Was happy to notice a wee blurb in Monday May 2 ,2016's Globe and Mail
entitled "The investment industry's growing unrest over hidden fees" by Clare O'Hara.( section B--pages 1 and 7)
There is more hope on the horizon for those Canucks who still insist on purchasing mutual funds. The
"hidden" commissions that "financial advisors" earn for the period of time that a consumer holds units of a certain mutual fund will, Clare asserts, in the near future become more restricted, AND/OR much more transparent.
After all, why should there be so much murkiness in the "investment product" industry?
Since when are investments now known as mere "products "??
Since when are "investors" merely treated as "financial product" consumers?
It used to be....or at least it "felt" more that way when I was young, that investments were something
that held "unlimited " potential. The mystery and the myriad of ways in which a potential financial investment could grow or morph or produce multiple income streams was a beautiful and alluring "unknown".
Now it seems that banks and financial investment companies are determined to
"capture and control" every single aspect of an "investment". No more surprises....only more legaleze, and more ways for the investment industry to make money off the backs of hard working and naive "investors".....They don't even call us "investors" any more. We are merely "consumers" who are being sold "products".
By the way, we prefer to be called "investors"....no matter what the amount we are able or willing to "invest".
Anyway, pardon the rant..... This post is intended to be positive.
If even the investment industry is ready and willing to admit that there needs to be changes that "help" individual investors, then we are indeed poised for greater gain.
Tony Robbins,through his book "Money, Master the Game" , exposed much of the murkiness in the USA's mutual fund industry and explained how so many many fees and hidden costs are bound up in the American mutual fund industry. The fees and extra charges are so complex, hard to find, and so "murky" that few, if any, invididual investors even know how much in fees that their investments are actually costing them at the end of their investing life. Those hidden fund fees and charges can eat up the majority of any potential profit that an individual investor may earn over their lifetime by holding mutual fund units."Mutual Fund Buyers beware"......was Tony's timely advice.
Yes, Tony's book was written for the States. But maybe Canada listened in on the conversation and has begun to take some preventative measures.
If Canada's mutual fund industry is willing to play a little more fair and transparently, then maybe, just maybe, you won't have to run and hide from mutual funds any more and stop picking stocks for yourself. Maybe.... just maybe.. maple syrup toting DIY investors might start trusting the advice of the "professionals" again.
Clare's article sheds a few good Canadian rays of light on the matter.
Happy investing, friends,
May you live long and prosper.
C.
Tweet
entitled "The investment industry's growing unrest over hidden fees" by Clare O'Hara.( section B--pages 1 and 7)
There is more hope on the horizon for those Canucks who still insist on purchasing mutual funds. The
"hidden" commissions that "financial advisors" earn for the period of time that a consumer holds units of a certain mutual fund will, Clare asserts, in the near future become more restricted, AND/OR much more transparent.
After all, why should there be so much murkiness in the "investment product" industry?
Since when are investments now known as mere "products "??
Since when are "investors" merely treated as "financial product" consumers?
It used to be....or at least it "felt" more that way when I was young, that investments were something
that held "unlimited " potential. The mystery and the myriad of ways in which a potential financial investment could grow or morph or produce multiple income streams was a beautiful and alluring "unknown".
Now it seems that banks and financial investment companies are determined to
"capture and control" every single aspect of an "investment". No more surprises....only more legaleze, and more ways for the investment industry to make money off the backs of hard working and naive "investors".....They don't even call us "investors" any more. We are merely "consumers" who are being sold "products".
By the way, we prefer to be called "investors"....no matter what the amount we are able or willing to "invest".
Anyway, pardon the rant..... This post is intended to be positive.
If even the investment industry is ready and willing to admit that there needs to be changes that "help" individual investors, then we are indeed poised for greater gain.
Tony Robbins,through his book "Money, Master the Game" , exposed much of the murkiness in the USA's mutual fund industry and explained how so many many fees and hidden costs are bound up in the American mutual fund industry. The fees and extra charges are so complex, hard to find, and so "murky" that few, if any, invididual investors even know how much in fees that their investments are actually costing them at the end of their investing life. Those hidden fund fees and charges can eat up the majority of any potential profit that an individual investor may earn over their lifetime by holding mutual fund units."Mutual Fund Buyers beware"......was Tony's timely advice.
Yes, Tony's book was written for the States. But maybe Canada listened in on the conversation and has begun to take some preventative measures.
If Canada's mutual fund industry is willing to play a little more fair and transparently, then maybe, just maybe, you won't have to run and hide from mutual funds any more and stop picking stocks for yourself. Maybe.... just maybe.. maple syrup toting DIY investors might start trusting the advice of the "professionals" again.
Clare's article sheds a few good Canadian rays of light on the matter.
Happy investing, friends,
May you live long and prosper.
C.
Tweet
