For those of us who thought being an American citizen by birth in Canada was smooth sailing, think again. Since July 2014, the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act has required Canadian financial institutions to report investment account information about anyone considered to be a U.S. citizen to the Canada Revenue Agency, which in turn […] Read more
Stories by Ian Morrison
Now is the time to consider tax loss selling – Capital Ideas
We’ve faced rather lacklustre equity markets in North America relative to 2003, and some may wonder whether there is an opportunity in some of those paper losses showing up on investment statements. Selling investments in stocks, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and bonds that for one reason or another have underperformed, can be an important component […] Read more
Is it too late to invest in the oil patch? – Capital Ideas
For some of you, the strong run up in crude oil and natural gas prices has provided welcome cash receipts from surface rights and mineral rights, a bright spot as producers struggle with a late harvest and the impact of BSE on cattle prices. Oil is trading near record highs as a result of low […] Read more
Foreign investments should play important role in portfolio – Capital Ideas
Having just returned from an overseas holiday, I’ve come to accept how far our Canadian dollar goes when travelling abroad. Obviously a stronger Canadian dollar increases our purchasing power in a foreign country and reduces the costs we pay for imported goods, but what does it mean from an investment point of view? For example, […] Read more
Managed futures fill a role in a diversifed portfolio – Capital Ideas
Many farmers have used futures contracts to manage some of their pricing risk. For example, it could be Winnipeg Commodity Exchange canola contracts or perhaps Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures. Managed futures are the investing of futures contracts by professional traders or commodity trading advisers. These professional money managers specialize in the futures market, […] Read more
Now is not the time to get out of income trusts – Capital Ideas
Income trusts have taken a beating recently, but the decline may have been overdone. Since March 25, when the Government of Canada 10-year bond yield hit a low of 4.18 percent, the S&P/TSX Capped Income Trust Total Return Index has fallen 6.9 percent. That compares to the TSX Composite Total Return Index, which fell 4.5 […] Read more
Consider tax shelters when closing NISA accounts – Capital Ideas
As most of you are aware, farm disaster programs are changing. As of March 31, the Net Income Stabilization Account has begun winding down. Taking its place is the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program, which began in 2003. A NISA account had two parts: Fund 1 and Fund 2. After-tax contributions made by farmers were […] Read more
European equity funds benefit from top performing market – Capital Ideas
For many investors, it’s a surprise that Germany is home to the world’s best performing equity market. While Japan and the United States have generated the headlines, the German DAX Index has climbed 22.19 percent year to date while the Standard and Poor’s 500 has climbed .05 percent in Canadian dollar terms and the Japanese […] Read more
Gold has had a good run: why remain bullish? – Capital Ideas
The price of gold closed on Nov. 24 at $390.95 US per ounce, marking about a 20 percent rise from a year ago. Is the momentum running out of steam? No. Gold briefly surpassed $400 per oz. last week for the first time in more than seven years. I anticipate it will reach $415 in […] Read more
Understanding beta and managing it in your portfolio – Capital Ideas
The term beta is often used when evaluating the suitability of stocks within a portfolio because it is the measure of a stock’s rates of return compared to that of the market as a whole. A beta of 1.0 indicates that an equity closely follows the market, a beta greater than 1.0 indicates more volatility […] Read more
