Financial Planning, Investment & Insurance Solutions

  • 2026 Q1 March Quarter Review

    2026 Q1 March Quarter Review

    Economic Overview Global markets struggled across the board in Q1 for a clear reason, the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East, which led to a major disruption in global energy supply and some damage to middle eastern energy infrastructure. Weakness in US tech stocks, and tech stocks globally, also contributed to weakness across Q1. Japan and the UK were the outliers with positive returns for the quarter in the wake of February’s elections in Japan, and the UK benefiting from heavy energy exposure and a falling pound. Emerging markets fared better than many developed markets, with early gains…

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  • When Housing Stops

    When Housing Stops

    It’s been called Cold Australia, due to similarities in size and population density. Along with the fact it’s a former part of the British Empire, and still a Commonwealth country. The place that Donald Trump has been seriously, or not so seriously, threatening in recent times. Canada. Like Australia, it’s also been home to what’s considered (by some) to be a very overinflated housing market, until recently. More on that later, but this week, unlike Australia, Canada didn’t have an interest rate increase. The Bank of Canada held rates at 2.25%. Not particularly notable, but what was notable was the…

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  • Geopolitical Instability/Portfolio Stability

    Geopolitical Instability/Portfolio Stability

    Unfortunately, we’re seeing another concerning conflict in the world. While it’s obviously very sad due to lives lost, injuries, stress, and damage across the Middle East, as with all geopolitical events, there is little we can do about it. The thing we can control is how much it controls us. “Stay informed” The guaranteed thing about any large-scale event is how many sudden experts there are. And there are so many different angles. There’s the conflict itself, military intelligence, the wider geopolitical implications, energy, tourism, and insurance, just to name the most obvious. Your guess is as good as ours…

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  • Beneath the Surface

    Beneath the Surface

    Occasionally clients come to us with existing portfolios. They have funds in them we share no philosophical alignment with. We’d never recommend them, and we provide a gentle nudge, whenever possible, that they’d be best moved on from, in the most tax efficient way possible. This can be for many reasons, or a combination. Expense. Risk. Type of portfolio management. Sometimes it can take a little time to loosen the grip. Why? Performance. It may not be much better or worse than what we put in our portfolios, so there’s no trigger. This is important because financial markets had a…

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  • Another Bitcoin Winter

    Another Bitcoin Winter

    First, a mea culpa on something we got wrong. On the “new asset” side, eventually reality catches up to speculative hype. 2022 was a reckoning for crypto currency. Many coins have been wrecked and while bitcoin still remains above where it was pre pandemic. It now exists in a different reality where a significant number of people have gone from being interested in it, to having their pants pulled down by it. There are two distinct groups of crypto investors: a small group of true believers who invested early, know the technology inside and out, and likely have custody of…

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