Canadian Gold ETFs

Gold ETFs Canada

First Published Date: August 24, 2011 ADawnJournal.com

As global stock markets stumble and take a deep plunge, investors across the globe take shelter in one specific metal – gold. Gold has had an immense impact on human civilization. It caused the fall of nations, pushed the Age of Discovery, made some people rich and others poor. It is something that we all cherish and we all want more of it. In search for more gold, what can be better than gold ETFs? Today, I am going to discuss some gold ETFs I like. ETFs trade on stock exchanges just like stocks and you can buy them through your discount brokerage account or through a licensed financial advisor. For more information on ETFs, please visit A Dawn Journal ETF Section.

Central Gold Trust ETF (TSX: GTU.U) – Established in 2003, this is a pure gold trust holding gold bullion stored in the treasury vault facilities of a bank in Canada. As of the end of December 2010, GTU assets consisted of 604,676 ounces of gold bullion, 6,156 ounces of gold certificate totalling 610,832 ounces.

iShares S&P TSX Global Gold Index Fund ETF (TSX: XGD, MER: 0.57% ) – This ETF tracks the performance of the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index – which tracks the world’s leading gold companies. iShares ETFs are managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited.

Claymore Gold Bullion ETF (TSX: CGL, MER: 0.54%) – This ETF physical gold and tries to replicate the performance of gold bullion price.

iShares COMOX Gold Trust ETF (TSX: IGT, MER: 0.40% ) – This is a U.S. gold ETF that trades on the TSX. It owns physical gold and trades in Canadian dollars.

Horizon COMOX Gold ETF (TSX: HUG, MER: 0.65%) – This ETF tries to track the performance of the COMEX gold futures. BetaPro Management Inc. is the portfolio manager.

BMO Junior Gold Index ETF (TSX: ZJG, MER: 0.55%) – If you like junior gold companies, this may be for you. This ETF tracks the performance of the Dow Jones North American Select Junior Gold Index.

Disclosure – This article is for information purposes only and No information is intended as investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, or as an offer to sell or buy or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security, ETF, or fund. The author assumes no liability for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. You bear responsibility for your own investment research and decisions, and should seek the advice of a qualified financial professional before making any investment decision. I own some of the ETFs mentioned here.

Canadian Gold Mutual Funds

Gold Mutual Funds Canada

First Published Date: August 31, 2011

Recently, I discussed Canadian Gold ETFs. Today, I will further discuss some Canadian gold mutual funds. A Dawn Journal has some great articles on mutual funds, and I encourage you to check out ETFs and Mutual Funds section as well.

CI Signature Gold Corporate Class Fund – This mutual fund primarily invests in gold bullion, gold-related stocks, and other precious metals. Fund manager is CI’s Signature Global Advisors. MER is 2.44 per cent.

Mackenzie Universal Gold Bullion Class Fund – This mutual fund is a pure gold play. As of July, 2011, 93.1 per cent portfolio of this fund is invested in gold bullion. MER is 2.58 per cent.

RBC Global Precious Metals Fund – This fund primarily invests in gold, silver, and platinum related stocks across the globe. MER is 2.09 per cent. Its low MER is a bargain.

Dynamic Strategic Gold Class Fund – Invests in gold bullion and gold equities. Fund manager shifts between gold bullion and gold stocks based on their analysis. MER is 2.47 per cent.

BMO Precious Metals Fund – BMO Precious Metals Fund primarily invests in Canadian gold and other precious metals industry. As of this writing, its Canadian holding stands at 76.2 per cent. MER is 2.32 per cent.

TD Precious Metals Fund – Similar concept like BMO Precious Metal Fund, but with a lower MER. MER is 2.22 per cent.

Sprott Gold and Precious Minerals Fund – This fund primarily invests in gold and other precious minerals companies and their certificates. As of this writing, its Canadian holding stands at 94.8 per cent. MER is 2.50 per cent.

Sprott Gold Bullion Fund – Similar concept like Mackenzie Universal Gold Bullion Class Fund, but with a lower MER. As of May, 2011, 99.6 per cent portfolio of this fund is invested in gold bullion.MER is 1.14 per cent.

Disclosure – This article is for information purposes only and No information is intended as investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, or as an offer to sell or buy or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security, ETF, or fund. The author assumes no liability for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. You bear responsibility for your own investment research and decisions, and should seek the advice of a qualified financial professional before making any investment decision. As of this writing, I do not own any of the funds mentioned here.

What Is a Debt Consolidation Loan and How Do You Use It

What Is Debt Consolidation?

First Published Date : November 10, 2011 ADawnJournal.com

A debt consolidation loan is a loan to consolidate all your debts into one single loan and one payment. For example, let’s say you have four credit card balances, two retail store credit card balances, and other consumer loans for which you pay several monthly payments to each of these loan providers. A debt consolidation loan would pay all these loans and you are left with one single payment – which would be a lot less headache and a better money management option to handle your daily finances.

Advantages of a Debt Consolidation Loan

Lower Monthly Payments – If you were previously making 10 payments , making one payment will likely lower your monthly payments.

One Single Monthly Payment – You will be saving time and hassle by making one payment every month instead of many payments.

Save Money on Interest – Interest charged by your loan provider will be lower than those of your credit card or store card loans, thus saving you a lot of money on interest.

Disadvantages of a Debt Consolidation Loan

Further access to credit – A consolidation loan will free up your credit or store cards and you will have access to more credit than before. If you are not able to control yourself, you will likely end up sinking yourself more into debt.

Collateral – Your financial institution may ask you to provide some sort of collateral against your consolidation loan.

A longer term – Because you are dealing with one large payment, your payment term will be longer and it will take you more years to payoff your loan in the end.  

A Few Things to Remember

– Don’t forget that not all debts are eligible for a debt consolidation loan. An example would be your existing mortgage. Your financial institution where you are obtaining this loan from will be able to tell you what types of loans are eligible and what types of loans aren’t.

– Also, you may not be eligible to obtain a debt consolidation loan if your credit score and other circumstances do not meet the requirements of your financial institutions’ eligibility criteria.

– Don’t forget to make a list of your all outstanding loans and take this list with you when you visit your financial institution.

– Don’t take your consolidation loan before checking with a few financial institutions. If you shop a few of them, you are likely to find a better rate then just taking it from the first institution you walk into.

If you can discipline yourself to not wrap yourself up with more loans, a debt consolidation loan is worth considering and it is your first step to take control of your personal finances and walking out of debt.

Do You Need A Financial Advisor When Going Through Debt Management?

Is A Financial Advisor Right For You?

When you are going through debt management, one of the things you have to look at is how your money is being spent and whether or not it could be spent in a better way. One way you can do this is to create a budget, which is free but the temptation to break your budget is always there.

When you decide to lose weight, you will go to the gym and get a personal trainer. The purpose of the personal trainer will help you lose weight, but at the same time they will help keep you on the straight and narrow, educating you in weight loss and getting fit. From that same philosophy, you can look at getting a financial advisor to help you when you are dealing with debt. A financial advisor will work like a personal trainer. The financial advisor will meet with you and help you do several things. First, and possibly most importantly, the financial advisor will educate you on your finances. They will tell you what you are spending too much money on, what you can save money on and how you can build up a savings that will pay off your debt quickly and easily.

Like a personal trainer, the financial advisor will also keep you on the straight and narrow. When you have a budget, sometimes the desire to go off budget is there but a personal financial advisor will keep that from happening. They will watch your finances and alert you when you are getting close to reaching your budget limit.

A personal financial advisor can be your best friend but you must remember that they will be costing you money. Financial advisors do not do their business for free and it may seem counter-productive to pay someone to help you save money but financial advisors can really do a lot to help you. They are trained to understand finances and debt and to help you understand them as well.

When you are looking for a financial advisor, you may want to talk to friends and family to know who they have gone through. Trusting your personal advisor is very important because that will ensure you will follow their advice. If you are going to work with a financial advisor, do your research and find out what credentials that they have. If they have good references, they may be the best help you can have when dealing with debt management.

Don’t be afraid to talk to other clients of the financial advisor to learn how the advisor does business, how helpful they are, how open they are to questions and more. Just by doing these things, you can find a financial advisor who will help you get rid of your debt, understand your finances and get back on the road to financial recovery. Sure, you pay a bit extra for a financial advisor, but it is well worth it considering how much you can save.

How To Find Extra Money To Pay Off Debt

Ways To Make Cash To Pay Off Debt

First Published Date : March 16, 2011 AdawnJournal.com

If you have too much debt and most of your current income is going to paying off that debt, you may be just treading water as you wait for the debt spiral to pull you down. This is why it is so important that you find ways to bring in some extra cash to help you pay off the debt. The more income you have, the quicker the debt disappears.

So, what can you do to make some extra cash?

The first thing you can do is to lower what you spend on everything. This can be done by not eating out and having dinners at home, using coupons, buying store brands and not name brands. In addition, walk as much as you can, take public transportation and telecommute whenever you can. This will save a lot of money on gas. You should also look at possibly moving to a place where you pay less rent, that will save you a lot of money. You can also talk to your bank about refinancing at a lower interest rate. The bank does not want you to go into foreclosure so they will work with you to make sure you can pay your mortgage.

Also, look at cancelling things you don’t need like cable, internet, any needless cell phones and if you have more vehicles than you need, sell them.

Now, when you want to make some extra cash, the first thing you can do is to talk to your boss about getting a raise. This is not always an easy thing to do but an increase in your income of just $100 per month, or $1200 a year can increase the chances of paying off your debt sooner. For example, if you make $40,000 a year and have a $15,000 debt and get a five per cent raise, you will be making an extra $2,000 per year. That means, using just your raise to pay off the debt, you can pay it off in as little as seven and a half years. Of course, finding other ways to increase your income will help pay it off.

One of the less desirable but most effective ways to pay off your debt is to get a second job. A second job, even on the weekends, can make you a lot of extra money. For example, if you work at a full time job during the week, you can get a part time job on the weekend. If that job pays $10 per hour and you work 10 hours a week, you are now pulling in an extra $400 per month and an extra $4,800 per year. On a $15,000 job, you will be able to pay it off in just over three years.

Just doing these simple things, along with holding garage sales and selling what you don’t need, can result in you paying off a debt in as little as one year. It can be just that easy.

NB – Figures shown above are for illustration purposes only and may not be accurate.