No – that’s just factually incorrect JJ. Leveraged strategies can suffer in a hurry if you need cash or get margin called. There are also a lot of people that are going to struggle mentally with being “underwater” on their mortgage. We’re already seeing it in Toronto and Vancouver.

Yes, it definitely can Lori.

I do like the fact they eliminated trading fees. I also like the buy/sell and research features. They have been responsive about reimbursing account transfer fees. However, its not all positive.

Transferring our accounts has been tedious and, frankly, painful. Misdirection from the customer service people on more that one occasion on the topics of LIRA/LIF and RRSP/RRIF, and glacially slow transfer. I’ve been trying to consolidate TFSA accounts and put in a transfer request in February and still am waiting. I think the people in the ‘back office’ know what they are doing but sometimes the people who answer the phone do not. I had one person question me on why I wanted to convert my RRSP to RRIF when I’m not yet 71! I suggested they ask someone on their team about taxes. I also had someone tell me I had to mail hard copies of my LIRA/LIF waivers to the Vancouver office before they could proceed. Another waste of time and another phone call and more emails etc.

Thanks for your reply Kyle. As far as cyber risk I was more referring to taking personal accountability off the table as a hedge against the worst case where the individual is blamed for being a factor in the breach and losses. If there is no ability as an individual to manipulate holdings (view only) with your sign on, then a breach and loss I would imagine is automatically held accountable to deal with at the institutional level by default and takes away most of the worry of being denied as an individual. In a worst case scenario I like the chances of the institution to regain the losses for me rather than having to fight some claim against myself for not following the fine print or being fooled by a hacker in a moment of weakness and confusion. We are starting to hear a lot of cases where institutions have denied all or. part of losses in cases like this. Having a portion of savings that is largely protected from a situation is a nice to hedge to have I think. Trade off being higher fees and local of direct control. Does this help clarify a bit better? Thanks for your feedback really appreciated

Has TD fixed this ? , they must fix this feature

You can’t live your life based on just what is the best financial decision. Owning a home is also a lifestyle choice, and it changes from being single to having a family, to being an empty nester. We’re empty nesters and have been for a few years. My wife recently retired, and I still work as I have a business 10 minutes from where I live. It’s tempting to slough off all the handyman stuff. But we really like our home. We like the space, we like our property, and we’re willing to pay for the property taxes, electricity bills, service charges for snow clearing, etc…

Choose the option that best suits what you want to do. Don’t buy a house because that’s the thing to do, buy it if that’s how you want to live. Renting might be the right choice for the same reason.

Every investment has a risk and stock market is one of the riskiest but the point is in the long run both stocks and RE will always go up and thus, the leveraged strategy works out very well as long as one sticks to 20-30 yrs.

Hi Fran,

That’s an interesting assessment of risk. I don’t mean that in any pedantic way, I genuinely haven’t seen investment risk broken down like that before. In regards to spousal risk, what I have done is create fairly detailed instructions on what my partner should do, should I go to the tax haven in the sky before her. I think an annuity is honestly a really really good option in this regard – at least up to the amount that the government guarantees. If you go that route, plus give specific directions to your fee-only advisor on how to advise your spouse in a worst case scenario, I think that mitigates a lot of pain points. Now, in regards to cyber attacks, I’m not sure that I agree that a full-service company somehow gives you more protection against a cyber attack than a regulated brokerage? Many of these discount brokerages are Schedule 1 Banks and have amongst the highest security standards in the world. IF somehow, a cyber attack were to actually get into an investing platform, I don’t see how it would matter if it were the brokerage arm or the mutual fund arm of a bank. The government would have to step in to make investors whole, or else the entire bank would collapse very quickly and it would be a political nightmare if they failed to protect customers. I think someone has told you different in order to keep you in their high-fee advisor practice. What sort of cyber attack are you envisioning here so that I can be more specific in addressing your concerns Fran?

Not sure you understand how ETFs or index investing works Steven. Returns have been pretty incredible the last 16 years!

Remember, leverage always carries risk though JJ. What happens if prices go sideways for another 5 years?

There are several advantages or tax strategies using a rental. One can do cash dam and smith maneuver and accelerate their stock investments or mortgage payments on the primary. Moreover, Canadian RE in major cities is more about appreciation than cash flow.