In many ways, creating an investment portfolio is like building a custom home. At the outset you have a variety of options in front of you with sizes, amenities, and styles. The role of the architect is to design something that will be the right for you. Only then can trained professionals—carpenters, plumbers, and electricians—come in to build according to the architect’s specifications. This isn’t to downplay the important role played by those professionals, but ultimately the process needs to start with design (the architecture) before anything can be implemented. And yet, when it comes to ..read more

In many ways, creating an investment portfolio is like building a custom home. At the outset you have a variety of options in front of you with sizes, amenities, and styles. The role of the architect is to design something that will be the right for you. Only then can trained professionals—carpenters, plumbers, and electricians—come in to build according to the architect’s specifications. This isn’t to downplay the important role played by those professionals, but ultimately the process needs to start with design (the architecture) before anything can be implemented. And yet, when it comes to ..read more

A comprehensive financial plan, when done correctly, can be an extremely valuable document and planning tool for every Canadian family. Although financial plans can be delivered in many different formats, one aspect of the document that should be constant in each financial plan is the current financial position of the family. Every financial plan should encompass both a net worth and cash flow statement. However, only looking at the current position of family’s finances leaves the financial plan extremely incomplete. A more productive financial plan will not only assess where the family wealth ..read more

Over the past two decades, investors have had seemingly little patience for an underperforming investment or money manager. Investors tend to dump the laggard for “something that’s doing better”. But an understanding of market cycles and a review of empirical evidence should prompt investors to think twice before falling into this trap. Once invested, performance is one of the key factors to monitor periodically. Most Canadians’ portfolios consist of stocks or bonds selected by an investment manager (either directly or through mutual funds, exchange traded funds, pooled funds, etc.). And dumpi ..read more

Financial planning is the first step in a comprehensive discovery phase at HighView Financial Group. While many investment firms may eventually get the financial planning services once the assets have been secured, or simply don’t offer these services at all, we wonder how anyone can build a true goal-based, tailored portfolio without completing this work up front? If there is a rush to talk about the portfolio structure before completing a financial plan, we suggest slowing the process down and taking a deeper look at what is being offered. Is this a portfolio structure suited for me? Or just ..read more

Many investors and advisors are reluctant to buy an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) with a relatively small asset base or low trading volume. This results from the fear of inputting a trade so large that it causes an unfavourable move in the market price (i.e., pushing the price up before a buy order is filled – or down for sell orders); or having trades not filled at all. We executed large trades in an ETF over the past couple of years at little cost and without moving the market price. Before explaining how, let’s start with some ETF liquidity basics. ETF Liquidity Liquidity refers to the ease of ..read more

In the mid-1990s, interest rates offered on guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) ranged from 6% to 8% per year for five-year terms. Those rates – generous by today’s standards – were a far cry from the double-digit rates available just a few years earlier; and far below the robust returns that stock market investments were kicking out at the time. This prompted GIC investors to deploy matured proceeds into mutual funds. Those savers-turned-investors were called “GIC refugees” because it was the first time many invested in anything other than popular term deposits. I heard more than a few ..read more

As the concept of fiduciary is being discussed more in the media and among Canadian securities regulators, we believe it is important to address this concept as it’s all about putting the investor-client interests first! We view a fiduciary as someone acting in a position of trust on behalf of, or for the benefit of, a third party; and as such, they are required to act in their best interest.  This is the view fi360, a US based organization that has developed a set of practice standards for investment fiduciaries. For this reason, an investment ..read more

This family story is the third of a series in which we discuss some of the common investment challenges families face and what ultimately led them to HighView. Here, we explore what can happen when one member of an affluent family assumes responsibility for money and investments, particularly surrounding the concerns that can emerge as that person ages.  How long will they be able to maintain that level of guardianship? What will happen if they pre-decease their spouse? In this story, the father had been managing the family’s wealth of approximately $10 million for more than 20 ..read more

Regardless of how you acquired your wealth, there’s one thing all investors have in common—a desire to make sure their wealth will be sustainable and able to meet their needs over time. But what if your needs change? What if the initial portfolio structure and risk profile changed significantly due to market and economic changes? Are you monitoring your portfolio performance to make sure it continues to meet your financial goals? In this blog, we look closer at the importance of portfolio monitoring. We start by discussing the importance of an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) before turning o ..read more