On the Rising Cost of Education If you’ve eaten fast food recently, you may be surprised by the bill. Thirty years ago, a Big Mac hamburger cost around $2. Today, it is almost four times the price. Over the same period, average family income has risen by 162 percent,...

In Brief: Tax Planning Before Year-End Despite rising living costs, the share of income spent on necessities has declined. In 1976, households spent about 43 percent of their income on shelter, food and clothing. Today, this is around 35 percent. What has risen is the...

At a Glance: Perspectives on the Big Tech Bull Market After a summer of considerable market enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), it’s worth taking a step back Why does AI seem to be advancing so quickly? While it may feel like a recent phenomenon, its...

Markets rarely linger in equilibrium. The pendulum of sentiment swings between fear and greed, and this year has been no exception. After April’s lows, the S&P surged over 30 percent in just two months, one of the fastest rallies in recent history, while the TSX...

 In this episode of Smokin’ Bulls, Dave and Tyler break down the latest **Market Insights newsletter** by **Dr. Jim Thorne**, Chief Market Strategist at Wellington-Altus. We dive deep into the idea of the **“peace dividend”**, explore the **AI and crypto-driven bull...

Owning assets jointly has grown in popularity—with spouses, and now more frequently between parents and children. While there may be benefits, be aware of the potential pitfalls prior to transferring assets into joint ownership. Joint ownership occurs when an asset is...

Which generation is more likely to fall for online scams? The answer may surprise you. Despite growing up immersed in digital technology since birth, younger generations—often called “digital natives”—are statistically more likely to fall victim to online fraud.1 This...

Supporting a Home Purchase? Five Questions to Ask Without a doubt, home ownership has become increasingly out of reach for younger generations (chart, bottom right). Canadian home prices have risen faster than in any other G7 country—nearly quadrupling over 40 years...

OAS Timing Matters — Even for HNW Investors If you’re nearing retirement, deciding when to start Old Age Security (OAS) benefits should be a consideration. OAS is sometimes overlooked by high-net-worth (HNW) investors for the following reasons: Modest benefit — The...

“A dollar’s value depends on the tax trail it travels.” How and when you access your income sources can influence the taxes you pay, your eligibility for government benefits and your long-term financial health. Whether you’re accumulating wealth, transitioning between...

It has been said that “there are decades where nothing seems to happen, and there are weeks where decades happen.” The sweeping global tariffs, announced by the U.S. on April’s “Liberation Day,” caught the world off guard—disrupting long-held norms in global trade and...

A Credit Downgrade: What’s in a Rating? In May, Moody’s downgraded the U.S. credit rating from the top Aaa to Aa1. This move by one of the major credit rating agencies—S&P and Fitch are the other two—raised the question: Does a downgrade matter? First, what is a...

The global trade landscape was thrown into flux when the U.S. introduced a sweeping wave of tariffs on April’s “Liberation Day,” aimed at reshaping its economic relationships. While the situation continues to evolve, tariffs remain at the centre of global attention....

It’s been a wild ride this year—and we’re only halfway through. If April’s market movements felt unsettling, you weren’t mistaken. While volatility is a natural part of equity markets, the magnitude of April’s decline was unusual. A two-day drop of more than 10...

If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. —Admiral William H. McRaven In 2014, Admiral William McRaven delivered a commencement speech that quickly went viral, amassing over 10 million views. In it, he shared 10 principles he learned during his...

A recent article in the popular press posed the question: “Do you know where your retirement money is?” It highlighted the substantial amount of unclaimed pension plans—Ontario alone has $3.6 billion in unclaimed pension funds, due to nearly 200,000 “missing” plan...

https://youtu.be/rYkeZDwVtbc ⚖️ How do smart Canadians avoid costly family fights over inheritance? ✅ The answer: choosing the right executor — and in many cases, that means hiring a corporate executor. In this power-packed Smokin’ Bulls episode, we talk with Jandy...

Former Wall Street Journal finance columnist Jonathan Clements has long advised readers to plan on living past age 90. But when, at age 61, he was diagnosed with an illness that gave him just a year to live, his financial priorities shifted. His focus turned to...

For many investors, insurance traditionally starts as a risk management tool to provide income protection in the event of unexpected life events. However, over a lifetime, insurance can evolve into a versatile tool that serves the multiple needs of high-net-worth...

The Canadian dollar’s (CAD) weakness has raised questions about its broader impact and the path forward: The CAD is trading below its historical average. To start 2025, it fell below 68 U.S. cents—a level not seen in two decades. The decline has been driven by factors...

Warren Buffett’s increasing cash reserves at Berkshire Hathaway have drawn significant attention from market watchers. In his latest annual letter—eagerly awaited each year by many investors for its sage wisdom—Buffett addressed the topic directly: “Despite what some...

In brief, here are four perspectives on Canada/U.S. trade: 1. The U.S. is Canada’s main export market. In 2023, Canadian total exports were valued at C$965 billion, with 77 percent going tot he U.S. No other nation accounts for more than 5 percent of Canada’s...