CANADIANS LAG IN FINANCIAL PLANNING

Despite proven advantages of financial planning for retirement, the majority of Canadians don’t have a financial plan for their future, according to an HSBC survey.



The sixth edition of the Future of Retirement study, a global survey from HSBC, revealed that those who have a financial plan in place enjoy a clear ‘planning premium’ with hard financial benefits, yet 65% percent of Canadian respondents, far more than the global figure of 50%, lack a financial plan.


Those who have planned, noted the study, have amassed nearly two-and-a-half times (245%) more capital in their retirement plans compared to non-planners. Of the seventeen countries surveyed Canada ranked 14th, with 35% of respondents reporting having a strategy in place.


“Canadians should be more aware of their long-term financial needs and implement a plan to address these needs, even if they are starting out with a limited amount of money,” said Margaret Willis, executive vice-president, retail banking and wealth management, HSBC Bank Canada. “A small investment now can provide real peace of mind and a positive outlook on retirement later in life.”


People who plan hold a much broader range of retirement and non-retirement assets than those who do not plan. They also enjoy a much more positive outlook towards later life as they stress less about coping with financial needs in retirement.


Alongside the planning benefit, the findings also show a clear advice advantage for those who seek professional financial advice. In general, advice-seekers report greater levels of financial wealth than non-advice seekers, the survey reported.


The study establishes a connection between professional financial advice and benefits of the broadest range, and the highest value, of financial assets. Indeed, the best of both worlds.


Those who have taken advice have amassed nearly two and a half times (245%) the average Canadian retirement assets and nearly nine times (864%) the non-retirement assets of those who do neither.




Read entire article:

http://www.advisor.ca/news/canadians-lag-in-financial-planning-49372


Vikram Barhat
Editor Advisor.ca
May 30, 2011

SALES VS. ADVICE

In moving from sales to advice a financial services professional moves from a transactional client relationship to one of a fiduciary responsibility.

The financial services consumer marketplace is decidely ahead of the industry in its need for client centric service vs the distribution industry's current capacity to deliver unbiased product solutions.

Through the initiatives underway within the industry's regulatory bodies the gap is closing.

Professionals who serve their clients in a fiduciary capacilty are members of a 'professional practice'.

Professionals who serve their clients in a marketing/sales capacity are members of an 'industry'.

A professional financial advisor acts in a fiduciary role.

Financial institutions and their distribution channels act in  'manufacturing'/'production'  and marketing/sales roles.

It is this cultural dichotomy and divide in the financial services sector that must be resolved.

We are moving toward a resolution.

RETIREMENT AT 65 – 70 - 75? – WHATEVER IT TAKES

Retirement at age 65 is a decades old product of corporate defined benefit pension plans which began their gradual disappearance from the corporate employment world over 20 years ago.


It was simply too costly for companies to maintain.


This decision has had a direct impact on the loyalty of employees to corporations. A ‘career’ today includes 6 or more employers over 30 – 40 years vs one employer over 40 years. This is not conducive to achieving exponential growth in an individual’s personal accumulation of retirement capital.


As individuals approach their mid 50’s the cost of funding a pension increases exponentially – hence the gradual abandonment of these plans in the private sector.


Governments have largely maintained defined benefit pension plans as a competitive long term employment (i.e. retention) strategy – and it works.


75% of private sector Canadians do not have a defined benefit pension plan.


They are on their own through the use of their own savings initiatives – with no guarantee of sufficient capital to sustain an income throughout the 2nd 30 – 40 years (of retirement).


The challenge in having to accumulate sufficient retirement capital in the current economic environment is daunting for most middle income families.


The cost of credit card and other forms of personal debt is at an all time high (148% of net income) and does not leave much room for retirement or other forms of savings.


The result is that the current boomer demographic, namely, 14,000,000 Canadians who are at a pre retirement age (47) or are just entering their retirement years (65) are faced with the potential need to remain employed for 5 – 10 years beyond age 65.


In the 1960’s one income at $15,000/year supported a family of 3 – very comfortably.


How did we get from there to here?


We all know how.


We all know what it will take to resolve.

It is very tough 'stuff'.

INTEGRATIVE THINKING - EITHER OR?.......NEITHER

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Integrative thinking is a discipline and methodology for solving complex or wicked problems. The theory was originated by Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management, at The University of Toronto and collaboratively developed with his colleague Mihnea C. Moldoveanu, Director of the Desautels Centre for Integrative Thinking.


Definition


The Rotman School of Management defines integrative thinking as:

"...the ability to constructively face the tensions of opposing models, and instead of choosing one at the expense of the other, generating a creative resolution of the tension in the form of a new model that contains elements of the individual models, but is superior to each."


The website continues:


"Integrative thinkers build models rather than choose between them. Their models include consideration of numerous variables — customers, employees, competitors, capabilities, cost structures, industry evolution, and regulatory environment — not just a subset of the above. Their models capture the complicated, multi-faceted and multidirectional causal relationships between the key variables in any problem. Integrative thinkers consider the problem as a whole, rather than breaking it down and farming out the parts. Finally, they creatively resolve tensions without making costly trade-offs, turning challenges into opportunities."

A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND ETHICAL STANDARDS - RAISING THE BAR

Margaret Franklin is hitting her stride. The same year she was appointed to head the CFA Institute's board, she also started her own firm


MARGARET FRANKLIN'S CLIMB FROM chartered financial analyst and wealth manager to being the public face of the CFA lnstitute began 10 years ago with what she calls a "tap on the shoulder." In early 2000, her boss at the time, Harry Marmer at Toronto-based Mercer LLC, asked Franklin to fill in for a member of the CFA's Toronto board who was on leave. She accepted, and has never looked back. As the recently appointed chairwoman of the Virginia - based CFA Institute's board of governors recalls:



"It was what they call 'the beginning of a beautiful friendship'."


Franklin's appointment could hardly come at a more crucial time for the 54-year-old institute. With the debacle of the global financial crisis still fresh in the minds of everyone from regulators and financial industry professionals to clients, the integrity of the financial system and of those who work in it is top of mind for the still widely respected institute. It's determined to maintain - and, if necessary, repair - that reputation in the years ahead.



The top priority in 2011 for Franklin as chairwoman will be to help the CFA Institute develop its role beyond the administration of its already widely known professional designation. Although the chartered financial analyst program will always be the institute's "crown jewel," says Franklin, the board wants institute members to see the organization in a broader context, particularly as a means to facilitate lifelong learning in the field. Says Franklin: "We want to see someone getting their CFA as the starting point of a relationship with the institute."
 
One priority is to develop the resources on the institute's website to make them more relevant to the day-to-day practices of CFAs worldwide, as well as more searchable.


The CFA will also focus on issues of integrity in capital markets and r~storing investor confidence in financial services professionals. The institute is considering the creation oftask forces to help highlight industry best practices, says Franklin: "Our thinking is: if not us, who? If not now, when?"


In addition, the institute's executive team will work on its "tap on the shoulder" concept in an effort to recruit more CFA holders for expanded roles in running the institute. As it's a big-time commitment to be on any board, Franklin says, most CFA holders don't participate until they are asked.


Franklin says she enjoyed the work and by 2003 had become president of the institute's Toronto chapter. She then spent six years volunteering on the institute's board, including heading up the planning, external relations and audit and risk committees. She was elected chairwoman last September. Says Franklin: "Sometimes, you don't know what you are capable of until you are asked."


This year will be a further test of Franklin's ability to shoulder new challenges. Bay Street will'be watching to see how she performs as president and CEO of Kinsale Private Wealth Inc., a private wealth-management firm aimed at high net-worth individuals that Franklin launched last April. This venture clearly carries some risks: the prospects for economic recovery remain murky, not to mention the uncertainties inherent in starting up a new venture in an intensely competitive business.




But to Franklin, it was the perfect time to launch a new venture. As she notes, a crisis can also bring opportunity. "Many people got burned in the downturn and are now yearning to have more honest conversations about their portfolios," she says. "Launching this firm was about having more of those conversations."


In particular, Franklin wants to focus on her own view of wise wealth management. After two decades of working in the business, Franklin says, she favours a conservative approach, especially for her clients, most of whom are successful entrepreneurs who - above all other investment goals - want to preserve their hard-earned wealth. "We believe in getting returns using low volatility," says Franklin. "While you could get 'out of the ballpark' returns, it's not worth it if you had to take a lot of risk, year after year, to get there."


Franklin began developing her views on investing and the market after the stock market crash of October 1987, ideas she developed further when she became the marketing manager for the Toronto of¬fice of Boston-based State Street Global Advisors in 1991. There, Franklin was able to apply skills she had gained in her prior career selling outdoor media advertising: a knack for translating jargon and using humour to get her message across to clients.


After four years in marketing at State Street, Franklin found herself wanting to be on the investment side of the business. She realized she was much more passionate about analysing market data than she was about packaging it. "The markets have a way of capturing the way people grapple with confidence and fear, she says. I wanted to be a part of analyzing that". 



With a bachelor's degree in economics and the Canadian securities course already under her belt, Franklin decided that acquiring the CFA designation would be her best door opener. After preparing for her Levell CFA exam while on maternity leave (Franklin says she was able to get by on less than three hours of sleep), she landed a position as a senior investments consultant at Mercer in early 1996. She later worked at the former Toronto office of San Francisco-based Barclays Global Investors and at Toronto-based Altamira Financial Services Ltd., a mutual fund company that is now part of National Bank of Canada. "I really enjoyed working with high net-worth clients," Franklin says. "They have an interesting perspective on capital because most of them have built their own."


Franklin continued in the HNW wealth management field after joining Torontobased private wealth - management firm KJ Harrison & Partners Inc. for six years.


Franklin says that being a woman has made little difference to her as she has pursued her career. Rather, the competitive nature of her peers has connected with her "go for it" nature. "In this business, it's all about whether or not you are good at what you do because your pay is based on how well you perform. It has nothing to do with your gender," says Franklin, who was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women by the Women's Executive Network in late 2010.


Still, Franklin feels a strong sense of obligation when it comes to being a role model for women who want to compete at the highest levels in business. "A woman can have a great career in finance, as well as a personal life," says Franklin, who often makes time to play golf and other sports with her husband, architect Mark Franklin, and two teenagers on the weekends. 


Olivia Glauberzon\
Investment Executive
Mid - January 2011 

REBUILDING THE PUBLIC'S TRUST IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY - ETHICAL STANDARDS

Public trust in the financial services industry has been badly damaged and financial advisors must commit to higher ethical standards to earn it back, says Margaret Franklin, chairwoman of the board of governors of the CFA Institute and president and CEO ofToronto-based Kinsale Private Wealth Inc.


Investor protection should be advisors' top priority, she told a Canadian Club audience in Toronto earlier this month: "There must be a commitment to professional excellence and ethical standards that goes beyond lip service." Advisors should be well trained on how to deal with ethical dilemmas, she adds, and better securities enforcement practices are also necessary to rebuild public trust. Franklin calls Canada's experience with enforcement "exceptionally poor."


Franklin recommends an overhaul of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's integrated market enforcement teams, and for securities regulators to hire more staff with experience in the financial services industry. She also suggests granting the industry's self-regulatory organizations the statutory ability to collect fines in all provinces and territories so that wrongdoers cannot avoid penalties by leaving the industry.


"We must do everything in our power," Franklin says, "to' ensure that investors are better protected in the future." 



Megan Harman 
Investment Exceutive
Mid - January 2011

CAPTIVE AGENCY - FINANCIAL SERVICES - "WHO 'OWNS' THE CLIENT?

No one owns the client.

You may own a block of business - but you never own the client.

The notion of client ownership is the antithesis of professional practice.

The core premise in all professional practice is a relationship based upon trust.

Ownership is not a condition of trust.

Trust is earned - not purchased.

The financial services marketplace seeks to place its trust in a financial advisor.

'Ownership' is not a condition which fosters trust.

It is at this nexus that the conflict appears in the ownership conditions within captive agency platforms in the financial services industry and the general public's need for trust in a professional financial advisor.

There cannot be 2 masters.

The 'master' is either a captive agency or a client.

The market seeks trust in its relationships.

Trust requires independence - independence is not found in captivity.

Dan Zwicker
Investor Consultant

TRAUMA INSTRUCTS

It is a sad fact that more often than not we learn most effectively through the occurence of traumatic events.

I use effectively to mean simply that the object lesson is learned - permanently.

I am writing about this subject because of the field I am in and the tools we have available to mitigate the impact of trauma.

We have the potential to experience trauma in 3 key areas of our life, namely, matters related to finance, health and personal relationships.

In my professional work we confront death and morbidity (poor health).

The need for our financial solutions is close to 100% within the population at large.

The demand for our solutions is close to zero.

It is extraordinarily difficult to encourage a healthy vibrant individual to discuss the issue of premature death or unexpected ill health.......

               ...........until a traumatic event occurs.

At that moment we have an individual's undivided attention.

At that moment trauma instructs.

It is very old and sad fact

It speaks to the professional commitment and dedication of those individuals who confront the possibility of these circumstances prior to the occurence of a traumatic event on a daily basis in any of the classical professions and social services disciplines including the financial industry.

Dan Zwicker
Investor Consultant

THE AVERSION TO THE SUBJECT OF LIFE AND HEALTH INSURED FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Life and health insured financial instruments are tools - two of many financial instruments - nothing more.


Second only to our health, there is only one core financial issue we each have to resolve - and it is not life insured or health insured financial solutions.


Here is the issue - 'How long during your lifetime do you expect to need an income that you are sure is fully sustainable' (i.e., no shortfalls in any given year and no vulnerabilty to the market)?


Sufficient capital which is readily convertible to a guaranteed flow of lifetime income for ourselves and for those to whom we are responsible is what most individuals need.


This is easier said than done.


The key word is 'guaranteed'.


If you have the guarantee nothing further is needed.......

If you don't........it helps to have access to unbiased professional advice

                          ........that is what we do.




Dan Zwicker
Investor Consultant
Toronto, Canada

THE VALUE OF 'VALUE - WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A FINANCIAL ADVISOR'S ADVICE?

THE VALUE OF 'VALUE - WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A FINANCIAL ADVISOR'S ADVICE?
                               ...
The word “Value” may likely be among the most misunderstood words in the English Language. We hear it in the news, we hear it in commercials, we hear it every academic discipline from sociology to engineering. The word Value is said to have many definitions, or it can be said to have only one. In any case, the breadth and depth of the term cannot be underestimated.



For most people, value is defined in terms of money. It is familiar to most people that money serves as a way to store and exchange some forms of value. However, for example, when we talk about the value of a bridge connecting two communities, all banks and insurance companies would calculate this to be the replacement cost of the bridge, say, 10 million dollars. But if we talk about the value that the bridge provides to the community, quite a different number arises.


For example, suppose the bridge shaves two hours off the nearest alternate route and suppose 10,000 people cross the bridge every day. The bridge would save 7.3 million hours per year for a financial value of 182 million dollars per year. If the bridge has a 50 year lifespan, this amounts to 9.2 Billion dollars, or roughly 1000 Time more than the replacement cost.


Now suppose that we factor in the value of the exchange of ideas that the community enjoys which leads to innovation, entrepreneurship, productivity, works of art, mentorship, recreation, and education of people in civil society over the course of those 50 years. Next, suppose we factor in the trust that a community builds between their members, their families and their network of friends. We can easily see that the Value of well conceived infrastructure project is immense.


The problem is that money does not articulate any of these forms of value, yet this value exists in communities. This can be demonstrated as follows:
suppose all of the money on Earth were to evaporate tomorrow. Would the bridge, community, and social ties retain their value? The answer is likely to be yes. Suppose the bridge, community, and social ties were to disappear tomorrow, would money retain it’s value? The answer is no.


The Value of Value far exceeds the value of Money. The next wave of innovation will release this value into a storable and tradable form far exceeding the financial system in the capacity to create wealth. It’s all about the Value.


Jay Deragon
The Relationship Economy
05 20 2011

ONLY 16% OF THOSE BORN IN THE 50’s ARE DEBT FREE - MANULIFE BANK SURVEY

According to a recent survey by Manulife Bank only 16% of those surveyed ages 50-59 -very near the age they planned to start retiring- are actually debt free.


The average debt of those in their fifties was over $100,000.


Also nearly three quarters of those in that same age group said they didn’t have any outside advice on day-to-day spending or debt management. What could a properly trained advisor do to help their great quality clients attain a debt free retirement?

Here is the survey


2011 News Releases


For Immediate Release


May 9, 2011


Young homeowners optimistic about when they’ll be debt-free


Years of experience give older homeowners a more realistic perspective on debt


Waterloo- More than four out of 10 Canadian homeowners aged 30-39 expect to be debt-free by the end of their forties and another third expect to be debt-free in their fifties, according to Manulife Bank of Canada’s quarterly Debt Freedom Survey. The reality, though, is that only seven per cent of homeowners aged 40-49 and 16 per cent aged 50-59 have actually paid off all their debts.


“When people buy their first home, they have the best of intentions to pay off their mortgage and other loans, and are optimistic about their financial future,” said Doug Conick, President and CEO of Manulife Bank of Canada. “However, even carefully laid financial plans can be thrown off track by unexpected life expenses, such as home repairs, family illness, or job loss. Debt-freedom is possible, but it requires a commitment to financial discipline, and for many people, some professional advice on how to plan finances for the long term.”


The reality is that paying off a large debt such as a mortgage requires a series of smaller decisions over a lifetime, and people often use their extra cash for things other than debt repayment, even when they know they should pay down that loan. When respondents were asked what they would do with an unexpected windfall, they identified debt repayment as a priority by a significant margin - an average of 51% of the hypothetical windfall was allocated to debt repayment. But when respondents were asked what they actually did with the money the last time they were in that situation, debt repayment remained the top priority, but the amount allocated to debt dropped to 39%, while money allocated to day-to-day expenses rose significantly.


The average homeowner aged 30-39 has $209,200 in debt of all kinds according to the latest quarterly survey results. By comparison, those in their fifties still have $108,500 of debt on average, or just over half as much. The survey data shows that 19 per cent of homeowners in their fifties actually increased their debt in the past 12 months, while only 33 per cent reduced their debt by as much as or more than they had expected. In fact, 20 per cent of homeowners aged 50-59 either couldn’t foresee when they would be debt free, or don’t expect to ever reach that point, while 44 per cent expect to carry debt into their sixties. Nonetheless, homeowners in their fifties are happier with the amount of debt they currently have than those in their thirties and forties, reflecting perhaps both the progress they have made in reducing their debt, and their perceived ability to repay that debt.


Overall, 57 per cent of respondents report reducing their debt over the last 12 month, up 8 points from 49 per cent in November 2010. Additionally, nearly 7 in 10 respondents rank being debt-free among their top financial priorities, a relatively consistent finding over the past five quarterly surveys.


Other findings from the survey:


• 71 per cent of those in their 50s manage their debt and day-to-day finances with no outside advice, compared with 63 per cent for the 40-49 age group and 57 per cent for the 30-39 group


• A third of respondents believe their knowledge of personal debt management to be “above” or “well-above average”, compared with just 10 per cent who characterize their knowledge as “below average” or “well-below average”


• Those 30-39 have 3.8 separate loans outstanding, compared with 3.1 for those in their 40s, and 2.7 for the 50-59-year-olds.


• Among common financial priorities, all groups expressed the lowest level of satisfaction with their level of debt and the highest level of satisfaction with their ability to manage day-to-day expenses.


More detail on these and other data, including a breakout of responses by age category, can be found at manulifebank.ca/debtresearch.


The Manulife Bank of Canada poll surveyed 1,000 Canadian homeowners between ages 30 to 59 with household income of more than $50,000. It was conducted online by Research House between March 22 and April 4, 2011


About Manulife Bank


Established in 1993, Manulife Bank was the first federally regulated bank opened by an insurance company in Canada. It is a Schedule l federally chartered bank and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial. As Canada’s first advisor-based bank, it has successfully grown to more than $18 billion in assets and serves clients across Canada.


Manulife Bank believes that effective debt management is a key contributor to financial health and that, by working with a Financial Advisor to create a customized financial plan that incorporates debt and cash flow management, many people could save money, become debt-free sooner and achieve more of their financial goals.


It’s for this reason that Manulife Bank offers its innovative deposit and loan products through independent financial advisors to help individuals make the most of their financial plan. Manulife Bank employs a team of specialists across the country that work with homeowners and financial advisors to design cash flow programs that are more effective, efficient and flexible.

BRAINWASHED - PERCEPTION OR REALITY?

Seven ways to reinvent yourself


by Seth Godin


Years ago, when you were about four years old, the system set out to persuade you of something that isn’t true.


Not just persuade, but drill, practice, reinforce and, yes, brainwash.


The mission: to teach you that you’re average; That compliant work is the best way to a reliable living; That creating average stuff for average people, again and again, is a safe and easy way to get what you want.


Step out of line and the system would nudge (or push) you back to the center.


Show signs of real creativity, originality or even genius, and well-meaning parents, teachers and authority figures would eagerly line up to get you back in line.


Our culture needed compliant workers, people who would contribute without complaint, and we set out to create as many of them as we could.


And so generations of students turned into generations of cogs—factory workers in search of a sinecure. We were brainwashed into fitting in, and then discovered that the economy wanted people who stood out instead.


When exactly were we brainwashed into believing that the best way to earn a living is to have a job?


I think each one of us needs to start with that.


Read entire text..............


http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/docs/brainwash.pdf

OBAMA SIGNS INTO LAW CREDIT CARD REFORM

In the most sweeping changes to the credit card industry in 40 years, President Obama signed into law Friday an act to restrict practices he says contributed to consumers' financial problems during the recession.


"With this bill we are putting in place some common sense reforms designed to protect consumers," Obama said at a signing ceremony at the White House.


"We're not going to be giving people a free pass and we expect consumers to live within their means and pay what they owe. But we also expect financial institutions to act with the same sense of responsibility that the American people aspire to in their own lives," he said.


The new law — which includes restrictions on interest rate increases and credit offered to college students — deals a blow to the banking industry, which has lobbied aggressively against tighter regulation. At the same time, it provides less than a complete win for consumers because it doesn't cap interest rates or fees.


The legislation "is not going to be a hanging for banks, but I think Congress has collared them and are bringing them in," says Robert McKinley, founder of CardTrak.com, which consults with banks. "It's been the Wild West for the card industry for a long time."


Marcia Sullivan, director of government relations for Consumer Bankers Association, a trade group, says banks' biggest concern is that the new restrictions will affect the availability and price of credit.


"I think that every single company that offers a credit card is reassessing its cost," says Sullivan. Issuers will be "reassessing what they do and how they do it."


The law's impact will be felt by most households in America. About 90 million households carry credit cards, with an average debt load of more than $10,500, according to CardTrak.com. The curbs, which mostly take effect in nine months, deal with controversial practices including:


•Interest rate increases. Issuers can generally raise rates on existing credit card debt only if consumers have paid their bill more than 60 days late.


•Penalty fees. Issuers can't charge an over-limit fee unless consumers have asked for this additional credit. Banks also can't impose late fees if they delayed crediting a payment.


•Marketing to college students. Banks can't extend credit cards to people under 21 without verifying their ability to pay or getting their parents' permission.


The law comes on the heels of consumer outcry about increases in credit-card rates and fees during the downturn. Banks have said that higher funding costs, along with surging loan delinquencies and defaults, forced them to reassess card risk.


The problem is, banks' actions have only made it harder for consumers to pay their bills. In the first quarter of 2009, the latest data available, credit card delinquencies hit an all-time high of 6.5%, according to the Federal Reserve. Credit-card defaults reached a near-record 7.5%.


Susanna Montezemolo, a vice president at the Center for Responsible Lending, an advocacy group, says because the law is a "compromise piece of legislation, there are certainly other areas where it could be made stronger." Still, Montezemolo says that consumers groups are generally "thrilled" that borrowers will have new rules of the road for credit cards.

Kathy Chu,
USA TODAY
05 17 2011

Contributing: Reuters

THE 2ND 30 – 40 YEARS – LIFETIME RETIREMENT (55 – 95) - HOW WE GOT FROM THERE TO HERE

Large corporations began to dismantle defined benefit pension plans over 20 years ago.



The first demographic group who were targeted were those in their mid 50's.  Why? Because it is costly to fund a lifetime retirement with 10 years left (i.e. 55 - 65). This left those affected with only one choice - do it on your own. A $100,000 / year retirement income requires $2,000,000 in capital assuming a 5% rate of return on the capital - that's $200,000 / year in retirement funding. That sum speaks for itself. Most corporations did not start the retirement funding early..


Once a corporation removes a guaranteed pension for all intents and purposes an employee becomes self employed. The only advantage anyone has financially in a large institution is the opportunity to receive a pension and retire with peace of mind. Once you are on your own you are acting as an independent entrepreneur and not an employee. Loyalty cuts both ways.


That's the background that has resulted today in 60% of all working Canadians not having a defined benefit pension plan which would allow them to sleep soundly throughout the 30 - 40 years of their retirement (from as early as 55 to as late as 95. - look around you in your own family.)


Ask public servants why they work for the government from a financial point of view - their defined benefit pension.


Financial planning was done by the corporation - not the employee. Employees budgeted – income – expenses – that’s it. The employee traded his or her financial time for a guaranteed lifetime income at retirement.


Employees bought financial products for their individual accumulation purposes but had very little certainty whether they would be able to transition their accumulated savings capital into a sufficient and sustainable lifetime retirement income.


That brings us to 2011 where 14,000,000 boomers in Canada are preparing to retire and are inadequately aware of which professional financial practitioner can replace the corporate financial management team who once upon a time designed and implemented their defined benefit retirement plans…….


That's where we are today.

THE STRESSFUL IMPACT OF HIGH STAKES US POLITICAL LIFE ON FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver separating after 25 years of marriage

 
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - It was a storybook marriage in 1986 on a spring weekend on Cape Cod that united a princess of an American political dynasty, Maria Shriver, and the gap-toothed muscle-clad movie star famous enough to be known by one name, Arnold.


In many ways, it was a pairing of opposites: Her uncle was a U.S. president; his father was an Austrian policeman. She was the rising star of a network TV news show; he was the pot-puffing star of "Pumping Iron." He was a Republican with a soft spot for Richard Nixon; her family was a pillar in the nation's Democratic establishment.


Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Shriver announced their separation late Monday, cleaving a sometimes-turbulent 25-year relationship after "a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us," the couple said in a joint statement.


The breakup comes about four months after Schwarzenegger ended a bumpy, two-term run as California governor, a job his wife never wanted him to pursue. Since then, Schwarzenegger, 63, has been fashioning a role as an international advocate for green energy, giving speeches and lining up work in Hollywood. Shriver, 55, has guested-edited an edition of Oprah Winfrey's magazine but also talked about the stress of changing roles after serving as California's first lady.


The joint statement said the two were working on the future of their relationship while living apart and they would continue to parent their four children — Katherine, 21, Christina, 19, Patrick, 17, and Christopher, 13.


"After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together," the statement said.


Shriver moved out of the couple's gated estate in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Brentwood, but they remain on speaking terms. They had brunch with their children on Mother's Day in a tony restaurant in Santa Monica, and met privately on their wedding anniversary last month.


Prior to the announcement, there were hints of a rift. The former governor tweeted frequently during his recent travels to Brazil, Nigeria and France, but Shriver was not mentioned in his online updates from the road. Shriver, also active on social networks, posted three updates on her Twitter page on the day of their 25th wedding anniversary, April 26, but did not mention the milestone.


About a month before the anniversary, Shriver wrote on her Facebook page that she was going through a transition in her life.


"As you know, transitions are not easy. I'd love to get your advice on how you've handled transitions in your own life," she said in a video posted on YouTube.


"It's so stressful to not know what you're doing next. People ask you what are you doing and then they can't believe that you don't know what you're doing," she said.


Schwarzenegger has often said that Shriver, who is keenly attuned to the risks of a life in politics, initially was very upset about his plan to run for governor. But when Schwarzenegger announced his decision on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in August 2003, he said his wife stood by his decision.


During Schwarzenegger's time in office, Shriver and the couple's children never moved to Sacramento, preferring their secluded estate a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. Schwarzenegger never settled in Sacramento, choosing instead to commute by private jet between his home and the state capitol.


Schwarzenegger and Shriver long presented a gilded partnership that crossed politics, Hollywood and media. They are known for charitable work, and he also founded a committee with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell to encourage road, bridge and other infrastructure development.


Shriver, the daughter of the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver, left her job as an NBC News correspondent after Schwarzenegger took office.


In a May 2009 commencement speech at the University of Southern California, Schwarzenegger alluded to the powerful influence Shriver had on his life. He said when people ask him the secret to success, "I say, number one, come to America. Number two, work your butt off. And number three, marry a Kennedy."


As the state's first lady, Shriver ran an annual women's conference that attracted a long list of business, political and entertainment luminaries, along with an audience of thousands. She also was credited with overhauling the California Museum in downtown Sacramento, and, with Schwarzenegger, starting the California Hall of Fame.


In 2007, Shriver said she wouldn't resume a TV news career after the media circus surrounding Anna Nicole Smith's accidental drug overdose.


"It was then that I knew that the TV news business had changed and so had I," she said at the time. In a 2009 interview with The Associated Press, she said "I'm too much of a free spirit" to consider running for elective office.


Shriver stood by her husband during his campaign after the Los Angeles Times reported accusations that he had a history of groping women; Schwarzenegger later said he "behaved badly sometimes."


The breakup comes months after the death of Shriver's father, Peace Corps founder and former vice-presidential candidate Sargent Shriver, in January. 

By Michael R. Blood,
The Associated Press
The Canadian Press
Tue, 10 May, 2011
_


Associated Press writer Daisy Nguyen contributed to this report.

STRONACH STILL A MAGNA FORCE

78-year-old chairman and founder steps down but will pursue electric car and horse racing ventures

Frank Stronach won't stop......building factories......factories mean jobs.

He wonders why financial services industry  managers "get paid more for reducing jobs".

The 78-year-old iconic Canadian entrepreneur stepped down as chairman of auto parts giant Magna International on Wednesday after almost four decades of creating thousands of jobs.


But the restless, fit-looking billionaire told shareholders at their annual meeting that he won't really be slowing down and sitting back on a recent pile of cash from Magna


He will be using his time and money to produce even more jobs.


Stronach, who received a standing ovation after a final 25-minute, free-wheeling speech, said he is focusing hard on an electric car venture under his control in partnership with Magna


"I can see a very substantial business down the road," he'said. " .. .I try to build factories. Factories mean jobs."


Stronach built Magna from a one¬man t60l-and-die shop in west-end Toronto during the late 1950s into one of the biggest auto parts makers in the world.


Magna now employs more than 100,000 workers in 263 factories and 84 research centres in 26 countries. It has about 17,500 employees at 44 plants and 11 research opera¬tions in Canada


A Stronach family trust collected about $863 million in cash and stock last year after selling off the company's control block in a controversial transaction. As part of that exchange, Stronach also received a controlling stake in Magna E-Car Systems, plus multi-million¬dollar consulting contracts during the next few years.


Stronach has been mulling family succession and control of Magna in recent years in view of the declining possibility that his daughter Belinda or son Andrew might take over.


"I have not regrets," he said. "One of these days, I won't be around ... Could I manage Magna from the grave? I came to the conclusion, that's pretty difficult to do so I accepted that proposal (to sell the control block)."


Among the positive points of the deal, Stronach said he will no longer have to deal with restrictions of a public company at Magna that can shackle management and blunt en¬trepreneurship.


"I have a thousand ideas, no strings attached,' said Stronach, who will remain a director, hon¬orarychairman and one of the com¬pany's biggest minority shareholders.


Regarding employment, Stronach said managers should get paid for how many jobs they create.


"For the financial industry, they get paid more for reducing jobs," he said. "It's funny ... I don't think society can go that way."


While Stronach has experienced phenomenal success in building an auto parts empire, numerous other ventures have fizzled. They ranged from a theme park and soccer league in his native Austria to a magazine and energy drink here.

Stronach also suggested earlier he will pump more money into attempts to revitalize the struggling thoroughbred horse racing industry in the U.S. He currently owns several key race tracks including Santa Anita Park in California and Gulfstream Park in Florida.



Tony Van Alphen
Business Reporter
Toronto Star,
05/05.2011