Archive for the ‘Geopolitical + Tax Changes’ Category

If you want to get a sense of how the US is moving ahead of Canada in terms of the classification of who are considered “investment fiduciaries” in servicing employer sponsored retirement plans, the US Department of Labor’s...

A few weeks ago, I resurfaced my arguments against concluding that Canadian mutual fund costs exceed those of all other developed countries.  This is turning into one of those perpetual debates.  And while the industry – i.e. IFIC –...

A few years ago, a research paper by three academics claimed that Canadian mutual funds levied higher average fees than funds in seventeen other countries.  Since average Canadian fund fees are high, the media jumped all over this research...

In a recent blog post, I warned that advisors may face investment, competitive and/or compliance challenges when using ETFs in a fee-based account for clients.  In the May 2010 issue of Investment Executive, I took the opposite side of the issue...

A commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission insists that anyone providing investment advice should be held to a fiduciary standard. In a speech to the Investment Adviser Association Annual Conference in Chicago Thursday, SEC...

This Globe and Mail article  speaks to how the performance of Canada’s public pension funds are significantly outperforming their peers in the US. The article caused us some discomfort – readers are misled by the lack of background...

Good morning all. I am at Holt Renfrew drinking expresso and waiting for Michelle, my significant other to finish with her hair appointment. Anyone else realize that this is a 4-hour experience? Anyway, as you may know, I am not a tax lawyer, CA or...