Retirees : Do they Face an Advice Gap?

Retirees have special needs and issues. Instead of being in the accumulation phase of investing , they are in the distribution phase. Taxation is a bigger issue. Obtaining competent financial advice is a challenge. Read the full article 

Do Financial Advisors add value after costs?

Article discusses the challenges of selecting a Financial advisor and the types of value-add that are possible. Appropriate cautions are highlghted  . Read the full article 

Suitability from a Retiree Perspective

The suitability of an investment for someone in their thirties is unlikely to be the same as a person that is retired.Retirees have different objectives , reduced loss capacity and are subject to several constraints. Advisers, compliance officers and complaint investigators do not seem to account for the unique characteristics of retirees in assessing suitablity . Read the full article    

Sample Investment Policy Statement (IPS)

An investment policy statement (IPS) is a document drafted between a Dealing Representative and a client that documents an investment plan with a client consistent with KYC This statement provides the general investment goals and objectives of a client and describes the strategies that the manager should employ to meet these objectives consistent with KYC. Specific information on matters such as asset allocation, risk profile and liquidity requirements are included in an investment policy statement. It provides guidance for informed decision-making and serves as both a roadmap to successful investing and a bulwark against potential mistakes or misdeeds. A well-devised IPS that contains only actionable provisions that are intended to be followed can help advisors "talk down" clients who want to drastically (and potentially harmfully) change direction with their portfolio when markets start to falter. An IPS also makes compliance reviews and complaint investigations much easier. See a simple IPS at 

https://news.morningstar.com/pdfs/investment-policy_apr2016.pdf

Kenmar believe an IPS will help solve many of the problems we see in the advice industry today by improving Rep-client communications. An IPS can be scaled to the needs of the Investor.

White Paper : A Case for Index Fund Portfolios

White Paper : A Case for Index Fund Portfolios . This paper makes a poweful case for using index funds. It contains some other surprising results, none of which are good news for actively-managed funds. Read the full Research paper

The Best interest standard and the Elderly

The Best interest standard and the Elderly  . Covers all the major issues related to senior investor protection. Contact kenkiv@gmail.com for a copy of the report .

The Great Debate- Should trailer Commissions be Prohibited?

The Great Debate- Should trailer Commissions be Prohibited?This paper discusses the issues from an investor perspective. Read the article

Investors Guide to Effective Complaints

Investors Guide to Effective Complaints provides a detailed approach to making complaints about your investment dealer/ dealer Representative. It shows you what you need to do to lodge an effective complaint that will bring results. Too many people don't realize they have valid complaints and that restitution for undue losses may be in order. The complaint journey is seldom pleasant but this Guide will help make it a little less bumpy. Read the Guide

RESEARCH :The Financial Education Fallacy

RESEARCH :The Financial Education Fallacy by Lauren E. Willis

Suggests that investor education could be a cover for industry wrongdoing .  Read the full article 

Eliminate Embedded commissions ..Professionalize investment advice

Embedded commisions are the source of a lot of problems for retail mutual fund  investors. In this short paper we explain why  Read the full article 

FOOTNOTE:

"Assuming that both approaches cost the investor the same amount, most investors (59%) continue to prefer to pay fees that are part of their mutual funds, while 33% would prefer to pay for advice separately.” Source: Canadian Investors' Perceptions of Mutual Funds and the Mutual Fund Industry 2011 report . The Report notes “The general preference for including advisor compensation in the structure of the mutual fund is constant across all demographic groups and investor types. For example, higher value investors are no more or less likely to support this approach. There are also no significant differences related to investor age or the size of their investment account." [ Better fee disclosure and performance reporting may alter these numbers. ]

Research: The Arithmetic of Investment Expenses by William F. Sharpe

Research: The Arithmetic of Investment Expenses by William F. Sharpe

ABSTRACT Recent regulatory changes have brought a renewed focus on the impact of investment expenses on investors’ financial well-being. The author offers methods for calculating relative terminal wealth levels for those investing in funds with different expense ratios. Under plausible conditions, a person saving for retirement who chooses low-cost investments could have a standard of living throughout retirement more than 20% higher than that of a comparable investor in high-cost investments. In other words fees count.High fees plus conflicted advice= Freedom 75. With higher Canadian fund expenses , the impact on retirement savings is much higher.Read the full article

The Trade Confirmation Slip

This little slip carries outsized importance .  Read the full article 

Trailer commissions: Do they skew advisor recommendations?

This article explains how trailer commissions work in mutual funds.Because they are a sales incentive payment they create a powerful conflict-of-interest for advisors. Read the full article

Canada US mutual fund fee gap

This is our Submission to the Senate Standing Committee on National Finance studying the issues behind the gap between Canada US pricing of similar products.The Final report was issued in Feb. 2013 but didn't address tgis importamnt issue.None of the submissions were made publicly available so we decided to post ours for readers to see. Read the Submission

A Review of Canadian Mining Stock Scandals

This paper is an attempt to provide information to investors, students, brokers, and professional people who

may come into contact with a scam. By controlling one's emotions it is possible to survive such contact and

come away a more knowledgeable person. The elements that make up mining stock scams appear to be

obvious in hind-sight. The scammers who operate in this business are very clever salesmen who know how

to exploit weaknesses in human nature. The paper will describe the elements that generally make up stock scams and how to be wary of these "red flags". A detailed review of the Bre-X scandal of 1996-97 will also be given to record the elements that made up the "Scam of the Century". Mining has a mystique to it that creates curiosity and intrigue. The image of the old-time prospector and his mule crossing the wilderness in search of gold is today replaced by the slick promoter in a three-piece suit running a Boiler Room with Internet connections and immediate access to information and the ability to tap into the emotions of investors and ordinary citizens. The seeking today is often times not for gold but for pigeons to part with their money. Read the entire Paper 

Annual Investment Checkup

We all value the Annual medical to check our physical health. Well, it's a very good idea to do an Annual investment Checkup as well. Read the full article