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12
Nov

Holiday Spending Survival Guide

Are you crazy for the holidays, spending thousands of dollars on holiday gifts, lights, entertaining, food and decorations each year? If so, you’re not alone. Many Americans feel the sting of holiday spending well into the new year. If you love to celebrate the holidays but don’t love the financial pinch you experience afterward, there are several great tricks for giving and celebrating, without breaking the bank. Read more »

12
Nov

Steps to Avoid the OAS Clawback

According to the Canadian government website, Old Age Security is the largest pension program in Canada.  OAS pays a monthly income to seniors who are age 65 and over.  The amount of the payment is not based on past income but rather how long you resided in Canada after the age of 18.  If you have turned 65 you are eligible for the maximum OAS income if you have resided in Canada for at least 40 years after turning 18 AND have resided in Canada for at least 10 years prior to receiving approval for your OAS pension.  There are some exceptions for those who don’t fully qualify based on temporary absences during that requisite 10-year period.

For the last quarter of 2018, the maximum monthly OAS payment regardless of marital status is $600.85.  Don’t get too excited as, as the title suggests, the government can clawback part or all of your OAS benefit depending on your taxable income.  As of 2018, you can earn up to $75,950 in annual taxable income (up from $74,788 in 2017) without affecting your payment.  For every dollar earned over this threshold amount however, you will be taxed (referred to as an OAS recovery tax) at a rate of 15%. Once you reach taxable income in the amount of $ 123,386 the government will have fully recovered or clawed back the entire amount of your Old Age Security. Read more »

9
Nov

DM Monthly Report – Nov 2018

VPI CANADIAN BALANCED POOL PASSES 10-YEAR MARK – A little over a decade ago, a financial services firm based in Winnipeg called Value Partners Investments (VPI) hired Dixon Mitchell to manage a soon to be launched balanced mutual fund. Since that time, VPI has flourished to become a significant player in the Canadian fund and advisory space, while DM has added assets, expanded our portfolio management team, and continued to hone our equity and fixed income investment processes. As both firms have grown, so has the size, following and track record of the VPI Canadian Balanced Pool.

At inception, VPI set the asset mix ranges for the fund with fairly wide bands, allowing DM a high degree of management flexibility and the ability to provide unit holders with an investment experience very similar to that of our typical internal client with a balanced asset allocation:

Click here to read more:  DM-Monthly-Report-Nov-18

9
Nov

Cardinal Update – November 2018

PROTECTING AGAINST THE BEAR – Over the past few years, Cardinal has been making a shift to our portfolios to become more defensive and protect against a market decline. There are two types of market declines that we pay close attention to; corrections and bear markets. A correction, typically a decline of around 10%, can occur sporadically every few months or after multiple years. They have been less frequent since the Great Recession of 2008/2009. Corrections typically do not last very long and are not usually a cause for concern. They are often seen as a healthy reset for the market when optimism has been growing faster than underlying market fundamentals. They also give long-term buyers a chance to buy stocks at bargain rates. A bear market, defined as a 20% pull back or more, is usually led by more serious underlying market concerns. A bear market can occur in tandem with a recession, but not always. 

Click here to read more:  Cardinal Update – November 2018