Warren Buffet Weighs In

Posted on October 3, 2008 at 3:24 pm 
Filed Under Financial Markets, Financial Planning, Investment Planning | Leave a comment

Warren Buffet is widely recognized as one of, if not the most, successful investors of our time.

He was recently interviewed Charlie Rose on PBS and provided some fantastic insight into where our economy is and what he recommends in terms of our own personal response. Below is just a small exerpt from that interview and above is a link to the entire document.

Happy Reading!

Charlie Rose:
There is a time to accumulate and a time to spend.

Warren Buffett:
Absolutely. You want to be greedy when others are fearful. You want to be fearful when others are greedy. It’s that simple.

Charlie Rose:
What are they now?

Warren Buffett:
They’re pretty fearful. In fact, in my adult lifetime, I don’t think I’ve ever seen people as fearful economically as they are right now.

Charlie Rose:
Are you satisfied with that rescue plan?

Warren Buffett:
Well, I don’t think it’s perfect, but I don’t know that I could draw one that’s perfect. But I’d rather be approximately right than precisely wrong, and it would be precisely wrong to turn it down. We need — we have a terrific economy — it’s like a great athlete that’s had a cardiac arrest. It’s flat on the floor, and the paramedics have arrived. And they shouldn’t argue about whether they put the resuscitation equipment a quarter of an inch this way or a quarter of an inch this way, or they shouldn’t start criticizing the patient, because he didn’t have a blood pressure test or something like that. They should do what’s needed right now. And I think they will. I think the Congress will do the right thing. I think that they’ve — you know, they got into certain arguments and they start worrying about assessing blame, and there is a little demagoguery, but in the end, something this important, they’ll do the right thing. So this really is an economic Pearl Harbor. That sounds melodramatic, but I’ve never used that phrase before. And this really is one.

The long and short, doing what feels so “wrong” may be just the answer. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of a market that is largely on sale. After all, if it works for the greatest investor of our time, maybe it will work for us!

Until next time, have a Fantastic Friday!

Chris

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Volatility and the Canadian Market (S&P/TSX)

Posted on September 10, 2008 at 1:22 pm 
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Stay Focused, Stay Invested, Stay Diversified

There is no question that you have heard a lot about the recent volatility the Canadian market has seen in the last couple of months, and specifically the month of September.

I can say that I understand your fears and reservations when it comes to our current Canadian and Global economies. I am still confident however in market trends and the fact that with every great fall comes a great rebound, historically speaking.

Your Take-Away: Considering the overall “gloom and doom” we are reading about or hearing about every day recently, I wanted to provide you with a great education piece entitled “Stay Focused, Stay Invested, Stay Diversified”. This document speaks specifically to what we saw in early January when the S&P/TSX market tumbled a total of 605 points and then recovered with a rebound of 508 points the very next day. It also speaks to the importance of staying focused and staying invested by demonstrating the result on a portfolio if you were to miss the best 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 days in a ten year window.

Rest assured that I personally understand the feeling of watching my own portfolio take a hit over the last few weeks and months. I urge you to take a look at the document attached and ensure that you don’t make any rash decisions. Simply put, stay the course and I am confident you will reap the rewards.

Until next time, have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Chris

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Last Week was Rough on the Canadian Market

Posted on September 8, 2008 at 1:58 pm 
Filed Under Financial Markets, Financial Planning, Investment Planning, Retirement Planning | Leave a comment

It is no longer news that last week was a rough one for the S&P/TSX.

In fact, the Canadian Market fell over 900 points within the four trading days that the market was open which just happens to be one of the worst single weeks in Canadian history. Although we avoided a recession in the second quarter of this year by only 0.3%, it is clear that we are definitely still hurting in terms of our market strength.

Your Take-Away: The results of last week are not easy to swallow, especially if you were like many others and saw your investments take a pretty steep fall. Despite the fact that I work within the financial world, it’s still not fun or easy to see my portfolio fall the way it has over the last few months. That said, I also believe that although we are probably not at  the bottom of this fall, we have the chance to buy stocks and funds while they are on sale and God willing, just before they rebound. I’m not telling you to invest everything you have in the market, but it may not be a bad idea to take advantage of “Dollar Cost Averaging” and start getting back into the market in smaller amounts over the next few months.

Keep this in mind. Warren Buffet once said that he “sells when others are buying, and buys when others are selling”. I know that’s a paraphrase, but the concept is crystal clear. It’s up to you what you do, but I’m definitely taking advantage of this market as opposed to running from it.

Until next time, have a Magnificent Monday!

Chris

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Should I Pay Down My Mortgage or Invest in the Market (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on August 22, 2008 at 11:58 am 
Filed Under Financial Markets, Financial Planning, Investment Planning, Mortgage Planning | Leave a comment

In my last post, I discussed my perspective of whether to pay down your mortgage sooner with your extra cash flow, or whether to invest that money in the market. In this post, I thought I would share an alternative reason as to why I choose to invest in my RSP’s with extra cash flow rather then pay off my mortgage with that same amount of money. 

The strategy I’m referring too is to invest your extra cash flow into an RRSP on a monthly basis. Each deposit will go towards your total RRSP contribution for that year and thus create an annual tax deduction. If you are like most Canadians, you will then receive a tax refund sometime in the early part of the following year that you can then put directly against the principal of your mortgage. This strategy allows you to grow your RRSP and also pay down your mortgage sooner.

Your Take-Away:  Think of it this way. If you have $10,000 to put against your mortgage, why not put that into your RSP and create a tax deduction of $10,000? If you are in the highest tax bracket of 46%, you would receive a tax refund of $4,600 which you could then put directly into your mortgage. Right off the top you have turned your $10,000 into $14,600 and have both grown your RRSP and also reduced your mortgage debt.

In the end, sticking to your regular mortgage payment plan or paying it off sooner becomes a matter of preference and a decision based on “Opportunity Costs”. Only you can make that decision, but if you can handle a bit of debt and stay with your original plan, why not take advantage of a market that is largely “on sale” today?!?

Until next time, have a Fantastic Friday.

Chris

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Should I Pay Down My Mortgage or Invest in the Market (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on August 21, 2008 at 3:29 pm 
Filed Under Financial Planning, Investment Planning, Mortgage Planning | Leave a comment

One question I deal with on a regular basis is “Should I pay down my mortgage with excess cash flow or invest that money into the market?” There are definitely different schools of thoughts on this topic, so I thought I’d share my personal perspective.

With the cost of borrowing being so low today (call it 5.45% for a 5 year fixed mortgage), I’m confident that it is quite possible to earn a larger rate of return in the market then to pay off my mortgage sooner. Lately that doesn’t seem to be the case, however I’m still confident that I will earn a better return by investing in the market over a five year window, which is a typical term for most mortgage owners. A general rule of thumb for me is to ask myself if I can earn more then it costs me to borrow. If so, then I’ll take as much debt as I can.

Your Take-Away: This is clearly not a strategy that works for everyone, especially if you invest in GIC’s or Money Market accounts, because you won’t be returning a greater percentage then what you are paying for your mortgage. The other factor to consider is that if you are tremendously opposed to debt, there is no point holding extra debt if it’s going to bother you and always be in the back of your mind.

Until next time, have a Terrific Tuesday!

Chris

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Financial Mistakes Couples Often Make - VIDEO

Posted on August 12, 2008 at 4:55 pm 
Filed Under Financial Planning, Investment Planning | Leave a comment

It makes my life much easier to find a qreat video to post, and this one is no exception.

David Bach was recently interviewed on The Today Show and discussed common financial mistakes that many couples make. Although this is an American based talk show, the information he provides can be tremendously useful for you in terms of credit card debt, spending habits, and tracking your expenses.

Enjoy!

Until next time, have a Terrific Tuesday.

Chris

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Inadequate Life Insurance Leaves Spouse With Less - VIDEO

Posted on August 11, 2008 at 10:31 am 
Filed Under Financial Planning, Insurance Planning, Personal Insurance | Leave a comment

I came across this short video on YouTube talking about how much and what type of life insurance may make sense for you and your family.

What was very interesting was how much this reporter recommended each family consider insuring themselves for. The key he says is that there is no definitive answer for everyone, but that a true needs analysis be completed and reviewed on a regular basis. After all, how can you know how much coverage you need if you haven’t gone through the process of using a Financial Needs Analysis to help you determine that number.

Take a look at the below video to learn more about how much you need, how much your family could be out if something happened to the primary income earner, and what type of life insurance products are available.

This is a great life insurance summary in only one minute and 46 seconds.

Until next time, have a Magnificent Monday!

Chris

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What’s Happening with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Posted on July 24, 2008 at 4:32 pm 
Filed Under Financial Markets, Financial Planning, Mortgage Planning | Leave a comment

The U.S. credit crisis is well under way, and two of the biggest names in asset backed securities are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

When these two institutions make the news because of their risk of insolvency, there is no question that they spark some interest and in turn, some fears. In fact, these two company’s are now being referred to as the “epicenter” of the U.S. financial crisis, and dominate the market for U.S. housing finance. Consider them a much larger company similar to that of CMHC and GE. If they did not exist, housing prices would continue to fall at a much larger rate then we’ve seen even to date.

What most are not aware of however, is the fact that Mae and Mac are no longer simply a ”too big to fail” American financial institution. Over the years, these two institutions have become central to what has turned U.S. mortgages into securities held by the world’s central banks. In fact, statistics show that these central bank’s hold up to $925 billion in these types of securities around the world.

Your Take-Away: It is impossible to predict the future of our economy considering the recent volatility we have all seen over the past 12 months. What we can say however is that although both of these institutions are definitely in a financial crisis, the fact remains that we are confident that the U.S. Goverment will be forced to inevitably step in and provide a possible solution for what has and is happening. If they don’t, they would be solely responsible for a further global economy slow down to the tune of multi billions of dollars.

Again, there is no way of predicting with absolute certainty that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will eventually get themselves out of their current financial situation. If they don’t however, we will be dealing with a possible global catastrophe that no one in the world would want to see. Better yet, the last country that would want to allow that to happen would be the U.S. based on the fact that they would be the primary reason for a further decline in global economies.

Until next time, have a Terrific Thursday!

P.S. For a far more in depth read of this story and the details involved, please visit http://blogs.cfr.org/setser/2008/07/12/too-chinese-and-russian-to-fail/

Chris & Elisseos

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Is Your Money At Risk if Your Bank Goes for Broke?

Posted on July 18, 2008 at 6:11 pm 
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It’s not news for most that some banks in the US are running into severe financial difficulties. What may be news however is that the CIBC may be on the brink of financial insolvency themselves.

Earlier this week, Dundee Capital Markets released a report explaining how CIBC could actually become insolvent. After all, many Canadians are taking their money out of their banks and putting it “under the mattress” where at least they know they won’t lose any money outside of their “inflation losses”.  John Aitken is an Analyst with Dundee Securities and he says “Financial services consolidation is closer than most investors would allow, and significantly closer than it was even three months ago”. It’s happened before with financial institutions, in fact 43 times before since 1969.

 Your Take-Away: The question most are asking then is what happens to my money if my bank happened to go under? In Canada, we are lucky to have the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) who will protect deposits up to $100,000 per depositor with each institution. In other words, if you have less then $100,000 with a bank that goes insolvent, you are guaranteed to get your money back. If you have more then that magic number, you will max out and lose any of the excess above and beyond the protection you are provided.

That said, it may be a bit early to start moving money from one institution to ten others in order to be free to claim with CDIC in the event of an insolvency, but I would suggest not going into this time in the market blindly. Talk to your Advisor, Bank Manager or even Accountant and determine if this is something you should consider. It’s a lot of work, and most likely for nothing considering that most realize that Canadian Financial Institutions are much further ahead then the US, but if nothing else, it doesn’t hurt to know your options.

Until next time, have a Wonderful Weekend!

Chris

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40 Year Mortgages and 100% Financing No More

Posted on July 11, 2008 at 5:07 pm 
Filed Under Financial Planning, Mortgage Planning | Leave a comment

Earlier this week, the Department of Finance announced that they were going to put a halt on 40 year mortgages and 100% financing.

As is usually the case with a decision of this nature, many are wondering whether this will be a good or bad thing for both the end user and the economy. According to Pascal Gauthier, a TD Bank Economist, “The five-year reduction in amortizations is expected to have a minimal impact — but the 5% minimum down payment could cut into the number of first-time homebuyers in the market.” Clearly the biggest concern is will the economy suffer with fewer people being able to purchase a home who would have otherwise been forced to take advantage of the 100% financing option?

Your Take-Away: Although this decision could slow down the economy in terms of first time home buyers, I personally can’t help but agree with the direction the Department is heading. After all, the credit crisis we are seeing in the US is due in large part to the very liberal mortgage financing American banks were offering, and we all know how much of an impact that has had. We may see a slow down in new new home buyers jupming into the market and thus even new home starts, but I’d rather deal with that smaller pain now then the potentially devestating pain we could experience if we were to ever fall into the same traps that the US is currently dealing with.

The long and short, a 40 year mortgage is not tremendously more different or dangerous then a 35 year mortgage. However, I am confident that 100% financing can bring with it the potential of catastrophic results and I’m confident that this will be the right decision in the years to come.

Until next time, have a Wonderful Weekend!

Chris & Elisseos

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