Financial Plan
A financial plan is a roadmap for your finances. Creating a comprehensive financial plan typically involves assessing your current financial …
Investing
Financial Advisor
Selecting a reliable financial advisor can help you mitigate costly mistakes and stay focused on your financial goals. Collaborating with …
Wealth Management in Canada (2025)
Wealth management combines other financial services to address the needs of affluent clients. Using a consultative process, the advisor learns …
Tax Planning in Canada (2025)
Strategies for deferring or splitting income, deferring or maximizing retirement contributions, capital gains or losses, property ownership, charitable giving are …
Estate Planning in Canada (2025)
If you don’t plan carefully, your estate can be taxed away. There can be many tax liabilities triggered by your passing, …
Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC)
A Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) provides investment options that give you fixed rates of interest for set periods of time. …
Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP)
Since in 2008, the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) has been available to Canadians who qualify for the disability tax credit and …
Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)
The Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is a special investment account for your children’s post-secondary education using after-tax dollars. It …
Life Income Fund (LIF)
A life income fund (LIF) is a type of Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) offered in Canada that can be used to hold …
Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA)
The Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA) and Locked-In Retirement Savings Plan (LRSP) enable you, as an employee to maintain the tax-deferred status of pension plan …
Retirement Planning in Canada (2025)
A strategy to give you the lifestyle you desire today and beyond! It’s never too early to start saving for …
Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)
An Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is a single investment that holds a diversified mix of stocks, bonds, or other assets, and …
Understanding the Causes of Inflation
As the cost of living in Canada continues to rise, consumer purchasing power decreases. The average cost of groceries in …
The Importance of Asset Allocation in Building a Strong Portfolio
A well-performing portfolio relies on a strategic mix of assets that work together effectively. Asset allocation refers to how investments …
Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA)
Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) are designed to help Canadians save more. A TFSA can help you save and invest for …
Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA)
Investing can sometimes be beneficial, especially for those with a long-term perspective. Volatile markets are often seen as opportunities to …
Passive Investing
Passive investing is better suited to financial markets with certain characteristics and active investing to others. Passive investing attempts to mimic …
Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS)
The market for U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) has grown steadily since their introduction in 1997. TIPS are marketable Treasury …
Confirmation Bias
Have you ever felt unsure about a purchase or personal matter and sought validation from someone you know who shares …
Loss Aversion
The pain we associate with a loss is much more intense than the reward felt from a gain. Although some …
Herding
In investing (and in life), we like to believe we act rationally. But we don’t always make decisions for the …
Currency Hedging
Investing in international assets can open up a world of investment opportunities not available domestically and can provide diversification benefits. …
Incapacity Planning
Physical and mental decline due to aging are a part of life. Like an up-to-date Will, a power of attorney …
Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP)
While a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is intended to help Canadian residents invest in their future, borrowing funds from …
Joint Accounts
Joint ownership (also referred to as “joint tenancy”) can be an effective means to transfer wealth between spouses or common-law …
Income Splitting Strategies
Income splitting is the loaning or transferring of money to a lower-income person (for example, a spouse, common-law partner or …
Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)
The Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is a registered Canadian investment plan that you can contribute to for retirement purposes …
Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)
Under the federal government’s Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP), a first-time homebuyer can withdraw funds from their Registered Retirement Saving Plan …
Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF)
The Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) is a tax deferral vehicle available to Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) holders. A RRIF account needs to …
Non-Registered Account
A non-registered account refers to an investment account devoid of special tax privileges. Any investment profits, including interest, dividends, fund …
Understanding Volatility in the Stock Market
Although we can’t control the markets, we can control our response to them. Market volatility can feel unsettling, especially when …
ZLB: BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF
Track all markets on TradingView ZLB ETF Review BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF (ZLB) seeks to provide exposure to …
Financial Planning in Canada
Financial planning covers a broad range of topics, and in the best cases brings them together in an orderly, integrated …
Mutual Funds
What is a Mutual Fund? A mutual fund is an arrangement under which shares or units are sold to raise capital. Investors …
The Best Investing Books (2024)
The Best Stock Market Books for Beginners Trying to decide which investment books to read? Here is a collection of …
Stock
What is a Stock? A stock represents a share in the ownership of a company, including a claim on the …
Golden Butterfly Portfolio
What is the Golden Butterfly Portfolio? The Golden Butterfly Portfolio is a model portfolio that prioritizes consistently desirable investment growth …
The Ray Dalio All Weather ETF Portfolio
What is the Ray Dalio All Weather Portfolio? The All Weather Portfolio, created by Ray Dalio, is a well-diversified, low-risk …
The Warren Buffett ETF Portfolio (2024)
What is the Warren Buffet Portfolio? There are several key principles at the core of Warren Buffett’s investing philosophy. Foremost …
What is a Beneficiary?
A beneficiary is the individual or individuals who have been designated to receive the death benefit. Beneficiaries may be either …
What is a Bond?
A bond is a certificate evidencing a debt on which the issuer promises to pay the holder a specified amount …
What is an Asset Mix?
An asset mix is the percentage distribution of assets in a portfolio among the three major asset classes: cash and …
How to Invest in Stocks
Learn how to invest in stocks, including selecting a brokerage account and researching stock market investments. When you invest in …
Stock Market
The stock market isn’t a physical location to visit but rather a dynamic platform for trading shares that represent ownership …
Canada Life Insurance
Today, Canada Life provides insurance, wealth management, and healthcare benefit products and services in Canada, the United Kingdom, Isle of Man …
Audit
A professional review and examination of a company’s financial statements are required under corporate law for the purpose of ensuring …
How to Live Off Dividends
Dividend investing offers a simple solution to the problem of separating your income from your time, a key requirement for …
Home Country Bias
Home country bias refers to investors’ tendency to favour companies from their own country over those from other countries or regions. …
Beta
A measure of sensitivity (i.e., volatility) of a stock or a mutual fund to movements in the overall stock market. …
Bank Rate
The bank rate is an important tool for central banks to manage the economy and is closely watched by economists, …
Foreign Withholding Tax in Canada
Depending on how investors hold foreign securities, they may encounter foreign withholding taxes. For Canadians, when US assets distribute dividends, …
Sequence of Returns Risk
The sequence of returns can significantly impact cash flow, as financial markets fluctuate over time. While short-term returns are less …
Succession Planning
What is Succession Planning? Succession planning is the process of identifying the critical positions within your organization and developing action plans …
Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)
The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is a monthly payment accessible to individuals aged 65 and above. GIS eligibility is determined …
Old Age Security (OAS)
The Old Age Security (OAS) is a federal pension program in Canada that provides a basic monthly income to eligible …
Management Expense Ratio (MER)
Management Expense Ratio (MER) is the total expenses of operating a mutual fund expressed as a percentage of the fund’s …
CPP Payment Dates in 2024
On January 29, 2024, the first Canada Pension Plan (CPP) payment for this year will be made. The CPP is a …
Adjusted Cost Base (ACB)
The deemed cost of an asset representing the sum of the amount originally paid plus any additional costs, such as brokerage fees and commissions…
What is the Average Retirement Age in Canada?
The typical age to start retirement is 65, aligning with the initiation of pension plans. Nevertheless, you have the option to begin receiving it…
Minimum Wage in Canada by Province for 2024
In Canada, the determination of minimum wage within each province or territory is the responsibility of the respective jurisdiction. Simply …
Canada Child Benefit (CCB)
The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). It is a tax-free monthly payment made to eligible families to…
Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is a mandatory contributory pension plan designed to provide monthly retirement, disability and survivor benefits for …
The Best Growth Mutual Funds in Canada
Growth mutual funds are for investors looking for a higher potential return on their investment. These higher-risk funds primarily invest …
Segregated Funds
A segregated fund is an investment fund available through a life insurance company. Companies keep these funds separate from the company’s …
What is a Portfolio?
Holding of securities by an individual or institution. a portfolio may contain debt securities, preferred and common stocks various types …