This week I hosted my fourth annual Stocks, Suits, Scotch event – a special evening that brings together 3 of my favourite things and proves to be a fun and education evening year after year.

This year we had a special guest, Canadian industry veteran, David Picton, President, and lead Portfolio Manager at Picton Mahoney Asset Management share his market outlook with us.

Many were mesmerized by David as he spoke about our current economic climate and market risks – and many are still talking about Ray Kurzweil, a man who David referenced as it pertains to his bold predictions for the future and how we must change our outlook on investing & our saving habits to accommodate a longer life (which also means keeping up with inflation and increased healthcare costs). For those of you who missed it, some of Ray’s predictions included 40% of the S&P 500 becoming obsolete within the next 10 years, the elimination of disease by the 2030s and that we (humans) will become immortal by 2045.

While some of these predictions may seem bizarre (note that Ray’s track record is rather impressive), David’s reason for sharing these predictions was to encourage those in the room to think differently – think ahead and stay ahead. Most of you know that I am not a traditional stock broker; I am a wealth advisor and I believe in wealth management. And what that really means is building a team of the most brilliant minds (like those at Picton Mahoney) so that we can work together in a coordinated effort to strategically plan for today and for the future.

Following the stocks presentation, Alan Whitfield, Harry Rosen’s National Director and personal friend of Harry himself (and mine), was not only educational and interactive but practical to those in the audience providing tips on your staple suit must-haves, fit-to-measure trends and what not-to-dos when it comes to your pants, blazers, shirts & ties and provided a sneak peek at the latest fashion trends & colors to look out for this season; click here for Harry’s latest trends and you might look as good as Alan does on a daily basis…

We sealed the evening with a scotch tasting and history lesson with the recently retired National Ambassador for Macallan, Marc Laverdiere. With a glass of scotch in his hand, Marc brought the stocks and suits presentations back full circle with a tasting of 3 very different scotches to help us compare and contrast. People have different palates and can each discern different flavours – and the same can be said about your personal style and investment portfolio.

With so much going on and information coming at us from every angle, it's sometimes hard to keep your finger on the pulse of what's happening. In an effort to keep you in-the-know and provide you with some conversation nuggets for the weekend, I've compiled the following hit list to fill your conversation pipeline.

Now you are in-the-know with Word on the Street.