IN 2012 - BOOMER RETIREMENT AT 60 - 65: REALITY OR A MYTH? THE UNVARNISHED TRUTH

'RETIREMENT' HAS BEEN RETIRED



The boomers are determined to ''stay alive" in retirement, and many are renewing their engagement with the workplace to do so. You can help your clients plan for that transition


BY .JADE HEMEON
Investment Executive
Mid-November 2011



PETER DRAKE, VICE PRESIDENT of retirement and economic research at Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, is 68 years old and calls himself a "failed retiree." Eight years ago, the fit, energetic, silver-maned Drake retired from his demanding job as chief economist at
Toronto-Dominion Bank.

He was looking forward to working as an independent consultant; and for a year and a half, that's exactly what he did, analyzing economic statistics, compiling reports and making presentations.


But once the novelty wore off, Drake felt bored and underutilized. There was nobody with whom he could spontaneously bounce around ideas or discuss work issues. He had been accustomed to going to a downtown office to work, and felt isolated in his suburban house. Looking for reasons to get up from his desk; too often he'd find himself in the kitchen.


Eager to get back in the saddle, Drake revived his contacts and began his hunt for a job, which culminated in his current position at Fidelity. Now, he travels the country, helping financial advisors and their clients deal with the changing realities of retirement, devising strategies to meet the challenges of the longer lives we are living and the mounting volatility in financial markets.


"There's a great deal of travelling and a lot of variety in my work, which is seriously full-time," says Drake, who conducts seminars across the country. ''I'm doing analysis, writing, presentations and media work. I enjoy the communications, whether it's writing, television or a live audience. Working in retirement is a no-brainer."


Drake is part of a growing wave of people who are reaching or have passed the traditional retirement age but are not retiring.

As baby boomers approach the traditional retirement age, many are feeling uncomfortable with the traditional view of retirement. They are also concerned about their increasingly vulnerable retirement savings. Advisors can play a key role in helping their clients who want to keep working, either full or part-time, exploring their options and mapping out a new path to their "golden years."


"It's important to ask the questions and brainstorm the solutions. And this is where a financial advisor can help, as it all ties into financial life:' says Eileen Chadnick, a certified life coach and principal with Big Cheese Coaching in Toronto. "Do a reality check. Will the client be motivated to work solo, and get out there and generate business? Do they have the marketing and computer skills? By asking the questions, they get the internal reaction. And this can help determine direction and steps that need to be taken."


For many boomers, retirement is like a mirage that is perpetually receding on the horizon. Many Canadians may have thought they would retire at 58, 60 or even 65, but have found it difficult to save enough due to the increasing costs in other life stages, such as buying and maintaining a home and raising and educating children.




A recent poll by Canadiall Imperial Bank of Commerce found the closer Canadians are to retirement, the less confident they become that they have saved enough. Only 21 % of survey respondents aged 55 to 64 felt they could retire on their savings.



In addition, a growing number of Canadians are heading into retirement with debt. They are uncomfortable about the damage wrought on their equities holdings by the financial meltdown of 2008 and the more recent market reaction to the European sovereign-debt crisis and the global economic slowdown. Meanwhile, fixed-income mvestments such as bonds don't pay enough interest to match inflation.

The solution for many is prolonging their working life and delaying the withdrawal of cash from their retirement plans.

Of those who have already retired, many are returning to work, either in a capacity related to their former profession or by embarking on a brand new career. A recent poll by Royal Bank of Canada found that among retirees returning to work, 41 % said it was because they needed the income - up significantly from 32% last year. And the number of those surveyed who are retiring debt-free has shrunk to 56% from 61 % last year.


"Retirement is a journey, not an end point, and people are looking for ways to make it fulfilling," says Jason Round, senior vice president in the financial planning division of RBC in Toronto. "For some, that may mean working in some capacity, whether it's out of financial need or for other reasons."

Sherry Cooper, executive vice president and chief economist at Bank of Montreal in Toronto, published a book called The New Retirement in 2008, in which she wrote about boomers becoming more productive in the final third of their lives. They are redefining retirement as a time of energy and creativity, and working well beyond age 65. Cooper now says this trend has accelerated because of losses suffered in the stock markets.

"To the extent that people contemplating retirement have jobs, they may want to hang on to them - especially if they are good jobs and they enjoy doing them," Cooper says. "There are all kinds of financial and mental reasons for doing so, including purposefulness, activity and the ability to deal with people of all ages. Work provides more than a paycheque, although the paycheque is important."

A BMO poll found a variety of reasons why people are working in retirement, including being mentally active (71 %), keeping in touch with people (73%), earning money (61 %), being physically active (56%), keeping busy (51 %) and avoiding boredom (49%). Cooper says a job later in life might pay less income than had been earned in previous occupations, but if it can delay or reduce dipping into retirement savings, that can make a huge difference in whether those savings can last a lifetime.

Longevity is one of the key reasons why Canadians are rethinking retirement.

Canadians are living longer and healthier lives, which means they need to pIan for a retirement lasting 30 years or longer.

According to Statistics Canada, there is 90 % probability that at least one member of a 65-year-old couple will live to age 80, and a 40 % chance one partner could live to 90. There are currently 6,530. centenarian in Canada, and a 100-year-old man recently completed the Toronto Marathon.


"I look at planning to age 90. as a minimum and if there is a likelihood of longevity, 1 will push it out to 100," says Peter Andreanna, a certified financial plannel with Continuum II Inc. in Mississauga, Ont.

"People need to complete a financial pIan to determine how much they need to save, how much they can take out and when thd can start, and how long it will last."

Rates of return on the non-guarantee portion of investment portfolios are one of the big uncertainties that retirees must contend with, particularly at a time when the number of years they may need to live off their savings is increasing. In formulating financial plans for clients, Andream projects a conservative growth rate for retirement savings of 5%. And once clients are retired, he advises a withdrawal rate of 'no more than 3%-4% annually to avoid the possibility of clients outliving their assets. These estimated rates of return may require clients to work longer and save more to assemble the needed pool of retirement assets, supplementing retirement income in the early years with part-time income or downsizing their lifestyle.


"Some clients have chosen to work longer, while others have gone through a gradual process of reducing the amount of time worked," Andreanna says. "The gradual transition often makes for a healthier retirement lifestyle."

Time in retirement has been extended to the point at which il could make up one-third of your clients' lives, possibly lasting for as many years as the time spent working. This creates a new paradigm in which it is the traditional concept of retirement that is actually being "retired."

"The old retirement was about completion, winding down and stopping; retirement was a resting arena," says Chadnick. "The new retirement is about fresh starts and new life paths.

If people are not active and engaged, if they stop growing and creating, they lose their zest for life. That can lead to feelings of depression, boredom, worthlessness and, ultimately, illness."


Boomers extending their working life may decide to stay in the same career and work less, or they may "recareer," says Chadnick. If these clients are planning to stay in the same career, they may want to think ahead and train an assistant or mentor new talent to make the shift. Or these clients may want to continue to use some of their existing skills and networks but become consultants or start small businesses.

"If it is about meaningful work, it starts with the inner game, asking what needs to be expressed that did not get to be expressed in your previous career," says Chadnick. "Once you know your values, strengths and desires, that becomes the compass or guiding light that illuminates the path of possibilities. Then, you have to look at what the world needs, and find the intersection."

Av Lieberman, president of the Retirement Education Centre Inc. in Waterloo, Ont., launched this retirement and research organization after he was unexpectedly downsized from his sales and marketing job at a midsized insurance company at the age of 50. While Lieberman floundered after the initial shock of the job loss, within two years he had founded the centre and was offering his expertise to corporations in teaching their employees how to navigate the withdrawal from full-time employment.


Now, at age 68, he continues to draw on his personal experience to advise clients. He says he will never retire. He says planning is essential so that clients can "retire to something; not just from something.


"Part-time work in retirement is the wave of the future for many people," Lieberman says. "They may take three to six months to recharge their batteries after retirement, but a growing number are taking up some work for pay or volunteering to meet needs that were formerly filled by work."


Chadnick says there are a host of careers that did not exist a generation ago, and many people are finding opportunities that suit their interests in such areas as web design, healing and therapeutic professions, coaching, pet services, house-sitting and culinary and travel experiences. Your clients may want to start up small businesses or they may prefer to work for someone else.

For many people, it is about creating a diversified portfolio of activities, Chadnick adds, a concept that advisors and their clients are familiar with. That may include a little cat-sitting, a few hours a week working at a local boutique or hardware store and joining a theatre group. It may involve going back to school for a degree or accreditation' or acquiring new skills in accounting or computer technology.

"When you put all your eggs in one basket," Chadnick says, "you are vulnerable if one thing is taken away. Everyone has their own special recipe." I

Investmenr Executive
Mid-November 2011


AN ALTERNATIVE

Ditch the beans and cold-water flat


Changes in latitude, changes in attitude.

Many Canadians long to give up the daily grind and live where flowers bloom year-round, snow doesn't exist and their retirement dollars stretch further than at home. These low cost paradises exist around the world in a variety of locations, including Thailand, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Mexico, and are increasingly being discovered by adventurous retirees.

"Increasingly, retirees from Europe, Britain, Canada and the U.S. are interested in living outside their native country," says Dan Prescher, 57, special projects editor for International Living, a magazine and website that specializes in living abroad. "We do a lot of writing about how people on a fixed income can make their nest egg go as far as possible and still live a good life."


Prescher says a lot of North Americans are finding that with increases in the cost of living, they are being "priced out" of retirement at home. But in a less developed country, retirees call find everything from a tropical abode overlooking the ocean or a mountain retreat with spring-like weather all year to a colonial city brimming with music and art.

"People who once thought they could retire in style are now looking at rice and beans and a cold-water flat if they stay at home," Prescher says. "They are looking for ways to cut the cost of living without giving up quality of life."


There are several factors to consider when choosing a potential retirement location.

In International Livings global retirement index, published every September, the magazine ranks 23 countries in the following categories: real estate prices; special' benefits for retirees; cost of living; culture, entertainment and recreation; health care; infrastructure, including telecommunications; safety and political stability; and climate.

For the past three years, Ecuador has ranked No.1 in this survey. International Living estimates a couple can live there on $600 a month, and extremely well for less than $1,200 a month, including housing. Ecuador is known for its beautiful beaches, rainforest and mountains. It has a high standard of health care and beautiful colonial architecture. It boasts a mild climate; neither heating nor air conditioning is needed. There are many restaurants, outdoor markets and access to fresh, locally grown food. A furnished, two bedroom apartment in an historic centre costs US$220 a month. Or a large condo can be bought for US$66,000.

No matter which country is chosen, the Internet and web-based phone services such as Skype have made it easier to communicate. And that's encouraging some people to take the leap into foreign lands even before retiring. "Any job that can be done online can be done anywhere in the world," says Prescher. "And that includes online trading, editing and consulting." 

JADE HEMEON
Investment Exceutive
Mid-November 2011



 

FIDUCIARY DUTY DEBATE HEATS UP IN CANADA: THE REGULATORY PROCESS IS IMMINENT

While regulators ponder the complexities of  new rules, investor advocates focus on a quicker solution


IN THE WAKE OF THE GLOBAL financial crisis and assorted financial services-related scandals around the world, the question of imposing fiduciary duties on retail financial advisors has become a hot topic in various countries.


In Canada, the call to hold advisors to a fiduciary duty also has been growing louder. And the Ontario Securities Commission is now studying the issue.


Yet, while requiring advisors to act in the best interests of their clients seems like a logical and appealing concept, actually enshrining this fiduciary duty in law may be no easy task. Experience shows that it often takes years for Canadian securities regulators to agree on seemingly basic reforms; and when this involves possible legislative changes, the process is even more prolonged. So, even though the issue has finally reached the regulators' attention, that doesn't mean such a duty is likely to be imposed soon.


It may be that regulators could effectively achieve the same result as adopting a statutory fiduciary duty by tightening the existing suitability regime without requiring specific statutory change.


Take, for example, the latest effort to tighten suitability rules by the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada. The MFDA has proposed amendments to its "know your client" rules in order to clarify that suitability obligations do apply to strategies involving leverage, and to set minimum standards for firms and reps in assessing the suitability of leveraging.


The proposed amendments raise the bar on suitability with specific requirements that relate to the use of leveraging strategies, including a requirement that leverage suitability must be assessed when certain "trigger events" occur, such as a change in the rep responsible for a client's account or when a client transfers assets acquired with borrowed funds into an account.


This is in line with the latest version of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada's proposed client rela!ionship model, which would also require that suitability be reassessed in response to trigger events, and that the obligations apply not just to orders and recommendations but also to overall trading strategies and financing methods.


As regulators take these steps to increase suitability requirements gradually, they are also demanding more from firms.


"Assessing suitability where leverage is involved is more complex," notes Karen McGuinness, vice president of compliance at the MFDA, "as the [dealer] is responsible for not only assessing the suitability of the investment advice but also the suitability of the leverage strategy. This com¬plexity adds additional compliance risk, given the need for additional supervisory requirements."


But the Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights argues that regulators should be going even further. FAIR Canada's submission on the MFDA's proposed amendments says the proposed minimum criteria for leverage suitability is still too low. It recommends the amendments he toughened.


The FAIR Canada submission also recommends: there be a pre¬sumption that leverage is unsuit: able for retail investors, and that the onus to prove that leverage is suitable for a particular client be placed on the rep that is recommending it; that investors be required to meet a minimum level of investment knowledge before they are allowed to use leverage to invest, and that both reps and clients be required to certify that the client has a proper understanding of the risks; and added disclosure of any compensation generated by the use of client leverage.


Pushing the envelope of what is required to ensure suitability in this way would enhance investor protection, and drive firms and reps incrementally closer to that holy grail of investor protection - fiduciary duty. FAIR Canada's submission suggests that regulators go one step further and implement what it refers to as a "clients first" model, which would "require that all client recommendations be in the best interests of the client ratter than simply requiring that they be suitable."

As the FAIR Canada submission goes on to explain: "The fundamental principle of the ["clients first"] model would be a general rule Slating thal, in all aspects of their dealings with their retail investor clients, including recommendations, compensation practices. disclosure. management of conflicts of interest and all ongoing aspects of the client relationship (such as performance reporting). financial service providers must put the interests of clients foremost."


Adopting this sort of rule would better protect investors from inappropriate uses of leverage, the submission continues, and it "could be introduced as an element of suitability, which could reduce the amount of time it would take to implement such a standard." As well, this method also would be free of the legal baggage that would come with imposing a statutory fiduciary duty.


Pushing the suitability rules in this direction also could help close the gap between the sort of relationship that many clients believe they have with their advisors and the regulatory reality. FAIR Canada's submission says this sort of change is "essential to remedying the imbalance and misalignment of interests and expectations in current registrant/client relationships."


Resetting that balance by statute could be very demanding. But regulators may find it's possible to accomplish it by stealth. IE

 
BY .JAMES LANGTON INVESTMENT EXECUTIVE



November 2011

CANADIANS FINANCIALLY UNPREPARED TO COPE WITH SERIOUS ILLNESS: HOW CAN RETIREMENT TAKE PLACE?

Only 58% of Canadians are either preparing, or are currently prepared financially in case they get sick


Despite making the connection between health and personal finances, many Canadians are unprepared financially to deal with a serious illness, according to a recent study from Sun Life Financial Inc.


The second annual Sun Life Canadian Health Index found that 90% Canadians anticipate a financial impact if they were to experience a major or chronic illness, with 53% saying that impact would be significant or perhaps permanent.


Despite these high awareness levels, only 58% of Canadians are either preparing, or are currently prepared financially in case they get sick. And only eight per cent of Canadians have a written financial plan that includes insurance and risk management — two elements that address the economic impact that could come with a major health issue.


"Canadians' understanding of the connections between health and personal finances are hard-earned," says Kevin Strain, senior vice president, individual insurance and investments, Sun Life Financial Canada. "We found the majority of Canadians have either personally experienced or have had someone close to them suffer a serious health issue. However, fewer than one in five said they had evaluated or re-visited their finances following the experience."


Overall, many Canadians expect a long life. The average respondent anticipates living 81.5 years, almost a year more than the Statistics Canada reported average of 80.7 years1. Eighty-six per cent of Canadians agree that they will need to purchase health insurance to help fund their health care needs, as the public system will not be able to maintain current funding levels as the population ages and costs rise. Seven out of 10 respondents think they will probably need some form of long-term care as they age.


The 2011 Sun Life Canadian Health Index™ measures the attitudes, perceptions and behaviours of Canadians relating to their personal health. It's based on an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between July 27 and September 12 on behalf of Sun Life Financial. For this survey, a sample of 3,233 Canadians aged 18 to 80 years old from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online.


By IE Staff

Nov 16, 2011

THE VALUE OF FINANCIAL ADVISORS IN TURBULENT TIMES: AND BEYOND

In these unsettled economic times, investors may be legitimately asking themselves about the value that a financial advisor brings to the table or, conversely, whether they would be better off trying to invest on their own.


"We have been looking at that very question for a couple of years now," says Joanne De Laurentiis, president and CEO of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).


To find out whether people indeed do better with an advisor than they do without, IFIC consulted an existing Ipsos Reid study of 3,000 households that proved conclusively that yes, you are better off financially when you seek out and heed professional investing advice.


"In terms of experience of those households with advisors, they were in a better financial situation, they had a higher level of savings and investible assets;' she says.


"It basically cut across all demographic levels: If you were young, under 25 or over 65, if the household had an advisor they were in a better financial position:' she explains.


The same advisor-led improvement was found regardless of the , original income or wealth position of those using advisors to guide their savings and investments.


The study also found that advisor guided households also typically had more money saved in RRSPs, RESPs and even new investment vehicles such as the TFSA.


"These millions of advisor-client conversations, whether they be short or long, are really helping with the creation of a savings culture;' Ms. De Laurentiis says.

The IFIC study conducted by Ipsos Reid in 2010 also found that households with advisors were more confident about the future and more comfortable about investing generally. "So the conclusion from that study was that advised households do better than non-advised households:'


Financial advisors are proving more valuable to Canadians as in¬vestment products get more complicated and markets seem even more unpredictable than in prior years.


"The complexity of products, the fact that you are making financial decisions really throughout your life, [means investment strategy] is not just about retirement or buying a house;' says the IFIC president. "You pretty much make financial decisions all your life. When you are making those decisions you have to have thought about whether you are going to use credit or savings, whether you are overextending yourself, and it isn't something that most of us are really trained to do."


The decisions people are faced with and would do better making every day include whether to get in the market and what investment products to buy, what types of insurance to buy and how much to save for retirement to ensure that you do not outlive your savings.


IFIC statistics show that more than 85% of mutual funds are purchased through advisors, and annual surveys conducted for IFIC show that invest¬ors prefer to buy such funds through an advisor rather than selecting the best funds on their own.

IFIC's 2011 Canadian Investors' Perceptions of Mutual Funds and the Mutual Fund Industry 2011 study found that the accumulation of wealth does not precede the process of seeking out professional financial ad¬vice. More than one half of respondents had less than $25,000 to invest when they first sought out advice, and fully one-third had less than $10,000.


The survey also found that once mutual fund investors started working with an advisor, that relationship typically lasted 18 years and the relationship grew to including consultation in other financial areas such as budgeting and planning for the future.


Ian Russell, president and CEO of the Investment Industry Association of Canada, says that the upheavals in the markets and the deep and lasting recession in parts of the developed world have made it tougher on investors and made financial advisors and the advice they provide more valuable than ever.


''You really see the value of something when you really need it," Mr. Russell says. "We are in an environment where there is a great deal of uncertainty, investor angst and stress among all investors:'


"Investors have been impacted by low interest rates, stock markets that are far more turbulent and unpredictable than ever before and which have affected portfolio values. The ... unsettled environment is hitting Baby Boomers particularly hard as they are nearing retirement and are seeking safe and stable returns - exactly the opposite of what markets are delivering," Mr. Russell says.


"People traditionally would turn to things like government bonds and annuities, which are safe and secure and provide an income stream for them," he says.


"Of course, the returns on those products have really evaporated and that provides a challenge for them in finding adequate investment products.


"So people are being challenged to compensate for these lower returns by adjusting either their portfolio asset mix to generate higher returns or change your standard of living," he adds.


"These factors are all putting more pressure on Canadians and more and more people are turning to their financial advisors to cope with these unprecedented pressures."




Paul Brent
National Post
11/07/2011

PROFESSIONAL SALES - PROFESSIONAL FINANCIAL ADVICE - A FIDUCIARY ROLE

When a financial services professional moves from professional product sales to professional financial advice the financial advisory role becomes that of a fiduciary.



As a fiduciary, a track record of professional competence which includes character, integrity of purpose, ethical choice in every facet of financial decision making, unbiased client advice and a framework of practice management within an client centric focus is the de facto standard of professional practice. This standard is essential in ‘Raising The Bar’ from a transactional to a fiduciary level of practice..


In Great Britain, Australia and the US the financial services regulatory bodies are at various stages of implementing the legislation which will make a professional financial advisor’s fiduciary role a professionally legal responsibility.


Canada will follow.


It will have a profound impact on the delivery of professional financial services to the Canadian public.


When we seek advice on highly personal matters such as health, the law and finance the advisor/client relationship is one of mutual trust. It is values based. Trust is earned – not sold.


Whether a client wishes to acquire products or advice or both is a personal decision – for each client to make.


The financial services professional must be professionally prepared to deliver what each client needs, wants and expects.


14,000,000 boomers who are going through various stages of retirement for the next 18 years will need and expect nothing less than full confidence in the trust relationship they develop with their professional financial advisors.


Canadian financial professionals are quite capable of delivering.


Dan Zwicker
Toronto, Canada

CONTACT

Daniel H. Zwicker, Principal
B.Sc. (Hons.) P.Eng. CFP CLU CH.F.C. CFSB

Certified Financial Planner
Chartered Life Underwriter
Chartered Financial Consultant
Chartered Financial Services Broker
Professional Engineers Ontario


Bus: 416-726-2427
Email: ffcg@rogers.com


First Financial Consulting Group, Blog: http://www.dan-zwicker.blogspot.com/
Daniel H. Zwicker, CFP Blog: http://www.dzwicker.blogspot.com/
Beyond Risk, Blog: http://www.beyondrisk.blogspot.com

Daniel H. Zwicker, Principal

4261 Highway Seven

Suite 238

Markham, Ontario L3R 9W6

Chartered Financial Consultant
Lifetime Sustainable Income

Strategic Wealth Management

Specialists in Advanced Life Insurance Applications and

Lifetime Sustainable Retirement Planning Solutions

New clients are accepted by referral only

Financial Practitioner Designations


CLU - Chartered Life Underwriter



For more than 80 years, the CLU designation has been widely recognized as a mark of excellence in the industry. The Chartered Life Underwriter is a professional financial advisor specializing in developing effective solutions for individuals, business owners and professionals in the areas of income replacement, risk management, estate planning, and wealth transfer.


CH.F.C - Chartered Financial Consultant


A Chartered Financial Consultant is a financial advisor with advanced knowledge in wealth accumulation and retirement planning. An advisor with a CH.F.C. is an expert in retirement planning and capital accumulation strategies.


CFP - Certified Financial Planner


The Certified Financial Planner designation is an internationally recognized standard for financial planning. It is granted by the Financial Planners Standards Council (FPSC). An advisor with a CFP may help you with personal financial planning and offer advice on investment products and strategies.




ONLINE REFERENCES:


http://www.advocis.ca/ (Advocis),
http://www.iafe.ca/ (The Institute for Advanced Financial Education)
http://www.cfp-ca.org/ (Financial Planners Standards Council)
http://www.ifbc.ca/ (Independent Financial Brokers of Canada)
http://www.peo.on.ca/(Professional Engineers Ontario)

Capital Risk Management

‘Raising The Bar’

BEYOND RISK - FREEDOM AT 45 - 55 - 65 - 75 - 85 - 95?? - AT ALL OF THE ABOVE AGES - TO AGE 95 & BEYOND

Money is about freedom.


The criteria for freedom are:

• Lifetime sustainable Health

• Lifetime sustainable income

Everthing else is negotiable.


Beyond Risk is about people and their views on money....borne of over 30 years of front line experience and engagement in the arena of exponential corporate growth through financial practice building under 'fire' in a lifetime passion......the assuring of the financial value of our time.....to allow for the completion of our personal and business financial objectives. It is about character, integrity, people and their often complex and conflicting attitudes towards money.....its accumulation.....its preservation and its utility. It is about the leadership of high performance professionals who are committed to managing the capital risk and the lifetime financial well being of their families, business associates and clients. It is about coaching 'Olympian' class high performance empowerment. Above all it is about ethical choice in every facet of decision making and execution. It is remarkable that of all the basic life skill related subjects that we include in our children's early curriculum financial literacy is not one of them.......given that we live in a money economy.

It is said that we each have a "Money Personality".

Nothing could be more accurate and more life defining.


Dan Zwicker
Toronto