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“Advocis’ Simcoe-Muskoka chapter was awarded the 2014 Totem Pole trophy, an achievement that recognizes the chapter’s dedication to raising the bar for financial advisors when it comes to education, ethics and overall professionalism.

The chapter says its success is due to the strong commitment of board members; training sessions for the various chapter chairs; an increase in the number of chapter members with such professional designations as the CLU, CFP, and CHS; and strong local involvement with MPP’s and MP’s to increase awareness about key regulatory issues that could impact Canadians’ access to professional financial advice,” wrote by The Insurance and Investment Journal on September 24, 2015.

See the article here
Raymond Matt, CFP, CLU, TEP, CHS

“No way, no how, would the Liberal Party of Canada support a government led by Stephen Harper, leader Justin Trudeau said Tuesday, opening up the possibility of working with the NDP to replace a Tory minority or trigger another federal election,” wrote Giuseppe Valiante for The Globe and Mail on Tuesday September 22, 2015.

Valiante continued, “Most polls since the beginning of the 11-week election campaign have suggested no party is in solid majority territory and that the Liberals, NDP and Conservatives are in a tight, three-way race.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair maintains that his goal is to ensure Harper doesn’t win government and has also said he would be willing to work with the Liberals to ensure that happens.

Trudeau has consistently rejected the notion of a formal coalition with the NDP to govern the country.

On Tuesday, Trudeau sidestepped questions as to whether he would support a NDP minority, saying only he had confidence the Liberals would win the election.”

Read the full article here.

Raymond Matt, CFP, CLU, TEP, CHS

“The leaders, locked in a statistical dead heat in the polls, adopted a more combative tone at The Globe and Mail debate Thursday night in Calgary – the second of the 2015 campaign. On a night that saw a series of fractious back-and-forths over which among them has the best plan to recharge a sluggish economy, there were no obvious knockout blows, but each leader defended their positions on the oil sector, corporate taxes and the Canada Pension Plan, among others,” wrote Steven Chase and Bill Curry for The Globe and Mail on Thursday September 17, 2015.

Chase and Curry continued, “Stephen Harper, who seemed comfortable to stand back and leave his rivals to hammer at one another, defended his record in a year that has seen the economy shrink in the first half.

Mr. Harper, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, each of whom have about 30 per cent of the electorate’s support after 47 days on the campaign trail, used the debate to try to connect with voters and surge ahead of the pack.

At issue was how to create jobs and spur growth at a time when the country’s centrepiece petroleum sector is plagued by low oil prices.

Taxation emerged as a major point of contention between the three leaders. Mr. Harper noted that he is the only one who is promising not to raise taxes and warned that the Liberal and NDP plans would harm the economy. He was particularly focused on attacking his rivals’ plans to expand the Canada Pension Plan, which he argued is an unnecessary payroll tax.”

Read the full article here.

Raymond Matt, CFP, CLU, TEP, CHS

Simcoe-Muskoka chapter 2014-2015 Totem Pole winners

From Left to Right: Luellen Norris, Manager, Chapter Relations, Dan Willett, Advocacy, Guy Close, Sponsorship, Richard Tremblay, 2nd VP, Raymond Matt, President, Karen Roy, 1st VP, Heather Haddon, Secretary, Jeff Schreiter, Membership, Richard McCaw, Program 

Advocis’ Simcoe-Muskoka chapter was awarded the 2014-2015 Totem Pole trophy, an achievement that recognizes the chapter’s dedication to raising the bar for financial advisors when it comes to education, ethics and overall professionalism. The chapter’s dedication is amplified by the fact they moved from 25th place to first place within a year.

This is due in part to strong commitment from each board member; training sessions for the various chapter chairs; an increase in the number of chapter members with such professional designations as the CLU, CFP, and CHS; and strong local involvement with MPP’s and MP’s to increase awareness about key regulatory issues that could impact Canadians’ access to professional financial advice.

The Simcoe-Muskoka chapter is proud to be a leader in its community with the goal of enhancing the client experience by bringing knowledge, integrity and ethics to each client interaction. Canadians deserve to have access to financial professionals who are held to a higher standard and who are dedicated to the communities they serve.

For more information please contact Raymond Matt, CFP, CLU, TEP, CHS, Advocis Simcoe-Muskoka chapter president at (705) 526-2807 or e-mail at raymond@csiplan.ca

About Advocis
Advocis, The Financial Advisors Association of Canada, is the largest and oldest voluntary professional association for financial advisors and planners in the country, with more than 11,000 in 40 chapters across the nation. Advocis members are held to a higher standard including continuing education requirements and a code of professional conduct.

Raymond Matt, CFP, CLU, TEP, CHS

“Canadian banks are facing a tough economic environment, raising some uncertainty among observers over what the Big Six’s quarterly financial results will look like this week.

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Raymond Matt, CFP, CLU, TEP, CHS

“Ontario’s public high school teachers have reached a tentative agreement with the Ontario government and the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association.

The OSSTF posted a note early Thursday morning on its Facebook page announcing the tentative deal that still must be ratified by the union’s 60,000 members. The agreement will be presented to local union leaders at a meeting later this week, according to the OSSTF post.

No details of the deal were announced, ” wrote Jane Taber for The Globe and Mail on Thursday August 20, 2015.

Taber continued, “Other provincial teachers’ unions, including those for Catholic and elementary teachers, are still bargaining — and their members are poised to go out as the school year begins.

Unions representing 115,000 teachers across Ontario remain at the bargaining table with school boards, but one union official says they haven’t even started talking about the government’s demand for “net zero” wage increases.

Premier Kathleen Wynne has said the government will not fund any salary increases for civil servants or anyone in the broader public sector — more than one million Ontario workers — until it eliminates an $11.9-billion deficit, which it plans to do by 2017-18.”

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Raymond Matt, CFP, CLU, TEP, CHS

“The question of whether it’s better to buy a home or rent needs some fresh thinking.

Rents have been rising and mortgage rates are so low they almost look fictional. Have the economics of housing turned against renting?

Far from it, actually. But we do need to start recognizing that rising rental costs are a factor in the debate over housing affordability. If nothing else, we may see more millennials having to move homes because neither renting nor owning work,” wrote Rob Carrick for The Globe and Mail on August 16, 2015.

Carrick continued, “To understand the differences in living costs between renting and owning, let’s start with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s latest data on the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in nine Canadian cities. In an effort to zero in on better quality properties in more desirable locations, we’ll mark up the average rents by 10 per cent.

For housing costs, we’ll use average June resale prices from the Canadian Real Estate Association and assume a 10-per-cent down payment plus a five-year fixed rate mortgage at 2.59 per cent. Monthly carrying costs are the total of mortgage payments and one-twelfth of property taxes and maintenance/upkeep costs pegged at an annual 1 per cent of the home price.

In each of the nine cities, average monthly rent was cheaper than the mortgage payment on the average-priced home, and that’s without property taxes and maintenance included. Winnipeg is the city where renting and mortgage costs are the closest. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment (with the 10-per-cent markup) was $1,136, which is just $37 below the monthly mortgage payment for the average Winnipeg house in July.”

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Raymond Matt, CFP, CLU, TEP, CHS

“The feud over the proposed Ontario pension plan escalated Tuesday after Premier Kathleen Wynne revealed new details about the retirement supplement and Stephen Harper labelled it a payroll tax that will kill jobs and hurt middle-class families.

“Canada’s federal party leaders locked horns over how to resurrect the country’s faltering economy, the discredited Senate and national unity on Thursday, the first election debate of the 2015 campaign.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and NDP chief Tom Mulcair tried to paint Stephen Harper as an out-of-touch leader who’s frittered away government revenue on tax breaks and remains insulated from the weakening economy,” wrote Steven Chase for The Globe and Mail on Thursday August 6, 2015.

Chase continued, “The 2015 campaign is the first serious three-way race in recent memory with the Conservatives, New Democrats and Liberals nearly tied among decided voters, according to polls.

These verbal sparring contents that took place Thursday will help determine a crucial question still unanswered at this early stage of the campaign: will the NDP or the Liberals emerge as the main challenger to Mr. Harper?

The Conservative election strategy requires the New Democratic vote to be sufficiently strong to steal support from the Liberals, and Mr. Harper’s conduct in the debate reflected that.

Where he could, the Tory chief supported Mr. Mulcair.”

Read the full article here.

Raymond Matt, CFP, CLU, TEP, CHS

“Canada’s economy is heading for its worst non-recession showing in more than 50 years, Bank of Montreal warns.

But while the first half of 2015 was ugly, the rest of the year should show a pickup, BMO Nesbitt Burns said in a new forecast today.

We already know that the economy contracted at an annual pace of 0.6 per cent in the first three months of the year, and BMO now believes it shrank 1 per cent in the second quarter,” wrote Michael Babad for The Globe and Mail on Wednesday August 5, 2015.

Babad continued, “Mr. Guatieri predicts economic growth will perk up to about 2.5 per cent in the second half of the year, but that would bring the year’s total to a measly 1.2 per cent.

There are some bright spots: Exports showed a dramatic bounce in June, the oil shock will “at least abate,” and the government’s new child benefit tax scheme will put more money in the pockets of consumers.

On top of that is the pre-election spending “in the longest federal campaign since around Confederation.”

Housing markets are also strong, Mr. Guatieri said.

The Bank of Canada has already cut its benchmark rate twice this year, and is counting on a loonie-sparked rebound in exports.”

Read the full article here.

Raymond Matt, CFP, CLU, TEP, CHS