Comments for Investing Intelligently

Comment on Split Shares: The Downside by Ray Biglow

Ray Biglow — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 15:22:19 +0000

My daughter was put into Commerce Split Corp Class A 2010 and Commerce Split Corp Capital Shares in her non-reg acount & , in her RRSP,Commerce Split Corp Class I and II Preferred. The non-reg portion, from an investment of $ 15,000, is now $ 1,655. The RRSP portion, with the Preferred Shares has seen an investment of $ 16,000 decline to $ 13,500. She is a conservative invester with very little investment savvy. I suspect the fees accruing to the seller pay a good part in selling her this product? Am not sure but believe this purchase was made about 3 yrs. ago altho I just learned of it.
Have you an opinion on Can-60 Income Corp. which is now being touted by the same advisor .

Comment on HBC Credit Card – don’t bother by Melani

Melani — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:03:54 +0000

I have a power of attorney for my mother, who is now in a nursing home. Using the same POA, I have contacted and been accepted as her POA by CPP, Revenue Canada, her bank, etc. HBC will not cancel her card for me. I think she used it once, probably on a promotion when she was in another city.

HBC – shame on you. They will not change her address, because they refuse to accept my POA. This means that her personal information is still being sent to her old apartment. If not for a change of address with Canada Post, anyone could intercept this mail.

I’m 2 1/2 hours from her, I asked them if I drove to her and had my mother speak to them directly, would they cancel it? I was told “No, because she has a Power of Attorney.” What? It’s crazy!

Comment on HBC Credit Card – don’t bother by Neha

Neha — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:02:36 +0000

For 18 years, I have had different type of credit cards, student loan and car loans. Paid off everything on time. There was $18 owing on my HBC card that I did not realize it. As soon as, I received the call from HBC, I went and paid it off the next day. They reported the payment late on my credit bureau which has affected my credit. Called them several times including speaking to the supervisors. They did not do anything at all. I canceled my card and will never ever get another card including telling all my family members, friends and colleagues. Over measly $18, they are ruining my credit.

Comment on HBC Credit Card – don’t bother by trilamb

trilamb — Thu, 13 May 2010 01:03:12 +0000

zellers (hbc) does not care about the customer. they are not in the business of selling merchandise. they are in the business of signing people up for their credit card. my manager told me that without the credit card they would not be in business. she said that the credit card was their number one priority. do not be duped into signing up for one of these cards, regardless of how tempting the cashier may make it seem. some of them will say just about anything to sign you up. i have seen them tell elderly people and immigrants with little command of the english language “fill out this form and sign the bottom and you’ll save 10%” without explaining that they are signing up for a credit card. they do not explain that you lose points on your credit rating when you apply. they do not explain the criminal interest rates or the hidden “financial charges” that appear each month that you carry any kind of balance. they certainly don’t tell you that the reason they are being pushy is because their jobs depend on it. that piece of paper that is filled out with all your financial and personal information is usually left lying about out in the open for all to see. i know of one cashier who lost an application that she left lying around. if you are sick and tired of constantly being harassed about the hbc mastercard everytime you shop at zellers, tell the manager, tell head office, and shop elsewhere.

Comment on Dividend Stocks Inside vs. Outside an RRSP by Harjit Sandhu

Harjit Sandhu — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 00:54:15 +0000

Another thing that many have missed out on is that when you buy a blue chip stock say for $100 and sell it for $150 the $50 profit is considered a capital gain and you only have to pay tax on $25.

However, if you hold that same stock in a RRSP, not only are now having to pay tax on dividend income (which for a lot of people would be tax free) you are also having to pay tax on the entire capital gain.

Comment on “It is very hard, if not impossible, to justify active management” by Daddy Paul

Daddy Paul — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:20:42 +0000

I respectfully disagree that it is hard to justify active management. I do believe if you are talking single country large caps stocks index funds are the way you go but when it comes to mid and small cap investing and global funds a good managed fund will yield superior results.

Comment on CommunityLend Pre-Launch Site Revealed by Colin Henderson

Colin Henderson — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:38:42 +0000

It has been a while but thought I would let you know we are now live and accepting borrowers and lenders. It has been a long journey, but we received the necessary licences and we are open for business in Ontario and Quebec for now, with other provinces coming as soon as possible.

Comment on Got laid off by Canadian Personal Finance Blog » Blog Archive » Random Thoughts: Financial Shock Collar?

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:49:26 +0000

[...] hadn’t noticed but Dave over a Investing Intelligently Got Laid Off, now it looks like he has found something, but does bring home that the alleged [...]

Comment on Air Miles Blows by JadeDragon

JadeDragon — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:56:22 +0000

On the contrary, it is all in how you use the Air Miles program. By lowering my cost per mile and collecting a lot I don’t mind redeeming for merchandise. I actually got a John Deere riding lawn mower, honeymoon cruise, exercise equipment and lots of other stuff. I’ve linked to one of my guides on how I pulled it off.

Comment on VEA vs XIN: Foreign Exchange Fees vs. Higher MER by Paul

Paul — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:10:40 +0000

My comments are assuming you have a CAD based account (in my case my RRSP). So you get hit with the exchange rate both ways (div to you, then stock purchase with dividends)