The decision to buy a house and take on a mortgage is one of life’s milestone moments and it often symbolizes the big step of “getting there” for most families.

Over the last decade, global markets have been thrown into chaotic, disruptive, but beneficial upheaval as the new giants of the world grew up. In this I am referring to what were coined the BRIC economies by Goldman Sachs: Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The thought of purchasing life insurance for your children is often a difficult one for families, which is completely understandable. As a parent myself, I don’t like the thought of it at all. Though this may not sound like a typical wealth preservation strategy, it can prove to be a valuable one if the unthinkable were to happen.

“Job gains, along with the strengthening housing market, have in turn contributed to increases in consumer confidence and supported household spending.”

Ben Bernanke, June 19th, 2013.

The 2013 federal budget was delivered by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty just over two weeks ago. Usually we like to get something out that summarizes the budget very quickly, but in this case there were some directives in the budget that we required some clarification on before posting our thoughts.

… Bungee Jumping Anyone?

Based on a number of conversations I’ve had recently, there appears to be a disconnect between the prevailing thoughts on recent market performance and the reality of what has been happening.  If I told you that, as of October 3rd, US Markets (using the S&P 500 as an example) have outperformed the TSX in Canada by 12.38% year-to-date, would you believe me? 

Most people recognize that they require life insurance, whether it will be for their short-term liabilities, mortgage debt, final expenses, etc.  However, the question that frequently comes up is "How much life insurance do I actually need?" 

"It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." - Yogi Berra

Over the last year as equity markets have become more volatile, primarily on the heels of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, a number of new investment opportunities have been crossing my desk and I wanted to address the risks associated with these, sometimes opaque, products.