May's Flowers

Share

May 2019

Here in the lower mainland, weather (and the wet version of it) is a cornerstone of our lives. If April showers bring May flowers, we might have something to worry about. Coming out of a parched March, we're setting up for one of the driest springs of recent memory. Basking in blue skies and sunshine is good for our spirits but one worries about the state of our forests as we face renewed water restrictions effective May 1st and another potentially sizzling forest fire season.

However, it is great to see our communities are coming together to replace our stressed and dying trees. The City of Vancouver has an amazing Tree Sale coming up on May 11th, with deeply subsidized trees available for $10. We look forward to seeing other municipalities hopefully following suit.

If you're planting any trees this year, here is a helpful guide for keeping them green and growing!


Market Ethos - Animal Spirits

If you ever want to study human psychology, the capital markets may be one of the best windows into the mind. Markets move based on the aggregation of millions of participants’ opinions on whether something is too expensive or too cheap. And these opinions are subject to, among many factors, emotion, moods and even unrelated news or random circumstances.

Our firm's think-tank in Toronto has recently put out an article reviewing the current sentiment and mood pushing the markets.

 

Here is the Market Ethos on Animal Spirits

If you're interested in behavioural finance, be sure to check out our new webpage tab discussing how bias can play a role in your investment returns.
 



Financial Literacy 101 - The Next Generation of Wealth

Young professionals and recent graduates face some unique challenges today. Industries are being disrupted by rapidly changing technology, defined benefit pensions are harder to find, and affordability remains as issue as real estate prices are still astronomical relative to incomes. High schools, colleges and universities are failing to teach important life skills on managing finances to the majority of graduates entering today's workforce. We are here to fill that gap.

On April 11th we held our first of a series of millennial financial literacy seminars at our office. Our discussion touched on financial responsibility, investing, budgeting and all the skills that should have been taught in school. We thank the first few families that were able to attend, and look forward to holding more of these advice nights in the future.

If you have anyone you think we should be talking to, please send an email to Robert using the button below and he will be sure to find out how we can help and invite them to our next event. We post our events on our homepage so visit regularly.

 

Click here to tell us how we can help

 



How private lending is distorting the Vancouver housing market

A week doesn't go by without a major headline or two about the state of Greater Vancouver's housing market. A recent one from the Globe and Mail highlighted how private lending has become an important player as the rules tightened around bank mortgages.

 

Satnam Sidhu has been a realtor for almost 40 years and he’s been buying and selling foreclosed houses for the past couple of decades. But he says it’s been many years since he’s seen the surge in foreclosures that he has witnessed in the past few months. And most of the properties are being sold off by private lenders – a rapidly emerging and largely ignored major player in the B.C. housing market.

 

Here is the article from the Globe and Mail.

We've answered a number of client questions about private lending in recent months. If you have any of your own, please give us a call or send us an email.
 



In the Shopping Cart: Lighting up NextEra Energy

NextEra might be one of the largest electricity companies you've never heard of. As the world's largest producer of renewable wind and solar energy, they power millions of homes and businesses. When we started looking at NextEra, a few lightbulbs lit up.

Renewable Energy is at a tipping point globally.  Electricity generation through renewable platforms like wind and solar have experienced an explosion in adoption over the past half-decade as rapid technological advancements have pushed costs down and efficiencies up.  Alongside these trends, tailwinds from global policy initiatives have further propelled renewable demand, aiding in industry scale and platform cost parity with traditional fossil fuels.  As an industry leader in renewable electricity generation and distribution, we believe NextEra Energy is positioned to capitalize on these long-term themes. 

We see NextEra as a major player in the New Energy Economy. We look forward to see what bright idea they power up next.

 



Chernick & Associates Wealth Management Group

Richardson GMP Limited
500 – 550 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 2B5

Tel.: 604.640.0400
Toll Free: 1.866.640.0400

www.ChernickandAssociates.ca 


The opinions expressed in this report are the opinions of the author and readers should not assume they reflect the opinions or recommendations of Richardson GMP Limited or its affiliates. Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute the author's judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice. We do not warrant the completeness or accuracy of this material, and it should not be relied upon as such. Before acting on any recommendation, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and, if necessary, seek professional advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Insurance services are offered through Richardson GMP Insurance Services Limited in BC, AB, SK, MB, NWT, ON, QC, and PEI. Additional administrative support and policy management are provided by PPI Partners. Richardson GMP Limited, Member Canadian Investor Protection Fund. Richardson is a trade-mark of James Richardson & Sons, Limited. GMP is a registered trade-mark of GMP Securities L.P. Both used under license by Richardson GMP Limited.