If you have children finishing up high school (or a year or two still to go) and trying to figure out where they are going for post-secondary education this is a great site by the Globe and Mail. Lots of hints and tips worth reviewing.

www.globecampus.ca

The chaos occurring in the world’s financial markets over the last year has had a serious impact on pension plan funding and will negatively impact corporate earnings in 2009, according to the latest estimates by Mercer. Read the press release.

Many times I am asked about how the markets are doing. Here is a quick overview of the…

EQUITY MARKETS

In Canada, the S&P/TSX represents the broad Canadian Market.

Click here to view the S&P/TSX

In the United States, the S&P500 represent the 500 largest US companies based upon market capitalization.

Click here to view the S&P500

The international (equities outside of North America) market is best represented by

the EAFE (Europe, Austrail and Far East) index is used.

Click here to view the EAFE Index

You will notice two lines on each chart.

The blue line represents the 50-day simple moving average.This is a common short-term indicator.

The red line represents the 200-day simple moving average. This is a common long-term indicator.

In June 2006, I wrote an article on “variable annuities, the new kid on the block” which dealt with a new retirement income product that might be worth consideration. Until then, a retiree had only a few product choices on how to allocate their retirement savings to provide sustainable income as follows.

1.      Variable products such as mutual funds, stocks, bonds or cash can be used to design a portfolio with which to take regular income withdrawals in retirement. These portfolios are subjected to sequence of return risk especially if you retire in a down market and are making regular withdrawals.

2.      Guaranteed products such as GICs or annuities can also be used. In the current interest rate environment, GICs have low rates of return and generally do not keep up with inflation.  Annuities provide a guaranteed income stream for life, much like a pension. However once purchased, there is no access to the capital and typically no estate value. Continue reading »

On Dec 1, 2008 Retirement 101 was successfully launched in the Quinte and surrounding area.

retirement-101-course-overview