The Blog

Bloggers For Charity Guest Post

Posted by Preet on Jan 17, 2012 | 3 comments

For those of you just tuning in, a number of bloggers got together and auctioned off the opportunity to write a guest post on our respective blogs in exchange for a charitable donation. The top bidder for a guest post on WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com was $5,000 made by Concentra Financial. I have verified the contribution by receiving a copy of the donation receipt. Today is the day that all the guest posts run on all the participating blogs. Regular programming continues on Thursday. Take it away Concentra Financial… *The following is written by Norm Klatt of Concentra Financial Economic Impacts and Social Values In today’s uncertain economic times, there’s value...

The Block Trade and Real Volume

Posted by Tusk Trader on Jan 12, 2012 | 5 comments

This is a guest post on trading from Tusk Trader (check out the newly launched site: www.TuskFund.com), an experienced Bay Street trader who will be writing here until Tusk’s own blog is set up. Tusk had a front row seat to the twists, turns, and almost collapse of our capital market systems a few years ago and provides a unique perspective you won’t find anywhere else. For most people, financial literacy is the elephant in the room. Let Tusk Trader help change that. If you are on twitter, make sure to follow Tusk at @TuskTrader Trading volume is looked at often, but do you consider the effect of block trades? Traders love volatility It is well known that traders...

Dividends make up 43% of S&P 500 historical returns

Posted by Preet on Jan 8, 2012 | 8 comments

There are a lot of die hard dividend investors out there. Many won’t even look at a stock if it doesn’t pay dividends. There are various reasons as to why this strategy is appealing. Companies that pay dividends are often larger and more stable than non dividend paying companies. If a dividend paying stock’s price gets beaten up, the dividend yield increases making the stock more attractive which means there is a bit of a brake on the price falling. For example if company XYZ is $100 per share and pays annual dividends of $4, it has a 4% dividend yield. If the market tumbles and XYZ is now trading at $50 per share, so long as they maintain their...

Trading, investing and portfolios

Posted by Tusk Trader on Jan 5, 2012 | 2 comments

This is a guest post on trading from Tusk Trader (check out the newly launched site: www.TuskFund.com), an experienced Bay Street trader who will be writing here until Tusk’s own blog is set up. Tusk had a front row seat to the twists, turns, and almost collapse of our capital market systems a few years ago and provides a unique perspective you won’t find anywhere else. For most people, financial literacy is the elephant in the room. Let Tusk Trader help change that. If you are on twitter, make sure to follow Tusk at @TuskTrader Happy 2012! New Year’s resolutions are scary things, especially for people like me who eat too much and move too little. When laying out...

2011 stock picking contest results and 2012 picks

Posted by Preet on Jan 3, 2012 | 0 comments

Welcome to the Fourth Annual Personal Finance Bloggers’ Stock Picking Contest. I’m the guy who doesn’t take it seriously. Nice to meet you. Ironically, I’ve done fairly well over the first three years with performances of +56.14% in 2009, +26.56% in 2010, and a rather poor -17.04% in 2011. My hypothetical cumulative return would be +63.94% over the last three years, or an annualized rate of +17.91%. I suppose I should quit my day job and just trade my own portfolio, right? Well, I actually DID quit my day job in 2011 but I’m under no illusion that the performance is due to skill. I’ve just been lucky. And you know how it goes, once you...

Financial advisor not happy with me, demands answers

Posted by Preet on Dec 31, 2011 | 58 comments

A financial advisor sent me an email after reading my column in The Globe & Mail titled, Would you give up 44 per cent of your investment over 25 years. It was actually one of the more cordial emails from financial advisors who were not happy with the column. I decided that I would publish his email on the blog in its entirety and address his points for all to see. I’ll use “Financial Advisor:” and italics to indicate the text from his email, and I’ll reply with “Preet:” and non-italicized text. Subject: MERs FINANCIAL ADVISOR: I am confused. Here I am, having been in mutual funds since 1994, a CFP since 1998 and all of my clients...

Preet’s Tweets 2011-12-24

Posted by Preet Banerjee on Dec 24, 2011 | 0 comments

"Budget: a mathematical confirmation of your suspicions." -A.A. Latimer # I'm getting a jump start on 2012 resolutions. Tonight: crash course in advanced Excel. I'm sick of using an abacus. # New Globe Article: A savings strategy for those who splurge too often: It doesn't matter much if you earn $40,00… http://t.co/TUsp6Ija # "Money isn't the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen on the 'gotta have it' scale." -Zig Ziglar # Hi #Vancouver – here until New Year's Day. Anyone who wants to meet over a coffee or beavertail, lemme know! # Okay phone going off. Don't want...