Canada Starts New Prepaid Credit Card Rules

New Prepaid Credit Card Rules

First Published Date: May 24, 2014

As prepaid credit cards’ popularity jumped, so did the various fees associated with them. Once credit card companies saw these credit cards were in high demand, they did not waste a moment coming up with innovative ideas to attach various bizarre fees that can be charged when you buy and use prepaid credit cards. Such fees include maintenance fees, activation fees, ATM fees, and possibly more.

As consumer complaints start piling up, the federal government had no option but to start restricting some of these fees. These new rules have come into effect starting in May. Let’s look at some of these rules.

– A ban on maintenance fees for at least one year once you start using it.

– No more expiration date.

– All the required info related to the fees and using cards will have to be clearly visible and simple enough so consumers can see, read, and understand them before buying.

– The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) will monitor and enforce these rules.

– All federally regulated institutions will fall under these rules.

Prepaid cards are similar to credit cards, except that you will have to pre-load funds before you start transactions like credit cards such as making purchases and buying online. Although prepaid cards are a relatively new concept, their popularity recently skyrocketed. According to an estimate, the prepaid card industry is worth $850 million.

These new rules imposed by the federal government are definitely steps in the right direction to protect consumers. However, these could have been done some time ago and there was no need to wait for consumer complaints to start piling up.

Finding Dividend ETFs Beyond Canadian Borders

Three Global High Dividend ETFs

First Published Date: February 2, 2014 ADawnJournal.com

As the pages fall from the calendar and time spins inexorably on, dividend investors step up their quest for dividend ETFs further beyond Canadian borders. Today, I will talk about three dividend ETFs that are trading outside Canada and holding high yield stocks around the globe.

SDIV – Global X SuperDividend ETF MER 0.58% – SDIV tracks 100 diversified high dividend paying companies across the globe, including the US, but with a lesser concentration on the emerging markets. If a company cuts its dividend, SDIV gets rid of that company at the next quarterly review. As of this writing, 12-month dividend yield is 7.22%.

DWX – SPDR S&P International Dividend ETF MER 0.45% – DWX tracks 100 high dividend mid-cap companies across the globe, excluding the US, but with a higher concentration on the Australian market. Yield is 6.61%.

DOO – WisdomTree International Dividend ex-Financials ETF MER 0.58% – DOO tracks 92 large and mid-cap companies across the globe, excluding the financial sector, with a higher concentration on the UK market and lesser concentration on the US market. Yield is 2.73%.

There are many other high-dividend global ETFs trading on the US exchanges. High yield comes with high risks. Do your homework before making any investment decisions.

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 ETFs mentioned here.

My Top Favourite Free Financial News Smart Phone Apps

My Top Favourite Free Android Smart Phone Financial Info Apps

First Published Date: February 23, 2013 ADawnJournal.com

In the past, I talked about Android Financial Apps. Today, I will go over some financial news apps that will make your news quest in the financial world a lot easier and you will have the latest news at your fingertips instantly.

Bloomberg for Smartphone by Bloomberg LP – View financial news, market updates, and stock quotes with this app. This app can provide so many categories for financial news that it can overwhelming and hard to decide how many categories you want to set for your phone. The best feature this app has? You can watch live Bloomberg TV and video clips. Picture quality is unbelievably crisp clear. After installing this app, I started watching Bloomberg TV on my phone regularly for important highlights.

Google Finance by Google Inc. – This is somewhat a simple financial app compared to Bloomberg. There are only 3 tabs: Markets, Portfolios, and News. On the news tab, you can’t pick any categories. It shows all news at same place. The drawback with this app is that it does not support the Canadian market or stocks. If you have created watchlists for Canadian stocks under Google Finance Canada, it will show only the names of your watchlists, but will not show any individual stocks on the Canadian market.

Yahoo! Finance by Yahoo! Inc. – Very similar to Google Finance, but it supports Canadian markets and stocks. And its news section even shows Canadian business news. Very simple layout and easy to use.

iShares Offers More Exposure to Emerging and International Markets

iShares Offers 5 New ETFs

First Published Date: June 8, 2013 ADawnJournal.com

iShares recently launched 5 new ETFs giving investors different taste from different segments from the emerging and international markets. These 5 ETFs are:

XUS – iShares S&P 500 Index ETF

XEF – iShares MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF

XEC – iShares MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index ETF

XCD – iShares S&P Global Consumer Discretionary Index Fund (CAD-Hedged)

XGI – iShares S&P Global Industrials Index Fund (CAD-Hedged)

Today, I will discuss XEF – iShares MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF and XEC – iShares MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index ETF, as there are very similar ETFs that exist from iShares and Vanguard Canada.

XEF – iShares MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF MER 0.30% – XEF tracks (net of expenses) the performance of the MSCI EAFE IMI Index. The MSCI EAFE Investable Index is a measure of the broad international stock market that includes about 2500 small, mid, and large cap companies around the globe excluding North America.

Another ETF XIN – iShares MSCI EAFE Index ETF CAD-Hedged MER 0.50% exists from iShares which is somewhat similar to XEF. However, unlike XEF, XIN tracks the MSCI EAFE Index. The MSCI EAFE Index captures 85% of total market capitalization representing about 915 mid and large cap companies around the globe excluding North America. The MSCI EAFE IMI Index goes much deeper to captures 99% of total market capitalization representing about 2500 small, mid, and large cap companies around the globe, excluding North America.

Vanguard offers very similar ETF (like XIN) VEF – FTSE Developed ex North America Index ETF CAD-hedged MER 0.43%. The FTSE Developed ex North America Hedged CAD Index represents about 1340 mid and large cap companies around the globe excluding North America.

XEC – iShares MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index ETF MER 0.35% – This new MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index fund holds about 1800 emerging market companies without currency hedging. Another ETF XEM – MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund MER 0.82% exists from iShares which is somewhat similar to XEF. It holds about 831 companies. Another ETF from Vanguard VEE – FTSE Emerging Markets Index ETF MER 0.54% offers exposure to the emerging markets. It holds about 790 emerging market stocks. One major difference VEE has from its peers is that it does not have any stocks from South Korea as FTSE Emerging Markets Index does not consider South Korea as an emerging market. So if you would like to have Samsung or any other South Korean companies, VEE is not for you.

As you can see, these two new international and emerging markets ETFs XEF and XEC from iShares offer wide exposure in the international and emerging markets without currency hedging at unbelievably lower cost. I have not seen anyone before beating rock-bottom-MER guru Vanguard, and iShares was able to do so with these two new MERs. This is good for Canadian investors.

CI Launches Guaranteed Retirement Cash Flow Series start

CI Guaranteed Retirement Cash Flow G5/20 Series

First Published Date: July 16, 2013 ADawnJournal.com

As stock markets continue their rollercoaster ride and the once-considered safe haven gold loses it luster, baby boomers and regular investors continue to search for products that offer predictable, guaranteed income with peace of mind. To capture this segment of the market, CI has come up with a product called the G5/20 series. Let’s look at some features this product offers.

What Is CI G5/20 Series

You can think of it some sort of hybrid of an annuity and a mutual fund.  The G5/20 series is an actively-managed mutual fund consisting of global and Canadian equities alone with some fixed income securities to provide 20 years of guaranteed income. For example, let’s say you have 2 investments: A and B. Investment A is $100,000 invested in CI G5/20 series and Investment B is another $100,000 invested elsewhere such as stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, etc. In case of a global market meltdown, theoretically, Investment B could go down to $60,000 or even less. However, Investment A, CI G5/20 Series, are guaranteed and protected against any such loss.

Some CI G5/20 Series Features

– Each Series has a 25 years lifespan.

– Each Quarter Will Offer a new series

– The first five years is called accumulation phase. In this phase, the investor will invest and watch the growth. There will be no payments. The principal amount investor invested can not go down even if the market tanks due to its guarantee.

– The next twenty years is called distribution phase. Investors will get back 5% each year for twenty years based on their initial investment or investment + accumulated growth from five years, whichever is greater.

– The portfolio and active asset allocation are managed by CI.

– The income flow of G5/20 is guaranteed by the Bank of Montreal.

– The risk management segment (to reduce volatility and enhance growth) to the portfolio is managed by Chicago-based Nexus Risk Management.

Is the CI G5/20 Series For You?

This is suitable for those who are looking for an actively-managed, risk-adjusted product managed by those who have the expertise and guaranteed by a well-known bank to provide income for 20 years in exchange for 2.77% MER (before taxes).

Link: CI Retirement Cash Flow Series

Some Other Alternatives Providing Guaranteed Income

BMO LifeTime Cash Flow Product

Manulife Income Plus