Efficient Markets

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

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 - https://walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast/what-kind-of-retirement-can-i-expect-with-dollar1-million-dollars-saved-up Thank you for listening! Mark

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

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 hiring a corporate executor despite the additional costs. Links and notes can be found on my blog at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening! Mark

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 some estate planning themselves within the platform.  I explain how to get your estate attorney to help you write language into your estate documents to deal with digital assets.  And I talk about some solutions that can help you with efficiency in your planning. Links and show notes will be on my blog shortly. Thanks for listening, Mark

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

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

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 at www.walhoutfinancial.ca.  Thank you for listening. Mark

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

Welcome back to Efficient Markets Nick Murray's writing has had a big impact on me and how I advise clients.  Today I go through the 6 keys to the upper reaches of investing that Nick lays out in his book "Behavioural Investment Counselling".   I believe that if an investor can get these 6 steps right, their long term returns will beat the majority of their friends, neighbors, and family members...and probably most professional investment managers as well. Links and notes will be posted on my website this week.  Thanks for listening! Mark

Thank you for tuning in. On today's episode I talk about the resent resurgence of the value factor.  Being a value investor has been difficult over the past 10 years, especially in the US.  But, the dramatic rebound in the value factor has given investors a nice "shot in the arm" and a reminder that factors can show up quickly and forcefully. I also talk about Larry Swedroe's research on the reason that we own factors.  We own unique risk factors for diversification purposes.  Any factor, including market beta, can go through long periods of underperformance. Detailed charts, links, and notes can be found on my blog at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podacst Thanks for listening. Mark

Welcome back to Efficient Markets. Today we talk about high flying growth stocks being added to the S&P 500.  We compare them to the stocks that are removed from the index to make room for them. Which stocks do you think outperform going forward?  The answer might surprise you. Blog post and show notes can be found on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening! Mark

On today's show we talk about the good and the bad of retirement saving rules of thumb. Detailed blog and links can be found on my website at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening! Mark

Hello, On today's episode, I talk about concentrated stock portfolios.  This past year has been the year of the "meme" stock and investors have been piling into the market.  You might wonder, should I pick individual stocks to get wealthy in the stock market? I explore some data from DFA that looks at the cost of missing out on the biggest winners in the global stock market.  Yes, owning a concentrated portfolio is a good way to out-perform, but you stand the same chance to dramatically under-perform a simple, broadly diversified portfolio of index funds. Detailed notes, charts, and links can be found on my blog at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening! Mark 

In today's episode I talk about some key takeaways from the SPIVA Scorecard for the year ending December 31, 2020. The SPIVA report looks at the performance of actively managed funds vs. their benchmarks.  The results continue to demonstrate that investing in low-cost, transparent index funds/ETF's are a smart long-term move for investors. Links, Charts, and Show notes will be available on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podacast Thanks for listening! Mark

Fingers crossed, universities and colleges will be opening their doors to students starting this fall.  As parents and students are getting their planning underway, I have received some questions about RESP withdrawals.  Specifically, what is the best way to tax-efficiently withdraw funds from an RESP account? In this episode I explain the different components of an RESP, how each of them are taxed, and a strategy for using up your student's low income tax brackets to make withdrawals from an RESP. Detailed blog and links will be available this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening, Mark

On today's episode we talk about options for short term savers right now.  Interest rates are low right now.  This is great for borrowers and people who own assets.  But, for the person who is looking to save short term money, it's very challenging. I talk about 3 options for people who have short term money that they want to put to work and give my recommendations. Show notes and links will be on my website this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening! Mark

Today we talk about inflation, including: 1) What is inflation? 2) Is Inflation Good or Bad? 3) What is "Good Inflation"? 4) Why are people worried about inflation? 5) What does the market expect inflation to be? 6) What can you do about inflation? 7) What about Hyper-Inflation? 8) Action Items Links will be posted on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening, Mark  

On this special episode, I describe what I believe at the 3 investing superpowers. Enjoy! Mark

If you are like many Canadian retirement savers, a large portion of your retirement savings is held in RRSP's (Registered Retirement Savings Plans).  You may be wondering, under what circumstances does it make sense to withdraw from my RRSP's even before I retire? On today's episode, we discuss several situation where it makes sense to withdraw funds from your RRSP, even if you're not yet retired: 1) Buying A Home Using the Home Buyers Plan Under the plan, you can withdraw up to $35,000 from your RRSP to buy or build a home—provided that you are a first-time buyer, (defined as not having  owned a home in the four-year period preceding a home purchase).  The withdrawal comes out tax free, and it needs to be repaid to your RRSP over 15 years.  If you don't make a repayment, the prorated amount is added back to your income for that year.  If you're finding it difficult to come up with a down payment for your first home with cash, and you've been successfully saving in your RRSP, this is a very tax-efficient way to come up with the money for a down payment.  2) Going Back to School If you'd like to develop new job skills or even change careers completely, you can take advantage of the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP), which allows you to withdraw funds from your RRSP to fund tuition and other education costs.  Under the plan, you can withdraw up to a cumulative total of $20,000 from your RRSP—up to $10,000 in a calendar year.  This is similar to the Home Buyers Plan in that the withdrawal comes out tax-free, and needs to be repaid over time (a period of 10 years in the case of the home buyers plan). 3) Taking a Year off Work RRSP withdrawals are taxed as income in the year that they are made.  If you are taking a short term sabbatical from your high-paying job, you may find yourself in a lower tax bracket temporarily.  This may be a good opportunity to make an RRSP withdrawal at your (temporarily) low marginal tax rate.  If you have TFSA room available, even if you don't need the RRSP funds now for a purchase, you can consider shifting money from you taxable RRSP bucket to a tax-fee TFSA bucket for long-term tax savings.   4) Managing your Tax Brackets as a Retiree As you enter retirement, it may make sense to strategically withdraw money from your RRSP in order to smooth out and "average down" your income taxes throughout retirement.  There are several different situations where not taking enough income from your taxable investments can hurt you later on in retirement.  OAS CLAWBACK First, once you begin taking OAS (Old Age Security), if you are making over $79,845 in 2021 you get your benefits "clawed back" at a rate of $0.15 for every dollar of income that you make over that amount.  Making taxable withdrawals early in retirement can help you avoid this claw back. CPP, PENSION WITHDRAWALS, AND RRIF MINIMUMS BUMPING YOU INTO A HIGHER BRACKET CPP, pension, and RRIF minimum payments are fully taxable as income in retirement.  Taking RRSP withdrawals in those early years of retirement can help you "push down" those future minimum payments to keep your taxable income lower as your retirement progresses. Even if you don't need the funds immediately, you can still use these withdrawals to your advantage through contributing to a Tax Free Savings account, making a larger donation to charity, or investing in a non-registered account and having future growth being taxed at more favorable dividend and capital gains treatment. Have a Plan All of these strategies are highly dependent on your unique situation.  Generally, the best "bang for your buck" with RRSP's is to invest while you are in a high tax bracket, take advantage of the tax-free compounding for several (many) years, and then withdraw the funds when you are in a lower tax bracket and/or can split that income with a spouse.  A strategy to make early withdrawals should be taken with caution.  An approach that works for one person may not work for the next person.  I recommend sitting with a financial planner who can help you determine the best mix of strategies that will work for you.

Efficient Markets If you refreshed your podcast player this morning, you may have noticed the change in the title of the show.  On today's episode I will walk through what's changing for the podcast and what you can expect going forward. Reasons for the change: Client shift many of my clients are approaching retirement, but many aren't lots of great financial planning questions that I answer that I'd like to spend more time on here Format shift I got feedback from friends and family, and to a person they encouraged me to shorten the episodes, and make them simpler So going forward, expect episodes more frequently, at least once a week but likely twice a week – on Tuesdays and Fridays, starting next week. Reflection of my day to day On a daily basis, I field a lot more investment questions than any other type of question, so I think my podcast should be a reflection of that The financial advice I give is non-controversial, BUT, still only a very small percentage of Canadians invest the way I recommend they invest – in an evidence-based way. I think I need to tell that story more. The name? Efficient Markets was a video series I did a few months back It describes the bedrock of my investing approach, which is the belief that markets are mostly efficient and we should act accordingly Efficient is also the way I would like to make these podcasts going forward – shorter, more frequent, and to the point What's not changing: It's still me, talking to you – just more frequently but for shorter periods There will still be discussion about financial planning and retirement topics, just a little bit less of those and more questions and answers about investing The music – I told my wife Sarah that I was changing the name of the show, and she said I had to keep the music, it's like my trademark – so I hope you enjoy the music! Thanks for tuning into today's episode and I will speak with you next time. Mark

Hello and welcome to Retire Me Episode 50! On today's episode, we discuss: 1) 3 main takeaways from the Annual Berkshire Hathaway Meeting 2) Reporting foreign property on your tax returns 3) Expected returns of stocks and bonds going forward Detailed notes and resources from this episode will be posted on my website later this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Timeline: 0.00 - Happy Belated Mothers Day! 2:02 - I discuss my 3 favorite takeaways from the Berkshire Hathaway General Meeting 9:16 - I discuss reporting Foreign Property on your Income Tax Returns, what qualifies, what doesn't, and the penalties for missing this requirement on your tax returns. 13:27 - I discusses the assumptions I use for future stock and bond returns, and the rationale behind preparing for lower future returns after recent returns  have been quite high Thanks for listening! Mark

Welcome to Episode 49 of Retire Me. Today we talk about: 1) Cottage Co-Ownership Agreement - a friend of mine had a cottage passed down to him and his brother.  A cottage agreement can help outline your intentions, guidelines, and a gameplan in case something happens to you.  I talk about what could go into your cottage agreement and how to get started 2) Bitcoin - I provide an overview of what Bitcoin is, the reasons to own it, the reasons not to own it, whether I own it, and a reasonable way to approach bitcoin in a portfolio TIMELINE: 00:20 - Mark talks about the pool opening 02:09 - The benefits of co-owing a cottage 03:00 - Possible pitfalls of co-ownership of a cottage 03:55 - Introducing the Cottage Agreement 04:24 - The main sections of a Cottage Agreement 05:41 - How to get started on a Cottage Agreement 06:55 - What is Bitcoin? 07:58 - The reasons to own Bitcoin 10:20 - Reasons not to own Bitoin 14:34 - Mark's take on Cryptocurrencies and disclaimer  Detailed show notes and links will be on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening! Mark

Welcome to Episode 48 of Retire Me. The federal budget released its first budget in over 2 years this past Monday.  The budget was full of announcements and spending programs for a wide range of initiatives, individuals, and businesses. On today's show, I focus on what I believe are the top 5 most meaningful announcements for people who are saving for retirement or are already retired.  They are: 1) Enhancement to OAS 2) Green Retrofit Loan Program 3) Expansion of the Disability Tax Credit criteria 4) Introduction of a Foreign Owner Vacancy Tax 5) What *wasn't* in the 2021 Budget Detailed show notes and links to resources will be available on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast. Thanks for listening! Mark

Welcome to Episode 47 of Retire Me. We wrap up our discussion this week with a discussion on how a factor portfolio is implemented. We cover: 1) Review of the Factors 2) How to implement a factor portfolio using "tilts" 3) The challenges with holding a factor portfolio for the long run 4) Who should and who shouldn't own a factor portfolio Detailed show notes and charts will be on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast. Thanks for listening! Mark

Welcome to Episode 46 of Retire Me! On today's episode I discuss factors in fixed income (bonds). I begin the episode with an overview of the role of fixed income in a portfolio.  From there, we move into an overview of where returns come from in a fixed income portfolio.  Then, I do my best to explain the role of a yield curve and how it contains information that can be helpful when trying to anticipate future returns in fixed income. Then we discuss the main factors in fixed income which are: Term Premium – longer term bonds have higher expected returns than shorter term bonds Credit Premium – riskier bonds (ie. corporate bonds) have higher expected returns than less risky bonds (ie. government bonds) I take us through our regular criteria for factors, remember, a factor needs to be: Additive Persistent Pervasive Robust Investible Intuitive/Sensible I finish the discussion with a debate on whether credit premiums should be pursued in a portfolio.  Larry Swedroe advocates for opting away from credit factors in fixed income.  DFA pursues these factors in a dynamic and systematic way in their portfolios.  We discuss some research from DFA to help us here. My show notes and links will be on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening! Mark

Hello and welcome to Episode 45 of Retire Me! This week we continue our deep dive into factor investing.  Last week we started with Market Beta and Small Cap Premiums.  This week, we will go into the Value Premium and the Profitability Premium. As a quick refresher, a factor is a unique source of risk in a portfolio.  We want to pursue risk to generate higher returns, and we want to diversify our sources of risk so that we lower our volatility (smooth out our ride), because not all factors work all of the time.  In fact, they frequently go through periods where they don't work. Before we dive into this week's factors, a quick reminder about what makes for a good factor, and the lens that we will use to go through the factors today: Has to deliver positive returns Has to be persistent across different periods of time and economic regimes Has to be pervasive – holds across countries and regions Has to be robust – holds up to various different measurements and definitions Has to be investible Has to be sensible – has a risk-based and behaviour based definition. the aunt who wins the NCAA pool by picking all teams with red uniforms, or for an animal So this week, we will discuss the value premium and the profitability premium.  Next week we will go through the premiums in fixed income (bonds).  The week after that, we will go through portfolio construction and wrap up with my thoughts about who should and who shouldn't invest in a factor portfolio.  Show notes and links will be on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast. Send your questions to retiremepod@gmail.com Thanks for listening! Mark 

Welcome to Episode 44 of Retire Me! In the world of enterprise technology, businesses want proof that the solutions they are buying will perform as expected.  They look for research, they test solutions to make sure they are compatible with their environment, and they build business cases based on their findings.  These steps help businesses make good decisions. When I discovered factor investing in 2017, it made sense that investment decisions should be carried out the same way as big business decisions.  Asking questions like: What is the evidence that supports our decision making? The data robust and reliable? Can we implement it in a way that fits my life and my goals? Can I expect a relatively better ROI on this approach over decades, versus other alternatives? Over the next 4 weeks, we will: Introduce factor investing more in depth Explain the main factors that drive investment returns Explain how factors can be implemented Offer some pros and cons and reasons why you may want to either pursue or avoid a factor investment strategy Most of the content for these episodes is inspired and heavily sourced from Larry Swedroe and Andrew Berkin's book: "Your Complete Guide to Factor Based Investing" Your Complete Guide to Factor-Based Investing: The Way Smart Money Invests Today: Berkin, Andrew L, Swedroe, Larry E: 9780692783658: Books - Amazon.ca The design point of these episodes is to explain factors in "Plain English".  Some of the research is a little wonky, so I have done my best to condense and simplify wherever possible. If you have questions or clarifications, please message me or send an email to retirempod@gmail.com Show notes will be up on my blog at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 43 of Retire Me. Today we talk about the 8 great behavioral investment mistakes.  If you can avoid these, you can sort of "back into" success as an investor. The great mistakes we discuss are: 1) Overdiversification 2) Underdiversification 3) Euphoria 4) Panic 5) Leverage 6) Speculating when you think you're investing 7) Investing for yield instead of total return 8) Letting your cost basis dictate your investment decisions Show note, references, and links can be found on by blog at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Send your questions to retiremepod@gmail.com Thanks for listening! Mark

For long term investing (retirement investing, for example), many people will use an asset allocation that is somewhere between 70% and 100% in a portfolio of equities. They may trim that back as they approach retirement, moving to a portfolio that is between 40% and 60% in equities. The design of a portfolio like this is to create an income for a long period of time. Picture a bucket of water that you slowly draw from, a cup at a time, for 40 years or more. But how do you build a portfolio for a fixed spending goal? What if you have a big purchase coming up in 10 years? It's long enough that you think you can take some risk and you want the money to grow. Picture a bucket of water that you are going to tip over and empty all on the same day. It changes how you can invest. In this podcast I walk through an approach from Larry Swedroe in his book "Your Complete Guide to a Successful and Secure Retirement". Larry outlines different % equity allocations based on how far out your financial goal is. Detailed notes and charts are available on my blog at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Enjoy!

I have received this question a few times over the past several months - my teenager wants to begin investing, but she is not yet 18.  What are her options? It's true, once you are age of majority in Canada, you have more options.  But, if your teenager is not yet 18 and wants to start investing, you can help them using one of these 3 approaches. 1) RESPs 2) In-Trust Accounts 3) RRSP's I discuss the attributes of each of the accounts, how they are taxed, some of the benefits and drawbacks, and situations where each of them might make sense. For full show notes and video, please go to my blog at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Have a great day! Mark

Welcome to Episode 40 of Retire Me. A listener asks a question - what is a reasonable savings rate for a person saving for retirement? I talk about some research from Wade Pfau into something called Safe Savings Rates. Wade performed this research to figure out what percentage of income a pre-retiree would need to save for 30 years to afford a 50% income replacement rate for a 30 year retirement using worst case historical scenarios. I discuss the usefulness of the research and its limitations. You can find my show notes on my blog and a video of this podcast on by blog as well as YouTube (Search for Mark Walhout and subscribe!) Thanks for listening! Mark

Welcome to Episode 39 of Retire Me. Today we discuss joint accounts and the pitfalls that can come up with adding adult children to non-registered investment accounts or bank accounts, which include: 1) Loss of Control 2) Open up to children's creditors 3) Possibility for sibling disputes 4) Tax issues I hope you find this helpful! Mark Show notes and slides at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast

Hello, and welcome to Episode 38 of Retire Me. On today's episode, I tackle the question:  How Do I Finance A Cottage? This is a common question, especially these days. There are 3 main approaches that can work: 1) Standalone Mortgage on the Cottage 2) Using a HELOC 3) Refinancing your Primary Residence  I discuss the pros and cons of each approach.  Note, this is general advice and you should absolutely speak with a mortgage professional before going forward with any decisions. Send your questions to retiremepod@gmail.com Thanks for listening! Mark

Hello and welcome to Episode 37 of Retire Me! I had a chance to have a discussion with Jason Allan from Allan Law this week about wills, powers of attorney, and estate planning.  Jason is an estate planning attorney in Aurora, working with his wife Leslie in a family practice.  Most people are familiar with wills and their importance, but powers of attorney are a very important set of estate planning documents as well. We talk about: 1) the importance of powers of attorney documents 2) advice for people with aging parents 3) issues that can crop up if you don't have the correct documents in place 4) the importance of clear communication in families and how doing the simple things right goes a long way Thanks for listening! Mark

Welcome to Episode 36 of Retire Me, and Happy New Year! On today's episode we look back at 2020 and I share my top 2 investing lessons learned this past year.   I also share a look back at crises of the past and how long term investors fared. From there, I talk about how often stocks and factors outperform bonds over different time periods. Charts will be posted this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Send questions to retiremepod@gmail.com Thanks for listening! Mark

Welcome to Episode 35 of Retire Me! I interviewed Nino Notarandrea, a Mobile Mortgage Specialist from RBC.  Nino has been a mortgage professional for many years, and he is a go-to person for me whenever I have questions about mortgages that I need help with. We talk about: how Nino got started in the mortgage industry things that have surprised Nino about the mortgage market in 2020 considerations for people who have a mortgage but may want to take advantage of lower rates the decision between fixed and variable rates and his personal approach considerations for parents who want to help their children buy homes, and how signing onto a child's mortgage can impact you what he would change about the mortgage industry And, much much more! Detailed show notes and Nino's contact information will be up on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening, and Happy New Year! Mark

Welcome to Episode 34 of Retire Me! This week, I discuss dividend stocks.  A lot of retirees wonder if they should simply invest in a portfolio of dividend-paying stocks for their retirement income.  I explore the three big myths of dividend-only investors, which are: 1) Dividends are free cash 2) Dividend stocks beat the market 3) Dividend income is stable and reliable From there, I go through my Top 5 holiday movies and talk about some upcoming interviews that I'm going to be bringing to the show in 2021. Show notes will be up on my site this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for listening! Mark

Welcome to Episode 33 of Retire Me. This week we talk about taxes.  First, we tackle the question:  how might the government decide to raise taxes to help pay for the debt that has been accumulated in 2020?   From there, I talk about how some of the more likely alternatives would impact a retiree and their planning. To close the episode, I provide some year-end tax tips for retirees and retirement savers. Links will be posted on my website shortly at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/podcast Thanks for tuning in! Mark 

Welcome to Episode 32 of Retire Me! Today we talk about the news from Moderna and Pfizer regarding a possible vaccine for COVID-19, as well as its impact on value stocks.  I give a very brief history lesson on the lead up to the dot com crisis where growth investing was beating value investing, and the 1 year turnaround where value completely dominated growth investing and made up the gap. From there, I outline an exercise that can help you think about setting goals for your retirement.  Setting goals can be tricky.  You don't want to live out someone else's goals.  So, I hope this visualization exercise helps you in getting started setting your retirement goals. Send your questions to retiremepod@gmail.com. Show notes will be up shortly on my blog at www.walhoutfinancial/retire-me Thanks for listening! Mark

Welcome to Episode 31 of RetireMe! Today we discuss the 4% rule.  The rule was recently revisited by financial planner Bill Bengen, who now argues that it is more like the 5.5% rule.  I explain how I approach rules of thumb and a sensible way to approach retirement withdrawals. From there, we spend some time talking about value investing.  Davis Funds put out a great chart in their Fall 2020 report contrasting 2 baskets of stocks - 8 highly profitable but more traditional companies vs. 5 expensive tech stocks.  When it comes to value vs. growth investing, history is on the side of value. Show notes, transcript, links and charts will be available on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/retire-me .  Remember to send your questions to retiremepod@gmail.com and have a great week! Mark 

For October we are replaying our most downloaded episodes.  This week we are replaying episode #15!   We will be back in 2 weeks with a brand new episode and some more announcements.  Thanks for listening! Remember to send your questions to retiremepod@gmail.com Thanks! Mark

Hello, welcome to Retire Me! For October and November we are replaying our most downloaded episodes.  This week we are replaying episode #1!   Remember to send your questions to retiremepod@gmail.com Thanks! Mark

Welcome to Episode 30 On today's episode, we evaluate whether owning big tech stocks is a good idea. From there, we discuss the uses of life insurance for retirees. Show notes will be up on my blog shortly at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/retire-me Thanks for tuning in! Mark  

Welcome to episode 29 of Retire Me.  And, Happy Labour Day! On today's show we talk about the current state of bonds as an asset class.  We discuss what is happening in the bond market, expectations for bond returns going forward, and reasons why holding bonds still makes sense for someone approaching or getting ready to start retirement. From there we continue our series on estate planning and talk about charitable giving strategies.  We walk through the 3 tier charitable tax credit system in Canada, and we talk about why giving a gift of investments may be better than giving a gift of cash.  We finish with some recommendations for retirees looking to make significant charitable contributions in their estate plan. Show notes and charts will be available shortly at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/retire-me Have a great week! Mark

Welcome to Episode 28 of retire me! Today we explore Gold as an investment.  Specifically, we discuss the three main arguments to hold gold in your portfolio and dig into some data on how accurate those arguments are: 1) Gold as an inflation hedge 2) Gold as something to hold when the world is falling apart 3) Gold as a negatively correlated asset to stocks I also discuss things you should consider when thinking of adding gold or precious metals to your portfolio. From there, we continue our series on estate planning, and discuss ways that you can reduce probate and taxes for your estate. Charts and links will be on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/retire-me Send your questions to retiremepod@gmail.com Thanks for listening!  

Welcome to episode 27 of Retire Me! Today on the show: 1) some tax announcements 2) some housekeeping items 3) trusts - how Canadian retirees can use family trusts in their planning Show notes and links available on my website this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/retire-me Listener Questions:  Send your listener questions to retiremepod@gmail.com and I will feature your question on the show. Thanks for tuning in! Mark

Welcome to Episode 26 of retire me! Today, we discuss the importance of a Will.  We discuss what happens if you don't have one, why a retiree may want to keep theirs up-to-date, and circumstances that retirees face that need to be addressed on their Will. In our retirement headlines we talk about Greece introducing a 7% flat income tax rates for retirees who move to Greece. We also discuss an article in the Globe and Mail describing how only 1% of Canadians are deferring their CPP to age 70, leaving lots of future income on the table. Detailed notes and links will be on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/retire-me Thanks for listening, and have a great week! Mark

Welcome to Episode 25 of Retire Me! Today we kick off a series on estate planning.  While this is not the most fun topic to think about and plan for, it is a critical financial planning step for anyone who owns property and has family members that they would like to take care of in the event something happens to them. It is commonly procrastinated by many Canadians - only 1/2 of Canadians have wills and only 1/3 of Canadians keep them up to date.   Today we are going to kick off the series by helping you get organized.  We talk about some of the estate planning strategies that most people can employ, and set up the rest of our series. I also announce the date of my first Webinar on September 10th.  For the webinar we are going to bring back our favorite retirement couple, Dave and Sue, and walk through some Estate Planning scenarios.  An invite and details to follow in the coming weeks. Show notes and links will be up on my website this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/retire-me Thanks for listening! Mark

Welcome to episode 24 of Retire Me! On today's show we wrap up our series on Key Questions for the Long Term Investor.  Today's question is: Should I make changes to my portfolio based on what I am hearing in the news? In the second segment, I announce some format changes and new content that I am working on for the rest of the summer and the fall. Detailed notes and visuals will be on my blog shortly at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/retire-me Thanks for listening, and Happy Canada Day! Mark

Welcome to episode 23 of Retire Me. Today we discuss how to handle your employee stock options.  Specifically, we discuss how do you view your stock options/RSU's in the context of your overall financial planning.  I outline the advice I give clients when deciding what to do with the proceeds of stock options/RSU's.  I discuss the tax implications of RSU's and stock options at a high level.  I also discuss reasons why it can be difficult to part with your stocks, even if you know that it is the sensible thing to do. From there, we continue in our series Key Questions for the Long Term Investor.  This week's question is:  Will frequent changes in my investment portfolio help me achieve investment success.  The short answer is no, but market timing is probably the most frequent investor mistake that I see clients making.  I talk about the top 3 market timing mistakes that I see people making and explain why timing the market is so damaging for the long-term investor. Detailed show notes, charts, and links will be available on my blog this week at www.walhoutfinancial.ca/retire-me. Thanks for listening! Mark