The following post is written by Brian So, a financial advisor and blogger at www.aafsinsurance.com. Since my last post generated a lot of interesting discussion on which account to hold US stocks and ETFs, I’ll follow it up with a post on the impact of withholding taxes of holding international (non US) dividend stocks in different accounts. Canada does not just have tax treaties with the US with respect to dividends paid to Canadians from US stocks. We also have tax treaties with 89 other countries in force and treaties signed but not in force with about a dozen other countries. What this means is that dividends received from shares of companies in these countries will also be subject to withholding tax, depending on which account you hold these shares in. You would be able to claim the foreign tax credit (FTC) to recover the amount withheld, but only in non-registered accounts. By far the most common amount withheld is 15% of the gross dividend paid out, although there are a few exceptions, ...

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The following post is written by Brian So, a financial advisor and blogger at www.aafsinsurance.com. courtesy www.financialpost.ca Hi everyone, this is my first of hopefully many posts on the Dividend Ninja. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Brian So and I have been working with my dad in the financial industry for about 2 years, and helping people with their financial goals. I’ve found my work to be very rewarding and I want to share some of my knowledge with more people. What better way to do this than to guest post on the Dividend Ninja with such a loyal and dedicated following. Now that the intro is out of the way, let me get into the topic on hand: the implications of having US dividend stocks in your RRSP and TFSA. First off, because there are plenty of posts on the internet about what RRSPs and TFSAs are and how to use them, I am going in another direction with my posts to try to delve a bit deeper into the lesser known facts of these savings vehicles. Generally, the ...

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November is Financial Literacy Month! That’s right a whole month dedicated to educating and helping Canadians to become more financially independent, and more aware of their finances.  I was asked last month if I would like to participate in this national media campaign, spearheaded by Glenn Cooke, and present my best financial tip to readers. Of course I said yes! As a financial blogger, helping to educate Canadians about their finances is one of the reasons why I write. Many Canadians are not prepared for their golden years. Many are spending beyond their means, and many are carrying huge amounts of mortgage and personal debt into retirement. On top of that, many Canadians are intimidated by investing, have not even considered an investment strategy, nor even understand the options available to them other than actively managed mutual funds. In this article I hope to convince you that you should start investing now, how easy it is, and how you can use the TD e-Series funds (instead ...

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Written by Vicky at Vix Money. I personally hold both XBB and XSB (I told you my portfolio is messy!), and I am curious to see how they stack up against each other. XSB, iShares DEX Short Term Bond Index Fund, seeks to replicate the performance of the DEX Short Term Bond Index. It was introduced on November 20, 2000, and holds bonds that are issued domestically in Canada by all levels of government (federal, provincial and municipal) as well as corporate bonds. The main difference between XSB and XBB is that the focus of XSB is on acquiring bonds with a maturity less than 5 years. What is in this ETF? When you purchase a bond ETF like XSB, it is good to know who the issuers of the bonds are. The top 10 holdings in this ETF make up about 22% of the total holdings, and it is represented mainly by the Canadian federal government. Overall, both the federal and provincial government in Canada represent approximately 64% of total holdings (as of June 11, 2012). Altogether, XSB currently owns ...

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Written by Vicky @ Vix Money Even though I have chosen to hold XIC in my portfolio to represent the Canadian equities portion, I have debated whether or not XIU could be used instead. So which one is better? XIU, iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index Fund, was introduced on September 28, 1999, and seeks to replicate the 60 largest and most liquid securities listed on the S&P/TSX 60 Index. Which companies are represented in XIU? In Canada, the main sectors that are represented are the financial industry, the energy sector, and the materials sector. This is reflective in XIU as almost 78% (as of April 23, 2012) of the fund’s holdings are in these sectors, compared to XIC’s 77% (as of April 23, 2012). If you are checking out the analysis I previously completed for XIC, please note the difference in the dates. Overall, the numbers are NOT THAT different, but please be aware of it.

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