Advisor education

Leave stress at work this weekend

Feeling stressed due to work? You’re not alone. In today’s fast-paced environment where you’re plugged into the office 24/7, it’s easy to carry work stress home. But not taking a break can negatively impact your mental and physical health, and ironically, your work performance.

By Staff |July 20, 2012

1 min read

Your Business

CE Course: Lifelong retirement income: the zone strategy

One of the difficult decisions that must be made at the start of retirement is how to create lifelong income for your client

January 23, 2012

15 min read

Planning and Advice

The Place of ETFs in Portfolio Allocation and Diversification

Asset allocation is the strategy investors follow to divide their money between different assets like stocks, bonds and cash. The underlying principle is that prices of different assets move in different(uncorrelated) ways, leading to the idea that diversification protects against risk, which is defined as volatility. But asset allocation says little about the investor’s objectives.

December 5, 2011

13 min read

Your Business

CE Course: Tax-efficient Investing: principles, pitfalls and applications

Calculate the corporate income out of which the dividend was paid. This is achieved by grossing up the actual amount of the dividend received by the shareholder. The gross-up percentage depends on the rate of tax paid by the company. Shareholders are taxed on the grossed-up amount. This is their notional share of the company’s […]

By André Fok Kam |December 1, 2011

24 min read

Pension investing with ETFs

DC and RSP benefits are completely a function of contributions and the actual investment result for each employee. Employees are responsible for the outcome, not employers, and the pension amount is unknown until retirement. High costs, poor investment decision-making and lack of scale are documented problems with DC plans, which have generally experienced returns 1% lower than DB plans over time, according to a recent Towers Watson study.

December 1, 2011

10 min read

Eight rules for changing dealers

You’ve had it with Your dealer. It’s time to move to one with better service, faster trade clearing, and improved market access. But how will it impact your clients? Here are eight things to consider:

2 min read

Five years in, how are Seneca grads faring?

In 2006, Ontario's Seneca College launched its Financial Services Practitioner Program. From a small beginning—the study body was in single digits in the first year—the program has grown to produce a growing number of financial advisors.

By S.E. Gordon |September 28, 2011

4 min read

Make way for the Millennials

Today's young advisors aren’t just incredibly tech-savvy, they’re also are a generation of academic super-achievers, aggressively pursuing education and credentials to overcome the age biases of their clients and their firms.

7 min read

Cross-border planning: updated

Given the number of Canadians who vacation in the U.S. each year, as well as those who move between borders for employment or other reasons, it’s important for financial advisors to be aware of the regulatory and income tax issues faced by clients who regularly spend time south of the border.

By Terry Ritchie |September 1, 2011

20 min read