2008 April | WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com

Hilarious Interview About How The Markets REALLY Work

Posted by Preet on Apr 30, 2008 | 2 comments

You would have to have been living under a rock not to have heard about the sub-prime mortgage meltdown. However, I think many people don’t actually know what machinations were behind the debacle. Luckily a friend forwarded me this video which is intended to be a satirical take on the situation, but is scarily poignant. The video is about 8 minutes long and is absolutely brilliant! :) If you are subscribed to the email updates and cannot see the embedded video, click...

Video Interviews Between Jonathan Chevreau And Myself

Posted by Preet on Apr 28, 2008 | 6 comments

I had the privilege of being interviewed with Jonathan Chevreau of the National Post recently and the two videos are embedded below (just click to play, but note that there is a short commercial that plays before the interviews start). For those who don’t know, Jonathan Chevreau is one of Canada’s premier financial journalists and I would suggest subscribing to his Wealthy Boomer Blog – you can click here to visit The Wealthy Boomer, and you can click here to add his feed to your reader. No making fun of my oddly-placed dimples...

CTV W-5 Investigates Broker and Lack of Investor Protection

Posted by Preet on Apr 27, 2008 | 8 comments

Here is a terrible story of a man who’s account went from $217,000 to $0 in the matter of years. What’s even worse is that his previous broker (who went on maternity leave) had him predominantly in more conservative investments (Government of Canada bonds and the like), but the replacement broker racked up 74 stock trades in one year (and it looked like mostly high-tech stock positions). The two-part video also highlights the fact that while the IDA (Investment Dealers Association) can fine brokers, they cannot ‘compel’ payment if the broker just decides to leave the industry. Meanwhile the investor almost never sees a single penny of that fine as...

Graphic Mortgage Calculator

Posted by Preet on Apr 26, 2008 | 5 comments

For a user-friendly mortgage calculator, enter in your data below and hit calculate – a very nice graphical representation of the rest of your mortgage is provided. It’s nice to see a mortgage calculator with a little artistic flare! :) For a more in-depth explanation and for slightly more detailed reporting, you can visit the website of this calculator provider, MLCALC.com. ...

A Lap Of The Blogs

Posted by Preet on Apr 25, 2008 | 4 comments

It’s Friday again which means it is time for another lap of the blogosphere! I just got home from the Raptors game (first home playoff game) and they actually played a decent game, although I really wish they would drive the boards more (or even at all) on offense. I remember my basketball coach in school yelling at us that when we shot the ball, to keep driving to the basket in case you miss (which was often!). It seems the NBA norm is to throw up a shot, freeze your arms in the air, extend the pinky and hop backwards while you wait and see if you hit the bucket. Very artistic. Anyways… A Lap Of The Blogs The Million Dollar Journey hosted a guest post by...

The Rule of 72 Doesn't Always Work

Posted by Preet on Apr 24, 2008 | 8 comments

I’m sure many people have heard of the ‘Rule of 72′ which posits that if you divide 72 by your annual investment return, you will get the number of years required to double your money. Some oft quoted examples: You are earning 7.2% on your investments. 72 divided by 7.2 = 10, therefore it will take 10 years to double your investment. You are earning 10% on your investments. 72 divided by 10 = 7.2, therefore it will take 7.2 years to double your investment. If you remember your basic math, it should work the other way in that if you want to double your money in 5 years, you just need to divide 5 into 72 to figure out your required rate of return, which...

How Easy Is It To Become A Financial Advisor?

Posted by Preet on Apr 22, 2008 | 12 comments

First off, I have to say that there are many fully capable financial advisors out there who spend countless hours studying, learning and otherwise educating themselves to be competent and knowledgeable professionals. However, given the 60,000+ 100,000+ financial advisors in Canada, not all are created equal and I think many investor advocates would argue that most advisors are just salespeople as opposed to fiduciaries. Perhaps part of the problem is that while professionals in other lines of work require a significant investment not only of their time, but also of their money in the pursuit of the credentials required for their particular vocation, to become a mutual...