Do You Know the Future? Another year has nearly passed us by, with all kinds of changes and shifts in global markets. That is certainly nothing new when it comes to investing. Going forward there looks to be more uncertainty to follow, much of which will hinge on the resolution to the Fiscal Cliff in Washington. Of course, it’s the surprise events that no one sees coming that take the biggest hit to investors. The Financial Crisis of 2008 and 2009 is an obvious example. This year the sudden slow-down in China hit oil and gas producers as well as other resource companies. On the other hand, American and European stocks have been soaring! Are we in a long run bull market, or are stock prices topped out and set to tumble? What is the global outlook for 2013? When will interest rates rise? The correct answer is, and the only one that should come immediately to mind is, “I don’t know” or “who knows?” Do You Have a Plan for 2013? With nothing but uncertainty to follow, I believe 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 @ Vix Money XIC – iShares S&P TSX Capped Composite Index Fund – was introduced on February 16, 2001, and seeks to replicate the largest and most liquid securities listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). It is part of a group of ETFs owned by iShares, and, as of June 11, 2009, is now currently being managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited. The iShares fund family continues to lead the market amongst all the providers, managing approximately 2/3 of all the money currently invested in the Canadian ETF market. When choosing to invest in XIC, you choose to invest in the long-term capital growth of the largest companies in Canada. What are the largest companies in Canada? When you purchase an ETF like XIC, it is good to know what kind of companies you are investing in, as well as the sectors they do business in. This is interesting to know as you want to have diversification in your portfolio, and you do not want to focus too much of your investments ...

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Written by Teacher Man™, at My University Money. Hello citizens of Dividend Nation.  My pen name is Teacher Man™ and I am co-owner of the blog My University Money.  I also write for several other personal finance blogs, and have recently decided to try my hand at this whole eBook thing.  Before I get into trying to convince an audience full of dividend believers that I believe I have a better approach, I should probably get one thing straight.  As long as you are out of debt, saving, investing for the long-term, and determining what your best exposure to equities is (taking into account your time horizon and risk tolerance), then you will be absolutely fine with either method.  I have read the Dividend Ninja’s articles since I saw him in MoneySense magazine a few months ago, and I learn something new whenever I visit his site.  I think he has some great advice on dividend investing.  I just believe 100% that the average investor is much better off investing in ETFs than they ...

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Being a guy, shopping isn’t exactly at the top of my priority list. But with a few thousand left from selling my index funds last week, shopping for dividend stocks was  just what I needed to get in the buying mood. In fact the last time I saw a grown group of men get excited over shopping, was last August when markets took a nose dive, and investors were backing up the truck on their favourite stocks on sale!  Unfortunately last week, stocks were certainly not on sale, with seven days of continuous gains. That was good news for my RRSP holdings, but not for the stocks I was eagerly awaiting to invest in. I’m not sure how the universal laws of money really work. All I do know is I had been watching these stocks for a few weeks, and then when I decided to make a move, it just happened to coincide with a nice market gain. Why do markets always rise when you want to buy stocks? Manulife Financial (MFC-T) was one stock on my watch list, and I felt at $12 it was a good value play, ...

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