The investment climate has been tricky. Most people have not realized that the bust investments this year have been ones that most of you would not expect….fixed income…dishing out a -7.1% return over the last year (because of rising rates) and US currency at a -6.8% return (because of a rising Canadian dollar). For those of you who have balanced accounts it is not the equity that has been the difficult place to be, it has been the fixed income and the conversion of US portfolios back into Canadian dollars. But, even though the US currency has gone against us, I think this will only be temporary. The US market is a better place to invest in. There are more companies to look at. In Canada, we have a lot of financial services companies and commodities and quite frankly it is just not diversified enough. I am very confident that the Canadian dollar will settle down and find solid footing at approximately $0.76. If this happens, you will see a big performance contribution to portfolios.

Anyway, one of the reasons I wanted to write to everyone was because I read an article a few weeks ago about Joint Accounts. I have posted it on the Client Lounge site and am URGING all of you to read it. I work with a large number of families….not only spouses but also grandparents and children! I have a number of spouses who have not set up their accounts in joint names because they are concerned that a possible tax liability may be triggered. Please read the article carefully as it may uncover some interesting information….there may not be a tax liability AND the estate planning features of joint account are numerous. In addition, if you are interested in moving your assets into joint name with your children….there are issues to be concerned about but in some cases, if it is done correctly it can be advantageous for estate planning. There are essentially 3 types of joint account to be aware of:

 

Joint Tenants in Common (JTWIC)

 

Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship (JTWROS)

 

Joint – Gift of Beneficial Right of Ownership (JGBRS)

 

Please make sure you call me if you have questions and need further clarification. This is important!!

 

All the best,

 

Barb