Posts by Robb Engen
Converting Your RRSP To A RRIF At Questrade
Many investors like to take the reins and self-manage their own investment portfolio using a discount brokerage platform. DIY investing can be relatively straightforward during your contribution years, but investing can get more complicated when it comes time to withdraw from your portfolio. This article will explain the steps involved in converting your RRSP to…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Die With Zero Edition
One of the biggest worries for retirees is the fear of outliving their savings. This fear leads many to spend less than they are able to, both during their working years and throughout retirement. It can also lead to “one-more-year” syndrome, where individuals kick the retirement can down the road a little bit longer while…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Canadian Financial Summit 2021 Edition
The Canadian Financial Summit is back once again this fall with a terrific line-up of 35+ personal finance experts, including yours truly, to tackle the burning financial questions facing us today. You’ll hear from PWL Capital’s Ben Felix, Millionaire Teacher Andrew Hallam, The Globe and Mail’s Rob Carrick, consumer advocate Ellen Roseman, along with long-time…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Talking Cents Edition
Money is still a taboo topic in many cultures. Well, that’s not exactly true. We love to complain about money – about the price of gas, the cost of groceries, the rise and fall of lumber prices, our empty bank account, our credit card debt. But we rarely talk about the value of money and…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Tapping Into Home Equity Edition
Many retirees want to know how much they can spend in retirement without running out of money. The caveat is that most also want to remain in their home as long as possible. With the pandemic shining a light on poor conditions and service at long-term care facilities, it’s likely we’ll see even more seniors…
Read MoreNot Another Retirement Planning Book! My Conversation With The Authors Of The Boomers Retire
If you’re like many Canadians thinking about and planning for an eventual retirement, you already know there are a lot of books to choose from at your local bookshop or library shelf. But you probably also know that with more and more Canadians hitting the “traditional” retirement age of 65 every year – never mind…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: The Cost Of A Financial Plan Edition
The Globe & Mail’s Rob Carrick posed a question to his LinkedIn followers a few months ago asking about the cost of a financial plan. He quoted a reader who said: “We recently received a quote of $4,000 for retirement and investment planning. This is a one time fee for service engagement. Seems high –…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Home Ownership Sucks Edition
For many Canadians, owning a home is a sign of personal and financial success – a rite of passage signalling that you’ve made it on your own (maybe with some help from mom & dad). Just over two-thirds of Canadian households own their home, which puts us ahead of countries like the United States, Australia,…
Read MoreCloset Indexing: Revealing The Dirty Little Secret Of Canada’s Mutual Fund Industry
For years I’ve railed against Canada’s mutual fund industry for high fees, conflicts of interest, underperformance, poor disclosure, and lack of accountability. But today I’m going to zero-in on another major problem with mutual funds in Canada – closet indexing. Canadian equity mutual funds sold by Canada’s big banks, in particular, are some of the…
Read MoreThe Vanguard Effect on Mutual Funds, Fees and Performance
Vanguard is best known in Canada for its low cost, passively managed ETFs. Indeed, since entering the Canadian market in 2011, Vanguard now boasts a line-up of 37 ETFs with more than $40 billion in assets under management – making it the third largest ETF provider in Canada. Keeping costs low is in Vanguard’s DNA.…
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