2009 November | WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com

Reader Appreciation: iPod Touch Giveaway!

Posted by Preet on Nov 30, 2009 | 239 comments

As 2009 draws to a close, I thought it would be nice to have a year-end giveaway for the readers of WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com. This blog is nothing without you, and I wanted to show my gratitude. Thank you for all your support. As a token of my appreciation… I’ve decided to give away an Apple iPod Touch. This will be the 8GB version, and for more information you can click here to learn all about the iPod Touch. My brother and (new) sister-in-law got me an iPod for my birthday recently and I have to admit, it is amazing. Truly amazing. Contest Rules: You earn an entry by commenting on this post. I reserve the right to delete any comments that are...

The Saga Continues: New ETN+ Notes try to address Leveraged ETF criticisms

Posted by Preet on Nov 29, 2009 | 7 comments

Barclay’s (the proprietor of iShares ETFs) has just introduced a new leveraged exchange-traded vehicle known as the ETN+ notes. First, it is important to note that these products are not technically ETFs, but ETNs. ETN stands for Exchange-Traded Note as opposed to ETF which stands for Exchange-Traded Fund. An ETN is a debt obligation of the issuer whose value is based notionally on some underlying index, strategy or specified portfolio. In other words, the ETN does not hold the underlying holdings directly, it is just a promise by the issuer to be valued accordingly. This means that if the issuer goes under, you own squat, whereas with an ETF you would actually...

A Lap Of The Blogs

Posted by Preet on Nov 26, 2009 | 5 comments

If you are new to WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com, every Friday I run a post called “A Lap Of The Blogs” which provides links to articles I found interesting and think that others may want to read for themselves. I also sometimes include some commentary on what’s going on in my personal life and a weekly “racing video” since my former life was in the auto-racing industry. The name “Lap of the Blogs” is in reference to “A Lap Of The Gods” which is an old video series which chronicled on-board footage of the world’s greatest F1 drivers lapping various racetracks from around the world. NOTE: you have to visit the actual website to see the embedded video – it...

Tax Advantages of Segregated Funds versus Mutual Funds

Posted by Preet on Nov 25, 2009 | 3 comments

Following from yesterday’s post on year end mutual fund distributions, I should point out that Segregated funds (which are very similar to mutual funds in that they are essentially investment funds but with certain guarantees on capital over time or upon death) are markedly different. Specifically: 1. Segregated funds (seg funds for short) can flow through capital LOSSES to the contract holder. These capital losses can be carried back 3 years, or forward indefinitely. Mutual funds cannot do this. 2. Seg fund distributions can be time-weighted (it depends on the company in question). This means that if you invested for only two months, you will get 2/12ths...

Investor Advisory Alert – Year End Tax Distributions

Posted by Preet on Nov 24, 2009 | 11 comments

Today’s entry is from another guest author – Ken Kivenko from CanadianFundWatch.com. Ken is an investor advocate and regularly provides good material to consider and discuss. He recently sent me this article by email I thought it would be worthwhile to share, with Ken’s permission… It’s that time of year again. Time to think about mutual fund income and capital gains distributions. Most actively managed funds are structured as open–ended mutual fund trusts. Mutual fund trusts are taxed at the highest tax rate for all forms of income earned. As a result, fund companies typically avoid paying this tax by distributing to investors the...

Gift Giving For Less

Posted by Daniela on Nov 23, 2009 | 5 comments

Designer extraordinaire, and guest author Daniela Garritano returns. If you would like to secure her services, don’t be afraid to email her by clicking here. Take it away D… Do you hear what I hear? The sound of bustling shoppers, registers chiming, pocket change jingling and customer’s sighing. Tis’ the sounds of the holiday season! The most common season to break the bank.It’s all too easy to get caught up in the expectation of taking on a second mortgage in order to show someone how much you care. But one of the most important things you can give yourself this holiday season is some spending limits. Read on for some money saving tips that will keep you out...

The Alphabet Soup of Financial Advisor Designations

Posted by Preet on Nov 16, 2009 | 9 comments

I’ve compiled a list of 20 of the most common financial advisor designations and thrown them into a navigable mind map. Just click on a designation to see what it stands for. When you want to zoom back out, just click on some white-space around the objects (as far to the edges of the window as you can). NOTE: To use the map, first click on the “play” button to activate it. To make it easier to see, I recommend switching to the full screen mode which can be accessed under the “MORE” option on the bottom right. If anyone has suggestions for other designations to add, just let me know and I’ll add them to the map. I plan on updating this...