Posts by Robb Engen
Investment Returns For 2025
After years of watching U.S. markets and mega-cap tech stocks soak up the spotlight, Canadian stocks finally had their moment in 2025 and made it count. The Canadian market went elbows up and steamrolled its global peers, with XIC posting a massive 31.6% return. That’s not just a good year. That’s a statement year. Right…
Read MoreNet Worth Update: 2025 Year-End Review
A little over six years ago I handed in my resignation at my public sector day job to focus full-time on advice-only financial planning, this blog, and some paid freelance writing work. Suffice to say, that was one of the best decisions of my life. No more Monday morning budget meetings, performance reports, or KPIs.…
Read MoreFinancial Goal Setting For 2026
With 2025 quickly coming to a close, it’s time to reflect on our goals from this past year and set our new financial goals for 2026. Looking back, it’s going to be tough to top this year from a financial perspective. Earlier this year I had the absolute honour and privilege to speak with my…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: A RRIF Case Study Edition
Beth came to me with questions about her mother Susan’s finances. Susan is 80 and widowed. She lives in a retirement home and spends about $60,000 per year after tax. Her health is declining and she’s not expected to live beyond age 85. After her husband passed away, she now has $1.2 million in a…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: RRIF Reform, Fairness for Singles, and My First Globe Op-Ed
I had an unexpected opportunity this week. I wrote my first op-ed for The Globe and Mail, and the topic was something that has become a recurring feature of Canadian retirement debates: proposals to reduce or eliminate the minimum RRIF withdrawal percentages. The idea is often framed as a compassionate fix to protect seniors from…
Read MoreMoney Ideas I Hope More Canadians Embrace
I have no aspirations to write a book, become a YouTube star, or start trending on TikTok. I don’t want an online course empire or a podcast studio or a public speaking circuit. None of that has ever appealed to me. What has kept me going, year after year, is the quiet work: writing articles…
Read MoreWhy So Many Canadians Take CPP Early Even When They Shouldn’t
Every financial planner has been there. You’re sitting across from a perfectly healthy 64-year-old who has more than enough saved, no debt, a paid-off home, a reasonable spending plan, and a strong likelihood of living well into their 80s or 90s. They have zero financial need to turn on CPP today. And yet, as predictably…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Your Retirement Withdrawals Edition
One of the biggest shifts in retirement is learning how to spend your own money without second guessing every decision. After years of building your portfolio, it can feel strange to start drawing it down. That is usually when people start watching the markets too closely and stressing about every dip. The whole point of…
Read MoreThe Annuity Puzzle: Why Canadians Avoid One of Retirement’s Most Misunderstood Tools
Annuities have a strange reputation in Canada. Ask economists, actuaries, or retirement researchers and they’ll tell you that converting a portion of your savings into guaranteed lifetime income is one of the smartest and most efficient ways to reduce retirement risk. Finance professor Moshe Milevsky has been writing about this for two decades. And Fred…
Read MoreThe Myth of the “Too-Large RRSP”
Every few months, social media decides the RRSP is a terrible idea. The latest version? “Don’t grow your RRSP too much or you’ll get crushed by taxes in retirement.” The reality is less dramatic. A large RRSP isn’t a tax trap – it’s a planning opportunity, if you know when and how to draw it…
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