From the monthly archives:

February 2010

New BMO ETFs Fill Out Canadian ETF Niches

February 22, 2010 · 2 comments

in BRIC, Canadian, ETF(s), India, S&P/TSX, TSX, diversification, emerging markets, financial education, foreign investment, infrastructure, international economy, news and updates

ETF investors have noticed the enormous growth in ETFs offered over the past two years.  We’ve gone from simple “emerging markets” ETFs like Vanguard’s VWO and iShares’ EEM/XEM to not only BRIC ETF offerings (such as Claymore’s CBQ), but now iShares Canada is offering ETFs specific to India (TSX: XID), Brazil (TSX: XBZ) and Latin [...]

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The Four Most Basic Types of Options

February 19, 2010 · 2 comments

in VIX volatility, financial education, hedging, indexes, international stock market, investing, investment tools, market timing, options, risk, side income, stocks, technical analysis, terminology

There are many different types of options, and they’re not all equally risky.  Some options investing strategies are highly risky, whereas others have a much lower level of risk.  If you’re still new to options investing, you might want to first read my post on learning the basics of options trading.
Before you can get into [...]

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Five Things You Should Have In Your Emergency Cash Stash at Home

February 17, 2010 · 5 comments

in diversification, emergencies, emergency fund, emergency kits, financial planning, lifehack, money lessons, preparedness, savings, self-protection, survival, wealth protection

My wallet was stolen from me recently.  I was pickpocketed in the plain of day in the middle of crowds in an urban transit station.  I didn’t hear, feel or notice a thing.  Suffice it to say, this identity theft can obviously happen to anyone.
Luckily, I’d previously heeded the good advice of not keeping all [...]

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Ex-Dividend Date and Record Date Explained

February 15, 2010 · 5 comments

in CIBC Mellon, Computershare, DRIPs, brokers, dividends, financial education, investing, special dates, stocks, terminology

So you finally want to figure out the exact difference between the ex-dividend date and the record date?
If you’re a dividend investor, you know that stocks which pay dividends set three important dates around the determination, announcement, and distribution of dividends: the payment date, the record date (or date of record) and the ex-dividend [...]

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What Are Stock Certificates Still Good For?

February 8, 2010 · 9 comments

in CIBC Mellon, Computershare, DRIPs, investing, stocks

Today’s online discount brokerage investor may never have had the experience of seeing or touching an old-school stock certificate like the one in my previous post on canceling your DRIPs.
Ownership of stocks today usually falls in the hands of the broker you buy and sell through.  When the broker holds the stocks for you, it’s [...]

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How Do You Decide Which DRIPs To Get Rid Of?

February 3, 2010 · 4 comments

in Computershare, DRIPs, dividends, financial planning, income trusts, investing, investment tools, money decisions, money management, passive income, portfolio, stock picks, time in the market, wealth transfer

There was a time when I first learned about DRIPs when I had some idea that I would eventually own some shares in every one, or almost every one.  Over the years as I’ve learned more about investing in general, I’ve realized that (1) I don’t need a portfolio that big and (2) not all [...]

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What To Expect in Stock Markets for February

February 1, 2010 · 6 comments

in 2010, February, S&P 500, international stock market, investing, market reports, market trends, seasonal investing, stock exchanges, stocks

Predicting where the stock market will go in February might be a lesson in futility more than futurity, but that doesn’t mean we can’t pay close attention to what the analysts are looking out for – and other key pieces of market news such as earnings, announcements from the Fed, levels of consumer credit card [...]

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