Quietly These New Mutual Fund Rules Take Effect in Canada

Canada’s New Mutual Fund Rules

First Published Date: July 23, 2016

Starting May 30, new mutual fund rules came into place that most mutual fund investors were not aware of. Any investment advisers and institutions selling mutual funds are required to give their clients a document known as Fund Facts before the sale or transaction happens.

This paper or document called Fund Facts should clearly show information about the mutual funds in a simple way such as funds’ investment objectives, managers, historical performance, and most importantly all the fees associated with the funds.

In the past, this information was available online at the fund companies’ websites and it was made available to the investors after the sale had gone through. However, the information was not presented in a clear manner easily understood.

However, under the new rules, investors will have precise and related information at their disposal and this will help them make better decisions.

Author/Copyright: Ahmed Dawn www.adawnjournal.com

The Fund Fact document is a two-page, double-sided document that does not take long to read. If you want, you can have this document long before meeting your advisers by going online or calling the fund company to mail it or fax it to you. This is all free.

Mutual funds in Canada have been known to have one of the highest fees compared to other countries and trends continue to switch from mutual funds to ETFs, which have much lower fees and transparent features that are easy to understand and easier to transact.

Avoid These Common Credit Card Mistakes

Avoid These Common Credit Card Mistakes

First Published Date: July 31, 2016

Credit cards are a part of our daily living and they are good things, if you know how to manage them. Today, I will talk about how some common and simple mistakes can ruin your credit score. These small mistakes are so negligible that we often forget they can have a big impact on our finances. Learn these mistakes, avoid them, and make them a thing of the past.

Making Late Payments – This is the most common mistake we all make. A late payment can incur late payment charges and bump up your interest rate higher. It can also hurt your credit score, depending on how late it is. Use online tools like Google Calendar or anything that works for you to remind you 3 days ahead of the actual due date so you don’t get caught up making late payments.

Paying Only The Minimum – In Canada, by law, credit card companies now have to show how many years it will take to pay your full balance if you only make the minimum. Add some extra dollars with your minimum, whether it’s $20 or $50 a month, and you can shave off years and save lots interest costs on your credit card balance.  

Using a Credit Card for Cash Advances – Withdrawing cash using a credit card hurt you 2 ways. The first is you pay a high cash advance fee. This fee could run from $20 to $50, depending on your bank. The other bad thing is you start paying high interest the moment you take out cash advances. Never use credit card for cash advances. It’s the worst way to borrow money.

Paying Annual Fees – Many credit cards will try to hook you up offering reward points or cash back in exchange for annual fees. Just to cover these fees, you have to spend more than $20,000 or $30,000 annually. Read the fine print and figure out if it’s really worth it to spend that much money for reward points or cash back after covering annual fees. Use a no annual fee reward or cash back credit card instead; there are lots of them available in the market.

China Is Not the Sole Economy Engine and India Bright Spot

China Should Not Be The Sole Global Economy Engine

First Published Date: August 3, 2016

In a recent roundtable talk with six global finance leaders, Chinese Premier mentioned that China should not be the only growth engine to carry the global economy. China is still a developing country and should not be responsible for the major world responsibilities.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently trimmed global economic growth to 3.1 percent for 2016 and 3.4 percent for 2017 and China’s GDP growth for 2016 to 6.6 percent. All these numbers were reduced by 0.1 percent to reflect recent global conditions.

India Is A Bright Spot

On the other hand, IMF reports that India is a bright spot, as it has the fastest growth rate at 7.5 percent in the global economy. This growth pace should be steady for at least the next three years.

A stable and peaceful political environment is an advantage India enjoys when compared to other countries such as Brazil, China, Russia, and Turkey. Also, foreign investments in India are higher than any other country’s, including China.

Global Economy Consuming Less Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy reports that the consumption of energy such as coal, oil, gas, and even renewable energy is gradually decreasing. This is a good example of how the world is getting better at handling climate change.

Also, carbon emission is decreasing as global economies switch towards renewable energy at a faster pace.

Urgent Call for Global Economies

IMF recently issued an urgent call to implement more growth-boosting policies to put global economies on the right track. IMF suggested the world’s 20 largest economies should maintain relaxed money policies and stay ready to implement contingency plans should things turn worse.

However, the U.S. Treasury believes such a crisis response is not necessary because conditions seem to be improving.

What Are Some of the Best Cash-Back Credit Cards?

Top Cash-Back Credit Cards

First Published Date: August 7, 2016

ou are familiar with A Dawn Journal, you already know my take on cash-back credit cards. I prefer travel rewards credit cards over cash-back cards, as travel cards provide the maximum returns for your dollars. However, for ease and simplicity some of you may want to go with cash-back rewards credit cards.

Today, I will go through briefly some cash-back rewards credit cards that you can consider, so you can pick the one that suits your needs.

MBNA Rewards World Elite MasterCard – Although marketed as a travel rewards credit card, this card provides 2 percent cash back across the board with no strings, no limits, no caps, no tiers, no problems. Annual fee = $89.

Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite – With 4 percent cash back on groceries and gas, 2 percent on recurring bills, and 1 percent on everything else, a perfect card for those who want maximum return on selected categories. Annual fee = $99.

BMO World Elite Cash Back MasterCard – A flat 1.75 percent cash back across the board without any limits. Provides the best insurance benefits among all cash back cards.

Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card – Options to choose up to 3 categories where you can earn 2 percent unlimited cash back. Annual fee = free.

The SimplyCash Card from American Express – A flat 1.25 percent cash back on everything without limits. Annual fee = free.

In the future, I will review some of these cards on A Dawn Journal and on my YouTube channel. There are many other cash-back cards available on the market. However, I believe these I mentioned above offer most value for your dollars spent. Do your thorough research before picking any cards and stay with the one that most suits your needs.

How To Buy A Castle

Buying A Castle

First Published Date: August 13, 2016

We all heard of this – if you are a celebrity or a rich person and money is no matter to you, you probably have to have an island or a castle to vacation a few days every year. Castles may be the epitome of luxury, but the matter of the truth is, you don’t need to be rich beyond belief to actually buy a castle.

Sure, the more money you have in the bank the wider the choice. If you are a millionaire then that makes things a lot more straightforward. However, it is still possible to grab a castle for as little as $50,000 in some countries in Europe. And also, there are castles that could cost range from 1 million dollars to 50 million dollars. It all depends on what type of castle you would like to buy and how fat your wallet is.

Most castles that are in demand in the international real estate market are located throughout Europe. Some of the countries where the castle concentration is high are:

– Scotland
– France
– Italy
– Germany
– Czech Republic
Some of the countries listed below may offer castles at bargains:
– Croatia
– Bulgaria
– Hungary
– Poland
– Romania

There are many other things to take into account when buying a castle. If you buy at the bottom price, you may need to make arrangements for necessities such as water supply, electricity, and other accommodation essentials. If you pay more, you should expect something with better facilities and readiness for human habitation.

There are numerous global real estate agents that are specialized in buying and selling castles. Keep in mind the phrase caveat emptor – buyer beware.  Always make sure what type of castle you want, how large it should be, what you intend to do with it, and what your budget is before you contact a real estate agency. And never make any decisions before seeing a few castles at first.

NB – If you would like to find global real estate agents that deal with buying castles, search on Google for “buy castle”, “buying castle”, “buy cheap castles”, etc.