Today we talk about what it means to co-sign on a child's mortgage. We look at the implications and the risks, and how to prepare if you decide to take this step. From there we look at a recent report from Dimensional Fund Advisors that looks at the relationship between government debt levels and stock returns. Detailed notes and links can be found on my blog at https://walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening! Mark ..read more

On today's episode, I am going to spend some time talking about a topic that is on everyone's minds these days - Inflation. I am going to talk about the last time that we saw really high inflation in Canada, how various asset classes responded during those timeframes, what we can take away from that, and the things we can do to protect ourselves against the impact of inflation. Links and Resources can be found on my blog at https://walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening! Mark ..read more

Welcome back to Efficient Markets! When asked how much people need saved up to have a comfortable retirement, the answer will often come back - $1 Million Dollars. I thought it would be fun to test this out. In this episode I break down what a $1M retirement looks like. I also run through some adjustments that can be made to boost retirement income. With our hypothetical couple, Jack and Jill, we find out how they can retire with $1M saved up.  Then, we work through some adjustments to make the plan work for them. I have detailed notes on my blog for this episode, so you can follow along ..read more

Welcome back to Efficient Markets! On today's episode, I review the Top 10 takeaways book "Trillions" by Robin Wigglesworth. This is the first book I have come across that provides an in depth look at the history of the people and companies that started the index fund revolution.  I hope you enjoy this brief review! Detailed notes are available on my blog at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Have a great day! Mark ..read more

Asking a close loved one or a friend to be your executor may seem like a nice thing to do.  Even an honor, that you would trust that person to handle your affairs once you've passed away.  Many people agree to be the executor for a family member or friend without thinking twice about it.  But, the job of being an executor is a challenging one.  On today's episode we talk about the job of the executor, the time it takes to do the job, and the risks that the executor takes on. Then, we introduce the role of the corporate executor, costs, and reasons why you might consider hir ..read more

On today's episode, we talk about digital estate planning. More and more of our lives are online.  Increasingly, our assets are in digital form.  Think of your social media accounts, subscriptions, rewards points, and cloud storage services. Traditional estate plans cover things like bank and investment accounts, physical assets, and real estate.  But, your digital assets need to be taken care of in your estate as well. On today's episode I talk about what assets need to be considered in your digital estate plan.  I talk about what some platforms are doing to help people do ..read more

Welcome back to Efficient Markets! Today, we talk about a question that I have gotten from a number of clients over the past few weeks.  When do I no longer need life insurance? We talk about the role of life insurance, the different types of life insurance, what insurance is meant to do, how much it costs, and how to think about whether or not you need it anymore. Links and show notes will be available on my blog at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening! Mark ..read more

Welcome back to Efficient Markets! On today's episode we look at stock returns in Canada by Prime Minister going back to 1957.   From there, we talk about intra-year declines and what they mean for full year stock returns. We finish with a discussion about the behaviour gap - which is the difference between stock market returns and the actual returns realized by the investors in the market. Charts and links can be found at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening! Mark ..read more

Welcome back to Efficient Markets. On today's episode, we talk about home country bias. According to Statista.com - Canadian stocks make up 2.4% of the total global equity market capitalization.  According to Vanguard, Canadians, on average, allocate about 56% of their equity portfolios to Canadian stocks. This is what is called a home country bias. We talk about the issues with allocating so much of your portfolio to Canadian stocks and some of the reasons that you may want to diversify away from Canada in your portfolios. Detailed show notes and links can be found on my blog this week a ..read more

On today's show, we talk about tapping into home equity to fund retirement spending. I talk about some of the benefits and the potential drawbacks and pitfalls of tapping home equity to fund retirement.  I finish off with some recommendations for retirees considering using home equity to fund retirement Notes, links, and charts used in this episode can be found on my blog at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast this week. Thanks for listening, Mark ..read more