Our Views

In a blog post last summer, we reminded our readers about the tax savings opportunities of prescribed rate loans. At the time, we cautioned that interest rate increases were on the horizon and would reduce the amount of the annual savings available to a high-income household. Based upon the ... Keep Reading "Interest on prescribed rate loans set to rise April 1" >

We live in amazing times with so many things easily accessible and available almost instantaneously. Don’t feel like cooking? Dinner can be delivered to your doorstep within minutes using one of the many food delivery apps. Have a cheque to cash? Snap a picture and consider it done. While there ... Keep Reading "Protecting a most valuable asset: your identity." >

As a new parent myself, I know that raising a family is costly. Even more so for families who pay for their children (or grandchildren) to attend private school. For example, at a private school in my Toronto neighbourhood, tuition is roughly $21,000 annually, per child, for grades 1-8, and ... Keep Reading "How to save $15,000 a year on private school tuition" >

At a recent institutional investment conference, several money manager panelists were asked whether they were still finding buying opportunities in their asset class, given the long and significant run-up in prices. Every one of them responded enthusiastically yes. Was this a case of a savvy ... Keep Reading "Does your money manager have an asset class bias?" >

A recent Globe and Mail article on the investment practices of Ultra High-Net-Worth investors caught our eye. The piece was based on global investment firm, KKR & Co.’s survey of investors with US$30 million or more in net assets. Since we have long modeled our investment approach on ... Keep Reading "The rich are different: habits of Ultra High-Net-Worth investors" >

There has been a lot of news recently about financial troubles at certain Canadian real estate companies and non-bank lenders. It might cause investors to wonder if real estate as an asset class is still an attractive investment. Like so many things, it depends. At Newport Private Wealth, real ... Keep Reading "Real estate volatility on the rise – adversity or opportunity?" >

Recently, we have seen a lot of so-called “balanced portfolios” from prospective investors with one of two concerns.  Either they have a typical 40%-50% weighting in bonds that earns meagre returns, or in search of higher returns, they have 70%-80% of the portfolio invested in ... Keep Reading "Is your balanced portfolio truly balanced?" >

The federal government announced last week that it will table its budget on March 22nd – putting an end to the guessing game. Speculation remains rampant about possible changes to capital gains taxation. Rumours are circulating that the federal government may increase the capital gains ... Keep Reading "Possible changes to capital gains taxation" >

It’s a real-life Hollywood success story.  Snap, the L.A.-based parent company of the popular Snapchat app, is going public with an IPO set for later this week. With the company’s value estimated at around $20 billion, many employees will become  millionaires — its founders ... Keep Reading "Financial advice for the ‘Snapchat millionaires’" >

It used to be, a secure retirement income was generated from a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds. Bonds were the stabilizing force that provided income and offset equity risk. And for more than two decades, bonds have provided excellent returns. But with interest rates rising, the outlook ... Keep Reading "Is your retirement income secure in bonds?" >