Just Some Musings

Justin & Markus visited Toronto for CG Wealth Management's National Business Conferences. Some of our learnings from the conference, plus experiences in and around Toronto.

This week Justin & Markus discuss population growth in Alberta and some of the latest rumblings of an Alberta Pension Plan. Then, Markus shares some of his experiences attending the recent Institute of Advanced Financial Planners Symposium in Edmonton, followed by some talk about video games.

I'll show you the outcome. In a solo episode and using information from corporate filings, Justin goes into different examples of executive and director compensation and how investors can take a look into what alignment may or may not exist with those corporate principals. 

Markus just returned from the Future Proof Wealth Festival in Huntington Beach, CA, and told Justin all about it, and why he (and every advisor who wants to be future proof ) should go next year.

This week Markus presents another solo episode, reading his blog post of the same name. You can find the blog post and any links referred to in the episode at www.muhs.ca/fp30

This week Justin & Markus go a bit off the beaten path, discussing investing in collectibles and other shiny things. Can it even be considered investing?

This week Justin & Markus devoted an entire episode to discussing education savings planning, and primarily the ins and outs of RESPs. Find out more about RESPs, and links to various government websites about them, at www.muhs.ca/resp.

This week Justin & Markus recap Justin's previous solo episode on the opportunity cost of paying down the mortgage. The discussion then delves into corporate business transitions, energy, and a bit of Alberta politics.

In another solo episode, Justin provides a recent personal anecdote about the high relative returns of paying down a mortgage and reflects on how current interest rates are impacting decisions on personal debt such as mortgages, lines of credit, and student loans. 

This week is another solo episode, with Markus reading a blog post with some tips for anyone in their 20s looking to start out on the right foot. Also some basics for older cohorts who might have started on the wrong foot. Original blog post at www.muhs.ca/fp20

This week Justin muses a bit about how cargo gets around the world via the oceans after seeing some big ships off the west coast. Justin's flight back from the west coast was delayed and Markus once hit a moose with a rental car, so credit card insurance coverage features are on the discussion table. Markus recounts some learnings from a very excellent webinar on money psychology, including ho...

Justin & Markus expand a bit on last week's episode about CPP, and discuss other government benefits we may get at retirement, like Old Age Security (and how it may get clawed back), and recent CPP enhancements. What about an Alberta Pension Plan?

This week one of us is on vacation, so we present a solo episode. Markus reads one of his popular blog posts, originally posted in 2014 and revised every few years with new numbers. You can find the original post, and follow along with the charts, at www.muhs.ca/cpp.

Justin & Markus discuss "Accredited Investor Status", what type of investor is allowed to buy what, the types of investments that are available only to those with accredited status, including some pitfalls.

Justin & Markus review the markets over the first half of 2023. What worked and what didn't, and how things ended up going quite a bit differently than the prognosticators expected.

This week we're joined by Jeff Haggerty, CFP®, CLU, Wealth & Estate Planner in our Edmonton branch. The conversation hits on a number of things we often talk to clients about when it comes to starting to plan for the inevitable. As always, per our disclosure, none of what we discuss constitutes advice in and of itself, and we are definitely not will and estate lawyers. This discussion is m...

Markus and Justin retell horror stories about the worst investments they ever made: buying apartment condos in Alberta during the mid-2000s boom. Many fellow Alberta elder-Millennials might have experienced similar misfortune, while people from other regions currently experiencing overheated housing markets should take note.

This week Justin and Markus discuss being on the sidelines, not letting fear dominate your investment strategy, bundling, and a final recap of the Alberta election.

This week Markus has a tale to tell about how his credit card was compromised. Conversation shifts to cybersecurity and then delves into some recent developments in AI-related stocks. At the end, some pre-closure on the Alberta election (as it had not yet passed when we recorded on May 26th).

Justin & Markus discuss international diversification, looking at how a variety of international markets did since the October 2022 lows, why it's important to diversify internationally and to not base your investment decisions on the news, and not chase past returns. In the second half we go over some tax promises form the two political parties in Alberta.

Justin & Markus recap some of their learnings from the most recent Berkshire Hathaway AGM, plus a little talk about the Alberta election and why those nosey door-knockers want to know who you're supporting.

Justin & Markus talk AGMs, earnings calls, "Veblen goods", and [shudder] a sales tax in Alberta.

Justin just got back from South Korea and shares some of his experiences. We talk emerging markets investing in general, and how South Korea is kind of punching above its weight economically and culturally. Toward the end we touch on the upcoming Alberta election just a bit.

Justin and Markus discuss some items of interest in the recent federal budget.

This week Justin & Markus look at what some trendy hot stocks did since the depths of the Covid-crash exactly 3 years ago. Coincidentally Markus has Covid while recording this but doesn't know yet. Then, a discussion on "knowing your client", why it's important in the investing world as well as the banking world.