I chose this video because I wanted to find a recent video that could be beneficial for stock investors. With interest rates being very high and Canadians experiencing the highest inflation rate in a very long time, I think it is important to find secure investments that will appreciate. Bank stocks are not only secure, but they also reward investors with dividends. I found this video gave some great insight into how the banking industry has seen depreciation in their stocks over the last few years, which makes for a great opportunity to invest as they start to go back to normality in the next few years.

I chose this video to help me learn more about mutual funds and benefit from them. I was already familiar with mutual funds, but this video still taught me something that I did not know. It explains that there are management expense ratio fees when purchasing mutual funds. I knew about these fees, but I thought that the fees would be taken from the interest appreciation of the stocks, as opposed to being charged these fees when the stock is bought. So If I buy $100 in mutual funds with a 2% MER fee, I have to pay $2 right away. I thought it explained that better than other videos that I have seen and information that I have read. 

I chose this website because I wanted a simple breakdown of the different ratings that are given to bonds. Something that I learned from this website that I didn’t get from other websites is that the cut-off for safe bonds is BBB. BB or anything lower is considered risky as they could default and lose an investor money. 

This was an interesting study, and I chose to make this chart and use this image because it shows the benefits of investing money instead of putting that money in a savings account. In 30 years, $10,000 would be $10,000 if it weren’t invested. 

I chose this video because most videos speak about the positives of investments and I wanted to hear a different side so I can find some risks to investing. I agree with portions of this video, including that mutual funds have high management expense fees that are avoidable for experienced investors. I didn’t know that some financial advisors have targets, so that was an interesting fact that I received from this video. 

But I don’t completely agree with this video and it’s because many Canadians are not comfortable with direct investing. They prefer getting help from financial advisors and mutual funds are a great way to invest without knowing the stock market. It is still a better alternative than putting money into a savings account, as most mutual funds will receive a return in the long run and help your money avoid depreciation.

I chose this video because I wanted to do more research on the accounts that our investments are in like RRSPs and TFSAs. Learning about the benefits and risks of using these accounts is important to understand. I did not realize how tax deferrals worked until I watched this video and I’m very happy to have come across it. If I contribute to an RRSP when I am in a 26% tax bracket and withdraw from my RRSP when I’m in a 15% tax bracket, I’ll be saving a lot of money in the long term. 

I chose this article to gain more research on stock investing. Something that I learned was about Canadian dividend advantages. Foreign stocks also have dividends, but we gain a tax advantage from Canadian dividend income that we do not receive from foreign stocks. This gives us a higher incentive to invest in Canadian companies. 

I chose this article because I have never invested in bonds, so I am curious about how they work. I have knowledge of them being lower-risk investments than stocks (unless purchasing high-yield bonds), but I have wondered how they are bought and this article provided me with the answer to that question. Something that this website explained that was interesting was how bond investing may be a good way to create income, but many government bonds and low-risk bonds have trouble keeping up with inflation. With inflation being very high today, investing in a bond two years ago wouldn’t have provided yields to combat the dollar depreciating through inflation. 

I chose this article because I could not think of any negative aspects of a TFSA. I always thought that TFSAs had no negative qualities. One negative quality that was mentioned was that there is no protection from creditors. If you go through a bankruptcy or lawsuit, they have the right to take money from this account. An RRSP has protection, but TFSA does not. 

Something that surprised me was the RRSP tax deferral. I knew that RRSPs gave contributors tax benefits, but I never realized that we eventually will pay those taxes when we withdraw from the RRSP. It makes a lot more sense now that we should try saving contribution room for when we are in a high tax bracket, as when it’s being withdrawn during retirement, we will be in a lower tax bracket and it will save money. 

Another surprising fact was how more Canadians were using savings accounts over investment accounts like TFSAs and RRSPs. If educated better, I believe that they would be more comfortable investing their money instead of letting it sit in an account with low interest.

It is very interesting to me because I’m frugal with my money, which helps me save. If I am going to save my money, I want it to grow. Investing in different assets is the best way to make that money grow. Other areas that I have researched in the past on how to grow my money are real estate investing and starting a business. I feel like stock market investing is the easiest way to invest my money, but it comes with a risk. This assignment was a good way to see the risks and benefits so I can make wise decisions about how I invest in the future.

There were so many facts that I could pass on that I learned from this assignment. If I had to choose one, it would be to invest in Canadian banks. These seem like great investments to expect appreciation, build compound interest, and receive dividends. Not only do they provide high dividend yields but investing in Canadian companies gives tax benefits that we don’t receive from U.S. stock dividends. Finding companies that will continue to grow could be hard, but I feel like we can trust that our banks will grow through investing money that consumers are storing in their accounts.