Time is your greatest investing partner, but its value can be overlooked. Passive and quiet, this partner won’t bang on your door and say it’s time to get started, that
The Bank of Canada’s monetary policy should be boring. Like a hockey or soccer referee, people shouldn’t notice it. If they do, it usually means a contentious decision has been
Now is a great time to look at your income investments. Recent interest rate hikes in North America have significantly reduced the prices, making 2023 an interesting entry point. But this is not about market timing or making a quick profit, it’s about taking advantage of structural changes in interest rate policy designed to deal with inflation and to unwind emergency lending rates post pandemic. There are many investments that could fall under the income category, so for simplicity we will define them as investments made with the primary purpose of generating cash flow. Looking at the prevailing conditions in 2023 there are three categories everyone should re-evaluate – bonds, REITs and infrastructure.
Investors today are dealing with strong macro winds. It is not about the war in Ukraine, earthquakes or the divides in politics - those are all areas of concern to be addressed in other forums - it is about the persistent rise in interest rates. A wise and tenured investment manager was asked what his prediction was on rates and his response was that no one can really predict two things, inflation and interest rate direction. Recall the smart minds at the central banks calling “inflation transitory” not too long ago?
Investors today are dealing with strong macro winds. It is not about the war in Ukraine, earthquakes or the divides in politics - those are all areas of concern to be addressed in other forums - it is about the persistent rise in interest rates. A wise and tenured investment manager was asked what his prediction was on rates and his response was that no one can really predict two things, inflation and interest rate direction. Recall the smart minds at the central banks calling “inflation transitory” not too long ago?
Florida is often described, uncharitably, as God’s waiting room – a warm no man’s land where seniors go to wile away their remaining years. The view is that these folk, happily retired, do very little other than sit in a rocking chair and swing the occasional golf club. But conventional retirement, including this snowbird stereotype, is increasingly out of step with modern living.
Even Albert Einstein, a man with a brain capable of solving the most complex physics equations, stumbled when it came to taxes. “The hardest thing in the world to understand,” he said, “is the income tax.” These days, tax advice is everywhere. TV ‘experts’, newspaper columnists and social media influencers will dispense tips on how to keep more of your money, but these brush strokes, at best, aren’t suitable for everyone and, at worst, perpetrate damaging misconceptions about certain benefits and how to use them.
Investing money at its most basic is just delayed consumption. Putting $250 away versus buying another pair of shoes simply means you can buy those shoes at some point in the future. It makes sense then that the baseline goal of investing is to protect the purchasing power of your money. The good news is that by paying basic attention to asset allocation, tax rules, costs and generally not overmanaging, the goal of staying ahead of inflation is achievable!
Do you remember the Fire Phone, or the Coolest Cooler? What about the Microsoft Kin or Juicero? No, well you’re probably not alone.
Most investment portfolios have three basic components. Cash that has option value for future buys, equity for growth that hopefully exceeds inflation, and income that generates cash flow. Normally, our income investments are stable - we get some capital appreciation with predictable cash distributions. That was the case, until 2022!
