I n the span of one short year, the tax-free savings account has ballooned in popularity. The amount of money in TFSAs swelled by 27 per cent in the final six months of last year, and while most assets are still sitting in savings accounts at retail banks, growth at full-service brokerage accounts is accelerating. According to a report that Toronto-based financial research firm Investor Economics will publish, Canadians opened 4.7 million TFSA accounts by the end of December, 2009, containing assets of $15.8-billion. That includes the 3.6 million accounts holding $12.4-billion that sprang up from January to the end of June of last year. There are about 27 million Canadians over the age of 18, which suggests roughly one in five people who are eligible to open a TFSA have done so. Judith Cane is in Vancouver, partying in skiers plaza, thanks to her TSFA. The 53-year-old Ottawa independent…

T here have been times in recent months when another fat speculative bubble seemed to be inflating around certain commodities, thanks to the flood of easy money, supposedly insatiable demand in China, worries about currencies and a renewed desire among shell-shocked survivors of the global meltdown to own an asset with something higher than a zero rate of return. Among the impressive gainers in the Great Commodity Rebound of 2009, copper shot up more 130 per cent, sugar soared more than 120 per cent and already bubbly gold rose more than 30 per cent. Just last month, famed investor George Soros told the Davos crowd that gold had turned into an asset bubble. This was after his exchange-traded gold fund had more than doubled its holdings as the price went up late last fall. Which brings to mind a prayer from prominent U.S. investment adviser John Mauldin: “I have lived through…

N o one wants to think about losing their life-long partner, but avoiding the topic is not going to help prepare your finances for the inevitability of a loved one’s death. The loss of a spouse, an intensely painful event, can also have major financial repercussions. A 2006 Statistics Canada report found that in many cases it leaves the survivor more vulnerable financially and can trigger, particularly for widows, a sharp decline in income. Couples who do not share basic financial information or prepare a financial contingency plan leave the “unprepared survivor vulnerable to a variety of risks,” says Peter Lillico, a lawyer in Peterborough, Ont. Mr. Lillico, who specializes in estate and succession planning, has these tips on how to ensure financial security for the surviving spouse: 1 Share Information List and share detailed information about the nature and location of financial assets, such as bank accounts, investments, insurance…

An analysis of IPOs over time shows that it is usually offered by start up companies, or smaller companies as a means to expand their capital. But quite a number of larger private firms may also come up with an IPO to become a publicly traded or a public limited company. This means that the company is no longer owned by one private group, but by a variety of investors, employees, or any person in general. Most of these groups have little to do with the functioning of the company, though they own a part of. Before coming out with the actual IPO, there�€™s a lot of news that precedes the IPO. The IPO is then analyzed on its expected profitability. There are many aspects involved in analyzing the performance of an IPO. The first of course, is how the company is expected to perform and what profits…

It is very difficult to save money in this rising price situation. In case of any emergency, if you do not have any savings account then you can be in danger. Lot of us have to totally depend upon our salary to meet our demands. If something happens in between two paydays, then we have to look for an alternative. In such situations, payday loans can play a crucial role. It can be a lifesaver for most of us, as we do not have enough choices to make. Instead of worrying about how you will pay your gas or vehicle repair bill in the middle of a month, you can easily apply for a payday loan. Online services have gained a lot of popularity. Especially in this busy situation when you hardly find enough time to spend with your family, it is a good option to avail all the services…

There are numerous advantages of owning an apartment building.These include their availability, transaction costs, efficient use of time with purchasing, maintenance, management, record keeping and then selling. The question is though..”How do I manage to make the transition between owning a single family unit to owning and managing apartment units?” If you are like most people, the amount of capital you have available is limited and so is your experience in the real estate market. Therefore, you should most likely start off with something like a duplex or a fourplex apartment block. Just something where you can get that valuable hands on experience that we all need. One valid method of building a real estate portfolio is to buy a property, pay it off and live off the income. If you have another income that permits you to make investments in real estate every now and then, this…

When it comes to transferring pension to an overseas country then people often get confused about which scheme to choose and which plan would be beneficial. People often get trapped in the confusion that among QROPS and SIPPS which one would be utmost advantageous, but not anymore! This article will help you to make the decision in the easiest of manner. Before we get into the discussion of QROPS and SIPPS, let�€™s clarify three points – do you possess the necessary UK pension rights? If you are not a UK citizen then do you live permanently in an overseas country? If you are a UK citizen, do you intend to take retirement outside the UK or live permanently overseas? If your answer any of the aforementioned questions as �€˜yes�€™ then you should go for QROPS. Well, let�€™s discuss more elaborately that why QROPS is…