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If you’ve been listening to the financial media of late you have no doubt heard some of the so-called experts prognosticating on the prospect of the next big bear market. Unquestionably, the stock market is at another crossroads, and its significant increase year-to-date belies the concerns that most people have over the global economy. So, gloom and doom forecasts by a media anxious to sell papers or air time, should not be at all surprising. Even if we were to buy into the media hype, should we be at all concerned? In the overall scheme of things, should bear markets even matter to us?

Answer this riddle: what’s the one thing that will eventually happen to everyone, but generally, no one wants to discuss? Death is a subject that immediately conjures up all sorts of emotions because, let’s be honest, the absence of being IS emotional. But, death is also cause for practicality. It’s a cause for stating clearly what to do about money and property so there is no dispute or cause for fights between family members claiming rightful ownership. (We’ve all seen movies and TV shows where that happens and it never ends well.)

We learned from legendary bank robber, Willie Sutton that the reason he robbed so many banks was, as he put it, “obvious ... you go where the money is and you go there often.”  Today, the real money exists not in banks, but in cyberspace among the trillions of bits and bytes that hold the keys to the massive digital vault guarding our most sensitive personal data. Instead of donning a mask and risking capture by the police, cyber-thieves never have to leave their homes, and they hide behind the anonymity of the Internet cloud. They are relentless, and more often than we want to know, they are successful.

ORLANDO, Florida, May 24, 2016 – The winners of the first annual PlanPlus Canada National Financial Planning Awards competition were announced at the Canadian Institute of Financial Planners' annual congress in Orlando, Florida.

PlanPlus is pleased and honoured to congratulate:

Winner: Conrad Toner CFP, CLU, True North Retirement Counsel
First runner-up: Allan Norman CFP, CIM, MSc, Atlantis Financial Inc. (IPC)
Second runner-up: Jason Pereira CFP, CFA, MBA, Woodgate Financial Inc. (IPC)
Second runner-up: Sterling Rempel CFP, CLU, TEP, Future Values Estate & Financial Planning

It has only been since the Baby Boomer generation began to cross the retirement threshold that we’ve had to seriously confront the new challenge of our longevity. Although most of us are now bracing for the probability of living 20 to 30 years in retirement (nearly double the retirement life spans of our grandparents), what isn’t quite as clear is that our actual longevity is a moving target. That is, the older we get, our life expectancy increases, and that can have serious implications for the way we plan for our retirement income.

In the good old days thieves just went after the green. Nowadays they’re after your credit card information. Why? Because, it’s easier to steal your credit card information than your money. Each day, billions of credit card transactions with each use being a potential opportunity for a thief to abscond with an account number. But, contrary to popular belief, most credit card information thefts don’t occur through online transactions, rather through physical theft, such as retrieving receipts or bills from garbage cans or open cars. In any case, your credit card information is a top target of relentless identity thieves as evidenced by the millions of people who have theirs stolen each year. Just by taking a few extra measures in your daily activities, your credit card information can be kept safe and secure.

In the realm of financial planning, time is our most valuable asset.  It’s available to all of us, providing each individual with the same opportunity to optimize its value in building wealth. It’s the only resource we all have over which we have some degree of control. However, it is a wasting resource if it is not optimally utilized.  Each day that passes, without some contribution of money, either in savings or interest, the cost of our financial goals increases. As time marches on, the obstacles to achieving goals of any time horizon become increasingly insurmountable. 

Until recently, many retirees have been able to rely upon the three-legged stool of retirement income sources: a defined benefit pension plan that guarantees a lifetime income, their own savings, and the Canada Pension Plan. Within the last couple of decades, the first leg of the stool has all but disappeared as many defined benefit plans have been replaced with defined contribution plans such as an RRSP. This has shifted the responsibility for creating a retirement income source to the individual. With expanding lifespans and increasing retirement costs, it will require serious retirement planning to ensure that your income will last a lifetime. Here are the four essential elements of a sound retirement plan:

We are pleased to announce that Conrad Toner received the MoneySense Approved Financial Adviser designation from MoneySense Magazine, one of Canada's best known personal-finance media brands.

For anyone approaching retirement you’ve probably got a checklist for your countdown to the big day.

Do I have enough saved for a long, financially secure retirement? Check.

Did I file the right paperwork at the office? Check.

Is my professional exit strategy in place and ready? Check.

Is my estate plan prepared so that I don’t have to worry about my legacy once I stop working? Check

Seems like a good check list. What is missing?