Why You Don’t Want a Tax Refund
Canadians often see a tax refund (the balance owed or owing after the process of submitting your tax return) as a small victory at the end of the year—a “bonus” cheque from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that feels like a reward for another successful filing of taxable income. In reality, a large refund is […]
A Guide to Charitable Giving in Canada
“No one has ever become poor by giving.” – Anne Frank Canada’s charitable landscape is shifting. Fewer philanthropic Canadians claim charitable donations on their tax returns each year, yet total giving and the average donation have reached record highs—signalling a quiet concentration of generosity among a smaller group of committed households. For families with the […]
Understand What You’ll Need to Retire Comfortably
How Far Will $500,000 Last in Retirement? A step-by-step guide to create your retirement plan was created by Family Wealth Advisor Christopher Jardine, CFP®, to help pre-retirees in Canada answer the age-old question, “How much will I need for retirement?” At first glance, $500,000 seems like a reasonable nest egg—half a million dollars is a […]
Portfolio Diversification: The Case for Private Credit
“Banks were once places to hold money and were very careful in lending to finance families as they built a future.” — Elizabeth Warren Well-versed in banking practices and economics, Warren called for tougher banking regulation before the Great Recession of 2008–2009. In her famous toaster analogy, she noted that the government wouldn’t allow a […]
How a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) Helps
“The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.” — Herbert Spencer A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) allows individuals to contribute to a trusteed plan to finance the cost of post-secondary studies for a child, grandchild, or even themselves. In this blog, we will explore why Canadians should consider registering for an RESP, […]
Is a Balanced Mutual Fund Really Balanced?
New Year Resolutions: Personal Finance Tips 2025
DIY Investing vs. Hiring a Financial Advisor: Which Fits Better?
“The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work.” — Steven Pressfield
Third Chapter: Capital Conversations
Today’s article is a guest submission from Janine Guenther CFA, CMT, a Portfolio Manager and Senior Wealth Family Advisor with over 30 years of industry experience. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Bellwether Investment Management.
Your Roadmap for Major Life Stages
For most young professionals fresh out of post-secondary education, living independently can be liberating, but it also raises several questions. How do you juggle your first career with your social life? What is the proper way to budget? Where should you be putting your savings? When is a reasonable time to purchase your first home […]
Private Infrastructure: A Case for Global Diversification
“You and I come by road or rail, but economists travel on infrastructure.” — Margaret Thatcher
reBalanced Portfolio
“Diversifying sufficiently among uncorrelated risks can reduce portfolio risk toward zero. But financial engineers should know that’s not true of a portfolio of correlated risks.” — Harry Markowitz, Father of Modern Portfolio Theory
Third Chapter: Structuring a Resilient Portfolio
Today’s article is a guest submission from Janine Guenther CFA, CMT, a Portfolio Manager and Senior Wealth Advisor with over 30 years of industry experience. The views here do not necessarily represent those of Bellwether Investment Management.
Spring Cleaning Your Portfolio & Finances
“I look forward to spring cleaning and putting things in their place. It’s therapeutic to me.” — Kimora Lee Simmons
Interest Rates Outlook: Housing Holdups?
“Housing affordability is a significant problem in Canada—but not one that can be fixed by raising or lowering interest rates.” — Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada
Family Day: How Do You Define Legacy?
“It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.” —Robert Kiyosaki
Canadian Investment Perspectives: The Risks of Home Bias
Supporting Advisors with Bellwether
When Building a Business, Advisors are Clients Too
“Just one great partnership with the right person can have an incredible impact on your business success.” – Janine Ogg and Jo Foster Building a business means working with the right people, and for us, that means treating advisors like clients: we put them first by supporting their growth so they can provide the best […]
From Good to Great: Alternative Investment Opportunities in Renewable Energy
“Energy is essential for development, and sustainable energy is essential for sustainable development.” — Tim Wirth For a former member of the Senate born in 1939, Wirth was considered a trailblazer in the world of low-carbon energy alternatives, natural gas, and environmental issues. Once an unimportant subject often minimized by more pressing contemporary issues of […]
Pass the Torch Without Getting Burned: Adult Children, Risks, and Advisors
“Letting go is hard. But harder still is not letting them reach their full potential.” — Anonymous When it comes to threats facing client-advisor relationships and your long-term financial plan, it’s unlikely that “adult children” come to mind. But in reality, failing to warm your adult children to your advisor can cause significant issues down […]
Dividend Growth Potential
“History provides a crucial insight regarding market crises: they are inevitable, painful and ultimately surmountable.” — Shelby M.C. Davis
REITs and High Net Worth Investing: What You Need to Know
“Give a man secure possession of a bleak rock, and he will turn it into a garden; give him nine years’ lease of a garden, and he will convert it into a desert.”
4 Habits of Organized Investors
“Wealth isn’t primarily determined by investment performance, but by investor behavior”
Credit Where Credit Is Due: How Your Credit Score Impacts Your Finances
“A man who pays his bills on time is soon forgotten”
Debt Reduction Strategies: How to Pay Off Debts Faster
“Many delight more in giving of presents than in paying their debts”
Scott Watson, Senior Vice President and Head of US Corporate Development
Lorne Park Capital Partners Inc. (“Lorne Park”) is pleased to announce Scott Watson as the Senior Vice President, Head of US Corporate Development, for Promus Asset Management, LLC (“Promus”) and Bellwether Investment Management USA, Inc. (“Bellwether USA”). Watson brings with him over 25 years of experience in the asset management, wealth management, and investment banking […]
Budgeting Tips for 2023
“If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free. If our wealth commands us, we shall be broke indeed.” – Edmund Burke
What’s an FHSA and Why Should Gen Z Be Excited?
5 Things You Need to Know About Alternative Investments
Investing for Peace of Mind: Security and Protection with Bellwether
5 Investment Strategies to Navigate a Volatile Bear Market
The key to making money in stocks is to not get scared out of them. – Peter Lynch While we all prefer bull markets, it’s no secret that bear markets play an active role in these cycles. Knowing how to react and adjust to both can make all the difference to your personal finances. Individuals […]
4 Strategies to Finish 2025 on a High Note
Finish Strong: 4 Tips During Q4 with Rising Interest Rates & Inflation
How Investors Can Beat Record Inflation and Rising Interest Rates – the Benefits of Dividend Growth Strategies
Strategic Investing During Turbulent Times: 5 Easy Principles to Navigate Market Uncertainty
Meet our new Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer
Bellwether Investment Management is pleased to announce the appointment of Julianna Varpalotai-Xavier as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer.
Making a Difference: How to Optimize Your Charitable Giving Strategy?
While a charitable contributions plan should never be pursued primarily for the goal of claiming a tax credit, there are methods you can contribute to help charities in need today while simultaneously claiming the maximum benefit available to you. The ideal charitable giving strategy for you will be determined by your age, the quantity and […]
How to Approach Investing in the New Normal
Things have changed. A lot. The pandemic has shifted wealth, pushed some industries down while propping others up, disrupted global supply chains, uprooted workforces, and reminded us all that the only constant is change. Making investment decisions in this chaotic environment can be tricky, especially if you are nearing retirement and may need to access […]
Midyear Financial Checkup — Are You Ready for the Rest of 2021?
We’re halfway through the year — are you on track to meet your financial goals for 2021? Use this midyear financial checkup to see where you stand.
How Bellwether Is Different Than Traditional Financial Planning Firms and Banks
Your nest egg is more than just money. It may represent years of hard work and financial diligence, as well as the promise of a prosperous future for you and your family. Naturally, you want to be discerning when deciding whom to seek financial guidance from. Someone who doesn’t have your best interests in mind […]
5 Habits of High-Net-Worth Individuals
High-net-worth individuals (HNWI) enjoy plenty of financial freedom. If you want to have the flexibility to do more with your money too, consider picking up some of the most common habits of the comfortablywealthy. The following are prudent habits anyone can use to build and maintain wealth.
3 Ways a Financial Advisor Can Help You Build Wealth
With the internet, you have access to endless information online, enabling you to research different investments and wealth-building strategies yourself. So, the question is, if you have useful info at your fingertips, what will you gain from consulting with a professional advisor? Is a financial advisor worth it? You can make smart financial decisions […]
What Is Holistic Financial Planning?
Holistic financial planning takes every piece of your unique financial puzzle into account. It looks beyond the numbers and financial modelling. Personal goals—how the decisions you make today impact long-term objectives—investment preferences, lifestyle priorities, and any variables that may change along the way. A holistic plan considers all of these, and more, to identify actions […]
Investing in 2021: How to invest with confidence in uncertain times
2021 will pose unique challenges for investors, especially for those relying on a fixed income for retirement. Interest rates around the world are low, and this low-rate environment isn’t going away anytime soon. Currently, we’re in the early recovery phase of the global business cycle. Unemployment rates are still high, and demand for goods is […]
An 8-Step Guide To Your Financial Future [Checklist]
Do I have enough to retire? What will my financial future look like? These are some of the most commonly asked questions in financial planning, and with all the uncertainty going on in the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become more prevalent in the past few months.
5 ways fast thinking is hurting your investments
Nobel prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman published his best-selling book Thinking Fast and Slow in 2011. The lessons he shares about how people make decisions have influenced many professions and sectors, including the financial world. Here’s how fast and slow thinking applies to investing, and five biases you need to look out for if you want to make […]
What’s a good MER fee plus 3 strategies to avoid high fees
The fees charged on investments help to pay for professional investment management. Unfortunately, investors often have no idea what they’re paying for investment management, and most don’t do the math to convert a percentage fee into real dollars and cents. This article focuses on one particular fee, the management expense ratio (MER). What is an […]
How to avoid these 4 common retirement mistakes
Failure fanatics like to say mistakes are essential to growth. Tell that to the recently retired couple who discovers their mistakes may cost them tens of thousands of dollars. When it comes to investing, it’s better to be aware of the mistakes that others have made and avoid repeating them yourself—which is why we’ve written […]
5 Retirement Tax Tips
It’s common to focus on the money that’s coming in the door more than the money that’s going out, but it’s a good idea to pay attention to both, especially in retirement. Tax planning is one often-overlooked strategy to reduce retirement expenses and, unlike other expense reduction strategies, it doesn’t require you to make any […]
5 more biases that are hurting your investments
In part one of this article series we introduced you to Daniel Kahneman’s fast and slow thinking. Fast thinking (“system 1 thinking”) uses mental short cuts to help us react quickly, making it well suited for knee-jerk life-and-death decision-making. Slow thinking (“system 2 thinking”), uses carefully gathered evidence and a disciplined evaluation process to make decisions, making […]
Why ESG doesn’t mean fossil fuel free
Three-quarters of Canadians say socially responsible investing is the way of the future and almost half say environmental issues matter most to them when it comes to investing, according to a 2020 Ipsos survey. That’s consistent with our experience, where increasing numbers of our clients are asking for a socially responsible portfolio that reflects their concerns […]
COVID-19 investment update: Fear not, this too shall pass
As many of you will be aware from the heightened media attention, uncertainty regarding the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, and its potential impact on the global economy has led to a material sell-off in global stock markets over the past few weeks. While we do not want to undermine the human tragedy of […]
Should foundations invest in ETFs?
Adaptive ETF strategist Jeff Black spent eight years chairing the Oakville Community Foundation’s investment committee, helping the committee with asset mix, strategy, and manager search and selection. In this article, Jeff shares some of his insights on ETFs. Should foundations use them? And if so, how? Read on for the answers.
Gold prices vs the dollar
This year we have witnessed a breakout in the price of gold, with the spot price finally cracking through an elusive ceiling of $1300/oz. At the end of June, the spot price hit $1409/oz, representing a 10% gain. It is important to note that this move is in US dollar terms. In the face of […]
What’s the difference between ESG and SRI?
Investment-speak makes most people outside the industry feel like they’re drowning in alphabet soup, and responsible investing is no exception. In this article, we take a look at two responsible investing terms known mostly by their initials—ESG and SRI. The two are often used interchangeably but actually mean different things. By the end of […]
Bellwether vs. traditional investment approaches
The best response to an ever-changing world is to do things differently. Here’s how our approach to investment management is different from traditional investment approaches—and how it benefits you.