Posts by Robb Engen
Getting Your Fixed Income Fix With BMO ETFs
This article has been sponsored by BMO Canada. All opinions are my own. Fixed income doesn’t get enough attention on this blog, mostly because I’m still in my accumulation years and invest in 100% equities across all my accounts. But most investors should hold bonds in their portfolio to reduce volatility and so they can…
Read MoreWhat’s In Your Wallet?
I’m a self-proclaimed rewards card junkie and always try to optimize my purchases to get the most points or cash back on regular spending. I watch for juicy credit card welcome bonuses and time my new credit applications around big annual purchases like our home or auto insurance so I can easily meet any minimum…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Bidding War Insanity Edition
House prices across the country continue to soar. The average price for a home in Canada reached $695,697 in April, up an incredible 41.9% year-over-year. Ontario is driving the majority of those gains, as the province’s average price rose 46% during the same period. Would-be homebuyers are getting into bidding wars and paying several hundred…
Read MoreAccepting Market Returns
A few readers have expressed concern about their recent investment performance. In most cases, these investors are holding a sensible, low cost, globally diversified portfolio of index funds ranging from conservative (40% stocks, 60% bonds) to balanced (60% stocks, 40% bonds). One reader said: “Psychologically, it’s tough to put money in when returns have been…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Projected Inflation and Investment Returns Edition
FP Canada issues guidelines every year to help financial planners make long-term financial projections for their clients that are objective and unbiased. The guidelines include assumptions to use for projected inflation and investment returns, wage growth, and borrowing rates. It also includes “probability of survival” tables that show the life expectancy at various ages. The…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Canadian Funds Underperform (Again) Edition
Active investors supposedly thrive during periods of market volatility. If that’s the case, then 2020 should have been a banner year for active funds. The year started off strong, with markets hitting all-time highs in February. Then we saw the largest and fastest market decline in history with a 34% sell-off in March. Markets then…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Money Bag Edition
Welcome to another edition of Weekend Reading. I continue to receive a ton of emails from readers and clients about investing, retirement, real estate, and more. I’ll answer some of those questions here in this special Money Bag column. We’ll look at investing in a rental property, rebalancing RESPs for older children, the limitations of…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Burning Questions Facing Retirees Edition
Retirees face a myriad of questions as they head into the next chapter of their lives. At the top of the list is whether they have enough resources to last a lifetime. A related question is how much they can reasonably spend throughout retirement. But retirement is more than just having a large enough pile…
Read MoreNo Stupid Investing Questions
I write a lot about investing and always try my best to use plain language and real life examples to explain investment strategies, describe different products, and identify best practices. But I fully recognize that investing is a foreign concept to many people, especially if you’re new to investing or have always handed over your…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Revenge Travel Edition
It has been 13 months since we’ve travelled anywhere outside of our provincial borders. Trips to Italy and the U.K. were cancelled and we’ve spent the past year cooped-up at home (for the most part) fantasizing about future travel plans. With vaccines now rolling out across the world there’s growing optimism that we’ll return to…
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