Frank, now 62, and his wife, who we’ll call Elora, bought their southern Manitoba farm 32 years ago. By the time Frank’s brother Bob joined the operation 20 years ago, Frank and Elora had 1,280 ares of personally owned land. Frank and Bob incorporated the farm in 1981, bought 640 more acres of land and […] Read more
Unwinding a farm corporation
How to profit from off-farm investments
The first rule of investing money is “don’t lose it.” In stock, bond and commodity markets in which most trading is controlled by institutions and professional investors, the little guy with $10,000 in his fist is the last to get the news, the slowest to trade on it, and the most likely to pay the […] Read more
Investing against the odds
It is a custom in the press to spend the first part of a new year predicting what will happen in the remainder of the year. Keeping the custom, I am going to do it, at considerable risk to my reputation as a conservative, reasonably trustworthy guy. What to do? At the moment, we are […] Read more
Selling the farm
A couple we’ll call Jack (55) and Susie (60) have farmed in western Manitoba for most of their lives. They have 640 acres in their own names and farm 2,360 acres their parents owned or that they have rented. When Jack’s father died 10 years ago, the farm was in jeopardy. Dad had not updated his will for 20 years. The document was basic. His wife would receive everything and […] Read more
Momentum investing
Financial prophecies have lives of their own and, much of the time, they are dead wrong. Read the financial press and with every runup of price of some asset, there are stories saying that zooming prices of gold, potash, various hot stocks and even some junk bonds are only the beginning. With a little numerology, […] Read more
Guarding Wealth: Canadian bonds hold up as European bonds tumble
Read any major newspaper and you’ll find a plethora of worrisome stories: European bond yields hitting new highs as banks and others sell off their Greek, Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish and Italian bonds; the decline of the value of the Euro against other currencies; and stocks tumbling on either side of the Atlantic. You could be […] Read more
Life Insurance Decisions In The Face Of Tax And Estate Planning
In Alberta, a farmer we ll call Bill has been a grain producer for 57 years. His wife, who we ll call Elizabeth, passed away not long ago, leaving Bill, now 84, to manage 5,000 acres of land. He has two children, a daughter, 44, and a son, 42, both of whom have built lives […] Read more
Be Safe, Not Sorry With Investments
For investors, the summer of 2011 was tough. The S&P/TSX Composite Index was off 20 per cent, as I write, and the world is hanging by its virtual fingernails onto news from Europe will Greece default on its national bonds, will other countries fall, and will European banks go bust? The scenario reads like something […] Read more
Selling The Farm And Moving To Town — More Travel And No More Chores
Alberta farmers we ll call Hank, 63, and Ethel, 62, have raised elk and bison and grown grain for three decades in the foothills of the Rockies. Hank has also been an employee of the federal government. He retired with a full pension three years ago at age 60. They have one son with a […] Read more
A How-To Bond Investment Guide For Beginners
Why buy bonds and, if you want to, how do you do it? We re not talking about Canada Savings Bonds, which pay approximately zilch, but about negotiable bonds that can pay enough to put dinner on the table and, for adept investors, a good deal more. Think that s impossible with two-year Government of […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
