purchasing program, essentially a forced savings plan, ensures that pre-selected risk appropriate investment units or shares will bought on a pre-selected date at that day's market price without any further instruction from the client.
It is important to monitor your automatic purchases at least once a year to see if the investment selection still fits your risk profile and needs. If your finances are tight, you can opt out of most of these plans with due notice. But for those procrastinators (and we are numerous) who find making investment decisions painful, being in an automatic investment purchase program ensures that our savings will be invested come hell or high water- and with the way things are going, that is one less thing to worry about!
The turmoil of the markets of early August were gut wrenching but not entirely unpredictable. After all market volatility is a fact of life in today's rapid fire electronic marketplace where the economic hiccups in one part of the world can become headaches in markets globally. If you have no need to liquidate or withdraw from your investments during a particularly topsy turvy market, the conventional wisdom is to simply wait out the storm. But if you have already set up an automatic investment purchasing program, such as through a direct debit from your chequing account to purchase mutual funds or a Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), you are well positioned to benefit from any market downturns through the magic of dollar-cost averaging.
Dollar-cost averaging simply means that over time, while you may pay more for an investment purchase one month, chances are you will pay less during another month, given the ups and downs of market volatility. Since most of us have neither the ability nor the nerves to sit in front of a trading screen all day to decide when to "buy low", the setting up of an automatic investment purchasing program, essentially a forced savings plan, ensures that pre-selected risk appropriate investment units or shares will bought on a pre-selected date at that day's market price without any further instruction from the client.
It is important to monitor your automatic purchases at least once a year to see if the investment selection still fits your risk profile and needs. If your finances are tight, you can opt out of most of these plans with due notice. But for those procrastinators (and we are numerous) who find making investment decisions painful, being in an automatic investment purchase program ensures that our savings will be invested come hell or high water- and with the way things are going, that is one less thing to worry about!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Follow up on UWCM's work with the Federal Task Force on Financial Literacy
Here is what was said by the University Women's Club of Montreal (UWCM) to the Federal Task Force on Financial Literacy committee headed by vice-chair Jacques Ménard when they came to Montreal April 19, 2010?
Click below for our Reading Brief to the Federal Task Force: http://uwcm.com/ReadingBriefFinancialLiteracyFINAL.pdf
The Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) is presenting our UWCM resolution calling for more support for financial literacy programming to the International Federation of University Women this August 2010 in Mexico.
Click below for our letter to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty summarizing the terms of the UWCM resolution passed by the CFUW AGM in 2009. http://www.cfuw.org/media/3035/financial_literacy_29-10-09.pdf
Click below for our Reading Brief to the Federal Task Force: http://uwcm.com/ReadingBriefFinancialLiteracyFINAL.pdf
The Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) is presenting our UWCM resolution calling for more support for financial literacy programming to the International Federation of University Women this August 2010 in Mexico.
Click below for our letter to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty summarizing the terms of the UWCM resolution passed by the CFUW AGM in 2009. http://www.cfuw.org/media/3035/financial_literacy_29-10-09.pdf
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Interested in Financial Literacy?
Then attend the groundbreaking conference at McGill University, February 17, 2010:
“Strengthening Financial Literacy: a National Strategy for Canada”
Find out about the inner workings of the newly appointed Canada’s Task Force on Financial Literacy from Vice Chair L. Jacques Ménard in what will be one of the first public appearances by a task force member since the specially named committee undertook the task in June of 2009 of developing a National Strategy for government review by December of 2010.
Co-hosted by McGill’s School of Social Work, the Faculty of Arts and the Principal’s Fund as well as the University Women’s Club of Montreal (UWCM), all members of the McGill community, the media and the public at large are invited to attend what promises to be an exciting introduction to the issue of financial literacy by one of Quebec’s most thought-provoking opinion makers today.
The organization of this event is part of the University Women’s Club of Montreal’s advocacy work following the successful 2009 adoption by the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) of our club’s resolution concerning the recognition of financial literacy as an essential life skill and the need for the development of the appropriate national strategy to ensure access to unbiased educational programming for Canadians of all ages.
Brenda Shanahan, UWCM board and resolutions committee member
“Strengthening Financial Literacy: a National Strategy for Canada”
with speaker M. L. Jacques Ménard, Chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns, President of BMO Financial Group and Vice Chair- Canada’s Task Force on Financial Literacy
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 from 6 to 8pm
Leacock 26, Leacock Building, McGill University
Find out about the inner workings of the newly appointed Canada’s Task Force on Financial Literacy from Vice Chair L. Jacques Ménard in what will be one of the first public appearances by a task force member since the specially named committee undertook the task in June of 2009 of developing a National Strategy for government review by December of 2010.
Co-hosted by McGill’s School of Social Work, the Faculty of Arts and the Principal’s Fund as well as the University Women’s Club of Montreal (UWCM), all members of the McGill community, the media and the public at large are invited to attend what promises to be an exciting introduction to the issue of financial literacy by one of Quebec’s most thought-provoking opinion makers today.
The organization of this event is part of the University Women’s Club of Montreal’s advocacy work following the successful 2009 adoption by the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) of our club’s resolution concerning the recognition of financial literacy as an essential life skill and the need for the development of the appropriate national strategy to ensure access to unbiased educational programming for Canadians of all ages.
Brenda Shanahan, UWCM board and resolutions committee member
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Earl Jones is missing- but where was everybody else?
Where was everybody when Earl Jones was wining and dining and golfing his way through the West Island with the life savings of his clients?
Apparently, all it took was one phone call to the AMF from a suspicious Earl Jones client and the AMF acted immediately to freeze the company accounts and begin their investigation, even though, as it has been reported, neither Earl Jones nor his company were ever registered with the AMF and so its clients do not have access to any of the protections the AMF is mandated to provide financial consumers.
But isn’t the AMF supposed to protect the public against unregistered financial advisors? Since one would expect that advisors who take the trouble to meet AMF criteria by registering themselves have at least some intention of conducting legitimate business, it would seem prudent for the AMF to be on the lookout for those who are operating under the legal radar.
How difficult is it to find these questionable operators? Two clicks on the internet and you have access to 278 listings on the Canada 411 website under the heading “Financial Planning Consultants”. Might someone at the AMF peruse these and similar listings from time to time and verify if each consultant is duly licensed? By the way, type in “Earl Jones” on Canada 411 and the contact information complete with a Google map pops up all nice and shiny.
Lest we leave all the blame with the AMF however- who indeed may find the wheeling and dealings of the Wild West Island difficult to infiltrate- let’s ask ourselves how Earl Jones and his corporation was able to conduct business these past 30 years without raising the concerns of any of the financial industry professionals that he surely would have had contact with. After all, he must have been dealing with one or more banks for his transactions- did no one do a background check or notice anything unusual about his business? He would have had to provide financial statements to the CRA and Revenue Quebec when he filed his corporate income tax. Were these reports not prepared by an accounting firm? If clients’ homes were being remortgaged without their consent – what notaries and/or lawyers were executing the legal documents? And finally, did one man run this whole business by himself? Who was working for Earl Jones?
It’s distressful enough to see that people so readily trusted this man without verifying his credentials or how their funds were being held. It is even more distressful to think that those industry insiders who should have been looking out for the public interest never saw anything in 30 years of unlicensed dealings worthy of further investigation. But of this I am sure, that there are more Bernie Madoffs and Earl Joneses out there, so please, let the buyer beware.
Apparently, all it took was one phone call to the AMF from a suspicious Earl Jones client and the AMF acted immediately to freeze the company accounts and begin their investigation, even though, as it has been reported, neither Earl Jones nor his company were ever registered with the AMF and so its clients do not have access to any of the protections the AMF is mandated to provide financial consumers.
But isn’t the AMF supposed to protect the public against unregistered financial advisors? Since one would expect that advisors who take the trouble to meet AMF criteria by registering themselves have at least some intention of conducting legitimate business, it would seem prudent for the AMF to be on the lookout for those who are operating under the legal radar.
How difficult is it to find these questionable operators? Two clicks on the internet and you have access to 278 listings on the Canada 411 website under the heading “Financial Planning Consultants”. Might someone at the AMF peruse these and similar listings from time to time and verify if each consultant is duly licensed? By the way, type in “Earl Jones” on Canada 411 and the contact information complete with a Google map pops up all nice and shiny.
Lest we leave all the blame with the AMF however- who indeed may find the wheeling and dealings of the Wild West Island difficult to infiltrate- let’s ask ourselves how Earl Jones and his corporation was able to conduct business these past 30 years without raising the concerns of any of the financial industry professionals that he surely would have had contact with. After all, he must have been dealing with one or more banks for his transactions- did no one do a background check or notice anything unusual about his business? He would have had to provide financial statements to the CRA and Revenue Quebec when he filed his corporate income tax. Were these reports not prepared by an accounting firm? If clients’ homes were being remortgaged without their consent – what notaries and/or lawyers were executing the legal documents? And finally, did one man run this whole business by himself? Who was working for Earl Jones?
It’s distressful enough to see that people so readily trusted this man without verifying his credentials or how their funds were being held. It is even more distressful to think that those industry insiders who should have been looking out for the public interest never saw anything in 30 years of unlicensed dealings worthy of further investigation. But of this I am sure, that there are more Bernie Madoffs and Earl Joneses out there, so please, let the buyer beware.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Five Daily Habits for Increased Productivity and Peace of Mind
You need to nourish yourself emotionally, intellectually and spiritually each day in order to be fit to carry out your work, whatever that may be. Otherwise you will susceptible to any number of distractions in a self-destructive quest to fill your inner void.
Daily Habit #1. Allow for a time of quiet before starting your day
This could be as ordinary as a iron-clad routine for getting ready for work which allows time for a relaxing bath/shower, stress-free dressing (clothes already chosen and ready to wear) and a filling breakfast before leaving the house in good time to get to work. You will reap additional physical and spiritual benefits if you are able to incorporate a period of light stretching exercises such as yoga and/or meditation/prayer in your morning routine.
Daily Habit #2. Have at least one thing to look forward to each day
Too many of us work in jobs which do not provide a lot of intellectual stimulation and/or variety in social interaction on a daily basis. You need to have one fun thing to look forward to each day: meeting a friend for coffee, checking out new books at lunch, going for a walk and bumping into neighbors (helps to have a dog or children with you), doing a volunteer or social activity in the evening.
Daily Habit #3. Be up to date in your personal affairs and public knowledge
This usually pertains to how you manage your personal finances, but could concern projects and plans that you have with your family (applying for schools or planning a trip) or your dealings with the outside world (economic or political uncertainty). Read the newspaper and/or catch the radio/tv news and be attentive to what developments could affect you, your family and your work. Think about your long-range goals for yourself and your family and identify if there is anything you need to do today to ensure your plans/projects stay on track.
Spend some time each day reviewing your agenda (could be electronic or a little black book) and opening your mail (regular mail, email, and whatever else pops up) in order to decide what you need to do immediately and what needs to be scheduled for later. This will help you prepare for Daily Habit #4.
Daily Habit #4 Make a realistic list of things you want to accomplish that day and accomplish them.
When you have adopted Habit #3, it follows that you will then be able to make a list of what you need to do each day (personal and professionally) and be better prepared to accomplish them. You may have to break up a task into many steps, or something may happen to prevent you from accomplishing a certain task, but by combining Daily Habit #3 and #4, you will be in a better position to reset priorities and get back on track.
Daily Habit #5 Give yourself time to wind down at the end of the day
Life happens. You may have been able to get everything you wanted to do done that day or it may have gotten completely turned around but new developments (good and bad) have surfaced. You will not resolve everything today. You need to be able to disconnect from whatever is going on at least one hour before going to bed. This could be watching a favorite TV show (not channel hopping- too taxing for the brain), reading a novel, sharing your day with your partner/family (but avoid getting into heavy discussions late at night), walking the dog or again a quiet period of stretching exercise and/or meditation/prayer. Like the plucky heroine Scarlett O'Hara said in Gone with the Wind, tomorrow is another day.
Daily Habit #1. Allow for a time of quiet before starting your day
This could be as ordinary as a iron-clad routine for getting ready for work which allows time for a relaxing bath/shower, stress-free dressing (clothes already chosen and ready to wear) and a filling breakfast before leaving the house in good time to get to work. You will reap additional physical and spiritual benefits if you are able to incorporate a period of light stretching exercises such as yoga and/or meditation/prayer in your morning routine.
Daily Habit #2. Have at least one thing to look forward to each day
Too many of us work in jobs which do not provide a lot of intellectual stimulation and/or variety in social interaction on a daily basis. You need to have one fun thing to look forward to each day: meeting a friend for coffee, checking out new books at lunch, going for a walk and bumping into neighbors (helps to have a dog or children with you), doing a volunteer or social activity in the evening.
Daily Habit #3. Be up to date in your personal affairs and public knowledge
This usually pertains to how you manage your personal finances, but could concern projects and plans that you have with your family (applying for schools or planning a trip) or your dealings with the outside world (economic or political uncertainty). Read the newspaper and/or catch the radio/tv news and be attentive to what developments could affect you, your family and your work. Think about your long-range goals for yourself and your family and identify if there is anything you need to do today to ensure your plans/projects stay on track.
Spend some time each day reviewing your agenda (could be electronic or a little black book) and opening your mail (regular mail, email, and whatever else pops up) in order to decide what you need to do immediately and what needs to be scheduled for later. This will help you prepare for Daily Habit #4.
Daily Habit #4 Make a realistic list of things you want to accomplish that day and accomplish them.
When you have adopted Habit #3, it follows that you will then be able to make a list of what you need to do each day (personal and professionally) and be better prepared to accomplish them. You may have to break up a task into many steps, or something may happen to prevent you from accomplishing a certain task, but by combining Daily Habit #3 and #4, you will be in a better position to reset priorities and get back on track.
Daily Habit #5 Give yourself time to wind down at the end of the day
Life happens. You may have been able to get everything you wanted to do done that day or it may have gotten completely turned around but new developments (good and bad) have surfaced. You will not resolve everything today. You need to be able to disconnect from whatever is going on at least one hour before going to bed. This could be watching a favorite TV show (not channel hopping- too taxing for the brain), reading a novel, sharing your day with your partner/family (but avoid getting into heavy discussions late at night), walking the dog or again a quiet period of stretching exercise and/or meditation/prayer. Like the plucky heroine Scarlett O'Hara said in Gone with the Wind, tomorrow is another day.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Financial Capability: an idea whose time has finally come
“Financial Capability: is a relatively new term that was chosen in 2005 by the participants of the first Canadian national symposium on “Canadians and their Money” (www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/Publications/SurveyStudy/Misc/PDFs/SEDI-FCAC_FinCapability_e.pdf)
to encompass the notion that we, as independent adults, should not only be knowledgeable about the basic areas of personal finance but we should also feel competent in making independent decisions as well as be able to take responsibility for our financial well-being.
A generation ago, “financial capability” for most Canadians meant knowing how to balance a chequebook, paying off one’s mortgage and, if one was fortunate, to collect a guaranteed pension at the age of 65. Within the last two decades, with increased job insecurity, the complexity of family life, and an explosion of financial products and services in the marketplace, many people feel overwhelmed by the overload of decisions to be made on a daily basis and rely, often to their detriment, on the often self-serving advice of members of the financial services industry.
It is true that there are numerous public, para-public and private financial institutions that profess to provide Canadians with financial information. Given our 24/7 access to the internet in particular, one would think Canadians had all the information they needed to acquire knowledge and make informed decisions.
Unfortunately, that information is often biased to sell a specific product or focus on one area of personal finance without taking into consideration the individual’s overall personal objectives and other concerns. Independent professional advice is available to those who can afford to hire an expert, but many Canadians cannot afford nor find the help appropriate to their needs. In fact, most adults should be able to understand and apply the basic concepts of financial planning to their situation, and armed with this knowledge, be in a better position to make informed choices and avoid either making costly mistakes or dealing with outright fraudsters.
The Federal government has already established the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca) which has begun conducting surveys on consumer financial knowledge in Canada and supporting web-based financial education for young people but I think the FCAC should be much more proactive, in providing direct assistance to adults of all ages in developing financial capability.
to encompass the notion that we, as independent adults, should not only be knowledgeable about the basic areas of personal finance but we should also feel competent in making independent decisions as well as be able to take responsibility for our financial well-being.
A generation ago, “financial capability” for most Canadians meant knowing how to balance a chequebook, paying off one’s mortgage and, if one was fortunate, to collect a guaranteed pension at the age of 65. Within the last two decades, with increased job insecurity, the complexity of family life, and an explosion of financial products and services in the marketplace, many people feel overwhelmed by the overload of decisions to be made on a daily basis and rely, often to their detriment, on the often self-serving advice of members of the financial services industry.
It is true that there are numerous public, para-public and private financial institutions that profess to provide Canadians with financial information. Given our 24/7 access to the internet in particular, one would think Canadians had all the information they needed to acquire knowledge and make informed decisions.
Unfortunately, that information is often biased to sell a specific product or focus on one area of personal finance without taking into consideration the individual’s overall personal objectives and other concerns. Independent professional advice is available to those who can afford to hire an expert, but many Canadians cannot afford nor find the help appropriate to their needs. In fact, most adults should be able to understand and apply the basic concepts of financial planning to their situation, and armed with this knowledge, be in a better position to make informed choices and avoid either making costly mistakes or dealing with outright fraudsters.
The Federal government has already established the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca) which has begun conducting surveys on consumer financial knowledge in Canada and supporting web-based financial education for young people but I think the FCAC should be much more proactive, in providing direct assistance to adults of all ages in developing financial capability.
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