Some of the best deals in investing and personal finance never get any hype or marketing, which means they’re quietly waiting for you to discover them. Here are five examples I have accumulated over the past year. Take a moment to see if any of them can help you in 2024:
4 per cent savings accounts
Three financial players offered 4 per cent interest on savings in early 2024 – the investment company Wealthsimple, and the alternative banks Neo and Wealth One Bank of Canada. A fourth alt bank, Motive Financial, offered 4.1 per cent. Motive and Wealth One are members of Canada Deposit Insurance Corp., while deposits with Wealthsimple are protected because they are held with a CDIC member. Neo’s account is provided by Peoples Bank of Canada, which is a CDIC member. Big bank savings accounts are typically below 2 per cent, while alternative banks are typically in the 2.5 to 3.8 per cent range.
A 4.55 to 5 per cent investment savings account
Investment savings accounts are just savings accounts for your investment account. They trade like mutual funds, which means they’re accessible through all online brokers. Most ISAs pay 4.55 per cent to 4.75 per cent, which is pretty good considering your money is covered by deposit insurance and thus virtually risk-free. One ISA that pays 5 per cent is the F-series version of the Scotiabank Investing Savings Account, with the order symbol DYN6004. It’s available to clients of Scotia iTrade.
No-cost ETF investing
Exchange-traded funds in their classic form are a cheap, well-diversified way to buy into the stock and bond markets. If you’re looking to move out of safe havens like guaranteed investment certificates in 2024, give ETFs a look. And, look for a digital broker that lets you at least buy ETFs at no cost. BMO InvestorLine, Qtrade Direct Investing and Scotia iTrade all have a limited menu of ETFs available commission-free. There’s enough at each broker to build a diversified portfolio. CI Direct Trading and Questrade allow clients to buy ETFs commission-free, but there’s a cost to sell. And, or course, National Bank Direct Brokerage and Desjardins Online Brokerage have no commissions of any kind for stocks and ETFs. One more option is the mobile all TD Easy Trade, which offers no-cost investing in TD’s family of ETFs.
Asset allocation ETFs
These ETFs are gaining traction quickly, but they should be more popular because of the low-cost simplicity they offer. Each is a fully diversified portfolio of bonds and stocks from Canada, the United States and the rest of the world. Just pick your risk level – conservative, balanced, growth or all-stocks. Costs are as low as 0.2 per cent, compared to around 1.5 to 2 per cent for balanced mutual funds.
Pre-paid bank cards
Load money on cards issued by EQ Bank, Koho, Wealthsimple and Wise and you can pay for purchases outside Canada without incurring the 2.5 foreign currency fee applied by most credit cards. These prepaid cards are connected to credit card networks, so they’re accepted wherever major cards are. These cards are unlike the first generation of prepaid products, which were loaded with fees and expiry dates.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
