Managed Money Reporter NewsletterEditors: Carl Spiess & Allan McGlade |
Issue 256 |
By Carl Spiess, CFP, CIM, FMA, FCSI, MBA, Director, Wealth Management
The Budget document presented on March 4th, 2010 took a break from previous years, and had very few changes to how the majority of Canadians plan their financial affairs. RRSPs, TFSAs, RRIFs, RESP rules all stay the same (for a welcome change). There are a few changes to DPSPs and RDSPs, and stock options, but these do not apply to the majority of Canadians. And there are no significant changes to personal tax rates.
However, the Federal approach to balancing the budget, keeping taxes level, and curtailing spending in the future, should help keep Canada at the top of the list as a location for investment. So this is great news for investors. With our strong resource base, growing population, solid banking system and general stability through the 2008 financial crisis, we feel that Canada continues to be poised for growth - especially in light of the problems that we are seeing in the US, Greece, UK etc. Canadian investors stand to do very well in the coming years. We can also expect continued strength in our currency, especially if Canadian interest rates begin to rise. It is interesting to recall though that it was only 16 years ago that many global investors were worried that Canada would default on our debts, and our debt to GDP ratio was twice what it is today. We've come a long way indeed.
Please see below a quick summary of some of the changes from a ScotiaMcLeod financial planning view:
And from a Scotiabank macroeconomic view:
For more information on the Economy and Scotiabank's predictions on the Canadian Dollar, see:
In February, Carl and Allan held seminars at various locations. Topics covered included:
The material in this presentation, along with our Statement of Investment Philosophy, gives a good idea of how we manage a typical client account. Naturally, client situations ensure that each account is custom tailored to a client's unique financial needs and situation.
We've included a powerpoint summary of the presentation. If you have any questions about these or other topics, please contact us.
For information on tax slips, filing information and general help on investment taxation, please see the following ScotiaMcLeod pages and documents.
Did you know that as a ScotiaMcLeod customer, you can save 20% on QuickTax through ScotiaOnline? Visit your communications centre on ScotiaOnline to see a special message, entitled "File your taxes online with QuickTax and SAVE. Start Now!". Below are screen shots of what you will see once you click on the message in your inbox.
Then when you click on the blue arrow that says "Start now"...
Scotiabank small business customers, can save 20% on Intuit Small Business Software:
We are pleased to provide these services to clients who prepare their own taxes.
The Department of Finance has announced the new rates for the April 1, 2010 series of Canada Savings Bond (CSB). The CSB is cashable at any time, so your money is never locked in and currently yields 0.4%. The Canada Premium Bond (CPB) offers a higher rate of interest at the time of issue than the CSB on sale at the same time, and is cashable once a year on the anniversary of the issue date and during the 30 days following. Current 3 year yield for the CPB is 1.4%.
CSBs are guaranteed. CSBs are flexible. CSBs have no fees. To view more details and rates for the Canada Premium Bond and the Canada Savings Bond please visit:
CSBs are on sale from March 2, 2010 until April 1, 2010 inclusive. Simply contact us to compare rates (often Guaranteed Investment Certificates have better rates) and we can help add CSBs or GICs to your portfolio.
Recently, ScotiaMcLeod Wealth Advisors were ranked number one in the industry on the Financial Advisor Loyalty Index among affluent and high net worth Canadian households. For any of our clients who were asked and responded to that broad industry survey, we thank you.
To further fine tune our service and get detailed feedback from you, The Spiess McGlade Team will be sending an online survey to some randomly selected clients through the research firm brandmetricssurvey.com in the coming weeks. If you receive that email and survey link, we thank you in advance for responding and for your feedback.
Do you know how much Canada Pension Plan you are entitled to? What your Old Age Security benefits will be? If not, please visit Service Canada, where you can register and find this information online. The website also has a link to an online retirement planner. If you would prefer to have us update a financial and retirement plan for you, please contact us directly.
T. 416.863.RRSP (7777)
1.800.387.9273
F. 416.863.7479
E. carl_spiess@scotiamcleod.com
allan_mcglade@scotiamcleod.com
ScotiaMcLeod is a division of Scotia Capital Inc., member of CIPF.
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