Quotes of the Day

Gold ETFs are a safe, cost-effective and easy way to acquire gold. But here is a potential problem that may seem improbable today, but which is important to consider for investors concerned about ultimate investment safety, which is, after all, the main reason to own gold: World governments in time may decide to change the rules of the game and force gold ETFs, less than a decade old, to delist. [2008] - Shayne McGuire

Although you can close out your RRSP earlier than the year in which you celebrate your 71st birthday, the best strategy for most people is to leave your RRSP intact for as long as you're allowed. This is almost always the case if you decide to turn it into an RRIF. If you choose to go the annuity route, collapsing your plan a year or two early can make sense. If interest rates are relatively high, closing your plan out early may make sense if it allows you to lock in a higher-than-average return. [2019] - Eric Tyson

Obtain the status certificate of the unit you wish to buy and the condo complex's financial yearly reports. Analyze the current, past, and proposed future budgets of the complex where you wish to buy. Ask your lawyer or accountant to help you if you're unable to make this analysis yourself. [2013] - Dan S. Barnabic

Invest in those regions that for years have exceeded the national average. People are perversely obsessed with investing in their own town or city or area, when sometimes it would make much more sense to invest elsewhere. The population growth in Auckland is twice the national average. In Australia, there is a lot of internal migration to the sunshine state of Queensland. In the United States, the population of California is predicted to double in the next thirty years. San Francisco and Marin Country have regularly had growth rates in capital values higher than the rest of the state.Similarly, in Queensland, the southeastern corner encompassing the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and the Sunshine Coast has regularly outperformed the rest of the state by a factor of two. [2001] - Dolf de Roos

Modern Portfolio Theory says that the volatility/risk of a portfolio may differ dramatically from the volatility/risk of the portfolio's components. In other words, you can have two assets with both high standard deviations and high potential returns, but when combined they give you a portfolio with modest standard deviation but the same high potential return. The key to whipping up such pleasant combinations is to find two or more holdings that do not move in synch: One tends to go up while the other goes down (although both holding, in the long run, will see an upward trajectory). The lower the correlation, the better. [2013] - Russell Wild