Your Financial Review January 2021 While few will miss 2020, all will long remember this past year that began amidst bombings between the U.S. and Iran, featured the worst pandemic in over 100 years, that sparked a recession as brief as brutal. During the year, we have witnessed the spectacular effectiveness of coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities in times of crisis as well as a succession of historic highs and lows, sometimes quite unusual...
All Eyes on Washington After a sharp rise in August, the U.S. stock market showed increased volatility in September. Early in October, the likelihood of a fiscal stimulus package announced before the presidential election was quite low. In fact, Trump even announced this week he had scrapped talks with congressional Democrats over another financial aid package to help support the economic recovery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Two days only after this shocking...
Great Recessions, Great Rebounds, Now What? Judging by the most recent data, it certainly seems that the trough in economic activity is behind us, which technically means that we are indeed early in a new cycle. For instance, U.S. retail sales have already recovered 62% of their decline. Meanwhile, a consensus expectation of 8 million job losses for May turned out to be quite inaccurate, with the country actually adding 2.5 million new jobs over...
Stock Markets Global equity markets have rebounded impressively so far in the second quarter. The rally continues to be fueled by the price/earnings expansion rather than profit growth. The speed and magnitude of the rebound in the American index S&P 500 multiple, just one month into a recession, is unprecedented. The Canadian equities have also been buoyed by global injections of liquidity. So why are investors so keen to buy equities at such valuations when...
Québec Canada (excluding Québec) .
Market Review 2020 January Edition This market review provides highlights from last year and presents our 2020 outlook and the issues that may affect them. During the month of January, we will send another communication to our clients regarding our portfolio strategy. Some highlights for the year ending December 31, 2019 Canadian Fixed Income The Canadian Bond Universe (FTSE/TMX Index) had an excellent year with a return of 6.9%, a record since 2014! After four...
Debt and Retirement - How to Handle both when Nearing Retirement An increasing number of Canadians are facing an uphill battle just trying to save enough and earn enough on their savings to be able to retire on time. Carrying much higher debt burdens than previous generations, many pre-retirees have had to put their savings on the back burner to focus on debt reduction, which, for practical purposes is smart, but it is also the...
Elections and the Stock Market: Much to Do About Nothing The performance of the stock market during the two months leading up to the election has historically been somewhat of a predictor of who will win the race in the US; moreover, we can also try to predict the direction of the market based on who wins the American election. While all of this makes for interesting and fun banter around the water cooler, thoughtful...
The Daily Choices of Financial Freedom If given the choice, most people would choose financial freedom over financial servitude. Who doesn’t want to be financially independent, having your money work for you, as opposed to you working for your money? The problem for many is that, that kind of choice is an abstract exercise of futility as they struggle to navigate the waters of daily living paycheque-to-paycheque, or in a clash of priorities where spending...
Financial Advisors vs. Robo Advisors: Which Is Worth It? What’s the difference between a robo advisor and an actual financial advisor? It may seem like there’s an obvious answer - I mean one’s a software - but truly, what’s the difference in services between a robo advisor and a financial advisor? You work hard for your money and want to see your investments not only grow, but also thrive, so it’s important to evaluate which...
Protect Yourself from your Creditors If you work for the government, your creditors cannot gain access to your pension fund. Then, shouldn’t business owners have the same protections when it comes to their retirement savings? Protect your Retirement Savings from your Creditors I can help you create a real trust by the definitions stipulated in both the Income Tax Act and the Civil Code of Quebec, for each of your registered accounts. In opening such...
It is no secret that the typical Canadian is working long hours with little respite compared to other countries with large economies. Full-time employees report an average work week of 47 hours, and four out of 10 North American workers say they work over 50 hours a week.