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moneysense.ca, 23/07/09
This and That: Best bets for a bull market and more…
- With stocks bouncing back from the lows of March 2009, this column in the New York Times says that technology and large blue-chip growth stocks are likely to perform best in the next bull market.
- In light of the Earl Jones affair (a Montreal-based advisor alleged to have perpetrated financial fraud), Rob Carrick shows how to run basic background checks on a financial advisor.
- Jon Chevreau reiterates that a home should be a person’s castle, not their bank machine.
- Thicken My Wallet points out that extrapolating Japan’s long decline to the US ignores some important demographic differences.
- Should one buy a starter home and later trade up if necessary or go for a once-and-done home to live forever? Gail shares her thoughts on the issue.
- Preet is conducting a mega giveaway with lots of prizes on offer as part of his blog’s second anniversary celebrations.
- If you bought a lottery ticket and found that 6 out of 7 winning numbers matched, how much would you have won? The answer, as Michael James found out, is surprising.
- I’ve had my share of interviews but I’ve never been asked about my salary history. However, employers do typically ask about salary expectations and I simply say “in line with the market”. Mr. Cheap on how to address this sticky question if it comes up in an interview.
- Oh, to be young and cash rich. Million Dollar Journey offers tips for someone in this fortunate situation.
- Dividend Growth Investor digs up a cache of partnership letters dating back to the early years of Warren Buffett’s investment career.
Have a great weekend everyone!
moneysense.ca, 23/07/09
Thanks for the mention. I’m not convinced that individuals can do much to detect a Ponzi scheme. The suggestions from Rob Carrick might catch some crooks, but if a financial advisor starts out legitimately and then starts to dip into the principal a little and eventually gets forced to run a full-blown Ponzi scheme to cover his fraud, will the regulatory organizations catch this financial advisor?
Thanks for the link love CC. I did enjoy Buffett’s January 1962 letter to partners, where he discussed his strategies that enabled him to make his first million.
Have a nice weekend!
Thanks for the link CC – have a great weekend!
The starter home versus once-and-done discussion is an interesting one. I think the general consensus in that blog is that it’s different for everybody and varies depending upon your personal situation.
For me personally, my employment situation has always been on very shaky ground. So for me, the starter home concept (actually a condo) gives me more peace of mind because I can’t handle a 10+ yr mortgage hanging over my head. My current home is the second place I’ve bought (in totally different cities, proving my point) and in both cases, I’ve stuck with a 5-yr variable rate mortgage with the flexibility to let me pay it off in 3 yrs because that’s the most debt that I’m comfortable with due to my employment situation…
I personally don’t see any problems with disclosing my past compensation during an interview. Just last week, I was in an interview and was asked that very same question. The interviewer stated that they can’t match it with the current position being offered. I have no problems with that, it creates an open discussion about compensation.
I was still called for a second interview despite the mutually acknowledged difference in compensation and should I get so far as to receive an offer, I am open to looking at the offer. It doesn’t mean that I have to accept it and it doesn’t mean that I can’t bring it up as a conversation piece in a future discussion, such as talking about whether they may be interested in bringing me in as a contract employee instead.
My previous employer paid for some time to talk to a career counselor and she said that you need to always negotiate from a position of strength. So, I’m to wait to see if they decide that they want me in particular before we get into the nitty gritty on compensation. But being open about it allows us to have an understanding of each other before we get into that discussion.
I don’t quite understand how these “advisors” get the money in their hands. I work through my MFDA and Insurance licenses through my firm and my MGA . When placing business for clients, whether it’s GIC’s or mutual/seg funds etc., never does a client write a cheque to me, my firm or my MGA. The funds go directly to the institution where the investment id held.
Thanks for the link. Have a good weekend!
@Michael: The Earl Jones clients could have avoided trouble by running a background check. I understand he was operating outside the regulatory framework.
@DGI: Thanks for posting the Buffett Partnership letters. It makes for some interesting reading.
@Phil: It sounds like your potential employer really intended to find out your salary expectations for the position you were interviewed for. If so, they could have asked that directly, instead of asking for your salary in the previous position.
@FM: According to reports, Earl Jones was operating outside the regulatory framework. No amount of rules and regulations can prevent frauds like this. It is up to clients to check their advisor’s background.
Hi CC. I personally think it is better that they went about asking that question the way they did… I can demonstrate the track record that I had before and they know where I’m coming from. Also, I don’t really know what I “want” per se, as money talks so the more the better – but I’m open to entertaining to what they have to offer. Again, that’s still getting a bit ahead of the situation. They now have 13 candidates to consider and we need to know as a baseline whether they are interested in my skills and knowledge compared to the other candidates before we figure out what they’re willing to pay for it.
Thanks for he mention CC. g
A little late, but thanks for the link!