Welcome to this edition of “Wealth of Life”.
If you are like me, you have spent a lot of time over the last few months riding the emotional wave of what is going on south of the border. Tariffs on, tariffs off. I have always been a proponent of free trade, but Covid did show me the benefits of being self-reliant – even if it costs a little more. Let’s face it: Canada has known for a long time that it should have been diversifying its trading relationships, but the US was just too convenient. If tariffs are a way of life, Canada will be forced to diversify. If the tariffs go away, Canada should still diversify its trading partners. Canada should also focus on adding value to our resources, not just be hewers of wood and drawers of water. It is great to have the federal election behind us and one uncertainty looked after.
Once again, in this time of uncertainty, the strengths of a well-diversified portfolio come into play. We continue to focus on good blue-chip equities in Canada and around the world – an approach that also provides currency diversification that is so important for maintaining purchasing power. Most of you have balanced portfolios which have an allocation in fixed income creating less volatility. I have been in the business since 1990 and have seen all types of events affect markets, but the one consistent truth has been the benefit of holding a well-built portfolio for the long term and ignoring the news.
Here’s what you can find in this edition of “Wealth of Life”:
We are congratulating a few of our team members who are celebrating a significant milestone anniversary with RBC in 2025.
Next, Jessica is sharing a new favorite recipe in their home Maple Curry Chicken Pasta.
My wife Denise and I went to Norway to chase the northern lights in February, so a recap of our adventures is in order.
Finally, as financial fraud seems to be becoming more prevalent, we are covering some strategies to assist in this area.
One thing I have enjoyed over the last couple months is the coming together of Canadians. It feels pretty good compared to the negative talk that has inhabited Canadian politics for a while now. Denise always says, “a bird with one wing can’t fly.” So it would be nice if Canadians could work towards the political center, where we could build consensus as a country – not division.
Howard
Milestone anniversaries
Congratulations to our team members who are celebrating a significant milestone anniversary with RBC in 2025!
30 years
Angela Stuart – Team Operations Manager
Joseph Linthorne – Senior Associate
25 Years
Philippe Cyr – Portfolio Manager and Wealth Advisor
20 Years
Melanie Price – Associate Advisor
10 Years
Jessica Fowlie – Associate Wealth and Investment Advisor
MAPLE CURRY CHICKEN PASTA
Submitted by Jessica Fowlie
| Ingredients • 2 tbsp olive oil • 2 tbsp butter • 1 large onion • 2 bell peppers • 2 cups cubed chicken • 3 cloves garlic minced • ¼ cup maple syrup • 1 cup whipping cream • 2 ½ tbsp red curry paste • ½ tsp parsley | Directions 1. Cook chicken cubes 2. Heat oil and butter, add onion, peppers and cook until soft. 3. Stir in cooked chicken and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes 4. Add maple syrup and cook until caramelized about 5 minutes 5. Stir in curry paste and cream reduce to low. 6. Simmer uncovered 10-15 minutes 7. Serve over pasta of your choice. |
Our Norway Adventure
by Howard Tingley
I am not sure when my wife Denise first started talking about going someplace to see the northern lights. I am thinking it was probably 10 years ago. She spent a lot of time looking at the country with the best odds of seeing them: Iceland, Finland, Norway. At the end of the day, we decided that it was going to be Norway, with less chance of cloudy weather. Well as it turns out, it was pretty much cloudy the whole time we were there. We went the last two weeks of February, when the days would be shorter and the chances of seeing the lights would be better.
Upon arrival to Oslo, the first thing we noticed was there was no snow. Just like Atlantic Canada, they haven’t been having the winters they used to. Because the ocean currents come up the coast of Europe, their winters are more temperate than Atlantic Canada, even though they are farther north. After a couple days in Oslo we were off on the railway to Flam, a pretty impressive train ride over the mountainous area northwest of Oslo. From there, we took a boat, bus, and train to Bergen. Bergen is a Unesco World Heritage City for their historic harbour district.
The next leg of our trip had us fly to Tromso. Tromso is situated in a beautiful fjord setting with lots of snowy mountains surrounding the city. I was so surprised at the number of tourists in Tromso – I was not expecting this. One night we took a tram up to the top of one of the mountains and there were “some” northern lights that you could see with the naked eye, which one week into our trip, we were glad of. I say with the naked eye as we had beautiful northern lights around Moncton last fall, which you could really only see through the lens of a camera. We really enjoyed cold plunging in the harbour, hiking around the city, and touring a couple of the museums, especially the troll museum. Tromso had a lot of things to see and do and we really enjoyed it there. To be truthful, we felt the trip was finally starting.
The next leg of the journey was a two-day boat ride to Kirkenes. On the second night around 8 p.m. the skies cleared and for 30 minutes the northern lights were unbelievable. The sky was completely filled with green everywhere. I felt bad for the people that were scheduled for dinner at that time. It was our one and only great viewing of the lights over the two weeks we were there.
Kirkenes was the best part of the trip in my opinion, it was remote, rugged, snowy, and cooler. It wasn’t -20 degrees like home, but not the +5 to +10 degrees like the other places we had been. It was winter coat weather. We went on a King Crab Safari, slept in an ice hotel, went dog sledding, and learned about the Sami culture. I had never had King Crab before, I think it might be better than Bay of Fundy lobster! The last night in Kirkenes the KP index for likelihood of seeing the northern lights was the highest it had been for our whole trip. You guessed it: cloudy.
Our adventure ended with a flight back to Oslo and then home to a yard full of snow and -20-degree weather.
Fraud awareness
Have you received an unsolicited call, text, or email recently? As scammers become ever more sophisticated, we must stay vigilant to protect our personal data and financial assets.
| Bank impersonation scams are one type of scam we would like to highlight – to build awareness of the types of risks out there. What is a bank impersonation scam?A bank impersonation scam involves you being contacted by a scammer pretending to be a legitimate bank employee. Scammers will try to trick you in various ways to obtain account information or complete unauthorized transactions. Red flags to watch out for: You receive a call, email or text message asking for your card information, password(s), one-time passcode, e-transfer reference number or other sensitive detaiIs. You are asked to complete actions to ‘secure your profile’, such as: • Send a transfer to ‘RBC’ • Send yourself funds • And/or initiate any other type of transaction • When a caller prolongs conversations, utilize misdirection, and create a false sense of urgency to pressure you in completing their request and releasing sensitive information. • You receive a call asking you to place your debit or credit card in an envelope with your PIN and/or password details and are told to place it somewhere or give it to a ‘courier’ company representative that will come to your location to pick it up. • You have received a call from RBC regarding unauthorized transactions, but when you call the number on the back of your card, you ore advised there are no notes or indicators in our systems to support this.
| Everyday tips to help you stay safe and ahead of fraudsters 1. Keep your guard up. Set up alerts on your accounts, enable multi-factor authentication whenever possible and use the RBC Mobile App as your primary banking tool. 2. Avoid sharing personal information. Be cautious about what you share on social media and keep your voicemail generic and short to deter robo-callers from trying to capture your name or voice. Report and delete unsolicited emails and texts asking for your information or containing suspicious links or money schemes. 3. Never feel pressured to respond. Have you received an urgent request from a seemingly official source asking you to move or send money and share your confidential information? Stay calm and resist the temptation to act. If the offer seem too good to be true, it’s likely a scam. 4. lf you receive a suspicious call, hang up immediately and contact RBC at the number on the back of your card. 5. Do not click on any link or provide any information if you cannot confirm with certainty who is contacting you. 6. Report suspicious texts to your telecommunications company by forwarding the message to 7726 on your mobile device. 7. Use the self-serve locking feature via the RBC Mobile app and RBC Online Banking to secure your card(s) until you reach RBC. 8. Treat unsolicited communication by phone, email, or social media with caution. lt is likely not legitimate. | 9. Take time to research any offers or what you’re being told. Never let someone rush you into making a decision, releasing information or acting immediately. 10. Regularly review RBC’s Scam Alerts at www.rbc.com/cyber/alerts. It’s also important to understand what RBC will never ask you to do: • Initiate any type of transaction on RBC’s behalf • Provide one-time codes sent through SMS, emails, or voicemail to identify yourself over the phone or in person • Download a remote access application • Disclose your PIN • e-Transfer money for any reason • Perform any digital two-step authentication for outbound calls, including One Time Passcode, 10 verification or PIN verification • Create a new online banking password with the Advisor or ask to share your password with anyone What to do if you fall victim to a scam • Report the scam to fraud reporting agencies. • Report the scam to your bank. • Scan your devices. • Change your passwords. • Lock down your debit and credit cards. As always, your team at Tingley Mahoney Cyr Group is here to help. Please reach out with any questions or concerns you may have around cyber security or any matter regarding your financial well-being. |
** This article may contain strategies, not all of which will apply to your particular financial circumstances. The information in this article is not intended to provide legal, tax or insurance advice. To ensure that your own circumstances have been properly considered and that action is taken based on the latest information available, you should obtain professional advice from a qualified tax, legal and/or insurance advisor before acting on any of the information in this article. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time obtained but neither RBC Dominion Securities Inc. nor its employees, agents, or information suppliers can guarantee its accuracy or completeness. This report is not and under no circumstances is to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. This report is furnished on the basis and understanding that neither RBC Dominion Securities Inc. nor its employees, agents, or information suppliers is to be under any responsibility or liability whatsoever in respect thereof. The inventories of RBC Dominion Securities Inc. may from time to time include securities mentioned herein. RBC Dominion Securities Inc.* and Royal Bank of Canada are separate corporate entities which are affiliated. *Member-Canadian Investor Protection Fund. RBC Dominion Securities Inc. is a member company of RBC Wealth Management, a business segment of Royal Bank of Canada. ® / ™ Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence. © 2025 RBC Dominion Securities Inc. All rights reserved. 25_90286_AVA_002 (04/2025)