Efficient Markets

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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