2008 News Archive
Globe and Mail - Dec 20 2008
Salvaging your shattered holdings
When a sports franchise hits the skids, the euphemism of choice is that the team is in a rebuilding phase. more »
Toronto Star - Dec 7 2008
Investment advisers: The good, bad and ugly
For almost 20 years, I've had the same investment adviser. more »
Globe and Mail - Nov 26 2008
Is bandwagon effect taking spinoff ETF on a downward spiral?
Here's a great idea: An ETF tracking spinoffs...Or is it? more »
Morgningstar - Nov 14 2008
How to recover from a financial heart attack
Are you at risk of a heart attack, either physical or financial? more »
Toronto Star - Nov 13 2008
Gambling on Success
Seeking advice from a financial planner before investing helps limit the risks and could deal you a winning hand. more »
Toronto Star - Nov 13 2008
Balancing Options
Following investment rules and learning from mistakes can keep you on solid footing. more »
Forex News - Oct 2 2008
Investment Advisers Split Over Where Clients Should Put Money
Ottawa - Buy or sell? Rebalance or stay the course? Unfortunately, in these troubled economic times, investment advisers cannot seem to agree on an appropriate course of investment action. more »
Montreal Gazette - Sept 22 2008
Don't panic, but take a look at your portfolio
DON MACDONALD
The stock market has rarely provided a better lesson on the hazards of panic selling than it did last week. more »
Toronto Star - Sept 20 2008
Roller-coaster week tests small traders' stomachs
Ellen Roseman
How much stock-market risk can you stomach? more »
Second Opinion Press Release - Sept 18 2008
Five actions Canadian investors should take in response to the U.S. financial crisis
Warren MacKenzie, President of Second Opinion Investor Services Inc (“Second Opinion”) warns investors that this is no time for inaction. more »
Financial Post - July 15 2008
Is Your Portfolio Performing Well?
Research shows that most portfolios underperform the market by a wide margin more »
Gurufocus.com - July 7 2008
Telling it Like it is
If you're frustrated by your brokerage statements, take heart - you're not alone. And someone is actually trying to do something about it! more »
Financial Post - April 29 2008
Fee-only must mean just that
Warren MacKenzie, author of The Unbiased Advisor and president of Toronto-based Second Opinion Investor Services Inc., agrees with the distinction last week's column drew between fee-only and fee-based planners. more »
Todays Investor - April 3 2008
How to Avoid a Portfolio Attack
Move over, diabetes. Heart disease, step aside! Investors have another health condition to be concerned about. I’m talking about a portfolio attack caused by unnecessary or excessive financial risk. more »
Money Talk - March 10 2008
Portfolio Performance Check
Second Opinion’s President, Warren MacKenzie, makes his second appearance on ‘MoneyTalk’ with Patricia Lovett-Reid. Learn about the importance of rebalancing and how it can easily be achieved.
watch video »
Financial Post - February 21 2008
Canada's Future? Look To Kelowna
Ken Hawkins is a good man to talk to during RRSP season. He is semi-retired, lives in Retirementville, Canada (aka, Kelowna, B.C.), is a Boomer at 57 and the work he still does concerns checking over the suitability of people's portfolios.
As vice-president of research and development for Second Opinion Investor Services Inc., and in his former life as a senior equities portfolio manager, Hawkins has seen just about every kind of mistake that people make in building their RRSPs and preparing for retirement. more »
Financial Post - February 16 2008
Keep it simple: company plans
There are three components to a good company RRSP: It should include fund options for employees to choose from, have low fees’ and most importantly, be simple to understand. more »
Globe and Mail - February 12 2008
How to tell if it’s just a bad patch, or if it’s just some bad advice
Your January investment account statement could make for some alarming reading.
The stock markets are wildly volatile and some of the largest Canadian equity funds are down 6 to almost 9 per cent for the year to date. It’s safe to say that a lot of investors’ portfolios are falling in value, and that the trend may have a lot longer to run if the stock markets move lower in the months ahead. more »
Montreal Gazette - Jan 21 2008
How customers get nickel-and-dimed
Canadian investors who have owned U.S. stocks for the past few years know all about currency risk. They've taken a pounding as the loonie gained value rapidly against the U.S. dollar, significantly reducing the exchange value of their U.S. holdings.
Adding insult to injury was the fact Canadian financial institutions insisted on tacking on a currency conversion fee every time they made a trade or received a dividend in U.S. dollars in their RRSPs, automatically transferring the funds into Canadian dollars and taking a small, undeclared cut - typically one or two per cent - for themselves. On a $5,000 trade, that totalled $50 to $100, over and above the commission. more »
Sympatico MSN - Jan 1 2008
Getting in sync with your advisor
There's nothing wrong with paying someone to do something you might be able to do yourself -- particularly if you know you'll never actually get around to the task. That's why roughly two thirds of Canadians use some sort of financial advisor to look after their affairs. more »
