Think Smart with TMFG

Episode 152: Big Cities Are in Big Trouble and Need to Change

Once the hub of excitement, arts, and entertainment COVID-19 has quite literally sucked the very life out of our cities. Restaurants are boarded up, homelessness is on the rise, hotel occupancy rates are down all while prices continue to soar. Join us today as Financial Advisors Rob McClelland and Mike Connon discuss their recent travels abroad and what we need to do in order to save our cities.

Episode 151: Scary Times For Investors

There is no doubt that COVID 19, the war in Ukraine, rising interest rates, and supply chain disruptions are leaving people with the sense that chaos is all around.  Sometimes, it's extremely difficult to even consider investing when you are in the thick of all this social turmoil. But these occurrences are not new; in the 90s, we had the Gulf War, the housing crash and we feared the approach of Y2K. So as an investor, what should you do? Listen today as we give you some insight into the markets and what you might want to do with your money.

Episode 150: Why is Investing So Difficult?

Why is investing so difficult? The war in Ukraine, restrictions on the Russian stock market, COVID-19, and so many other unknowns are creating a sense of uncertainty and fear. Is it natural for people to be good investors? It seems to be our natural instinct to run and hide from things that we find frightening or threatening. Join us today as we explore the psychology of investing and how to prosper with clear thinking.

Episode 149: Examining 50 Years of Asset Allocation Strategies

Senior Financial Advisors Rob McClelland and Mike Connon discuss an article written by Dr. Craig Israelsen entitled "50 Years of Asset Allocations". The article traces asset allocation behaviour from 1972 and 2021. Rob and Mike examine these using 7 different strategies; cash, bonds, balanced portfolios, and diversified strategies beginning with the same base investment amount and see how it fares over 50 years. Join us to hear how it all turns out.

Episode 148: How to Survive a Bear Market?

How do you prepare for a possible bear market?  Advisors Rob McClelland and Mike Connon were inspired by an article written by Safal Niveshak 35 ideas from 2021.

Herd mentality brought on by COVID fatigue can lead to gambling with your investments. Don't make important decisions for the wrong reasons. Always remember your margin of safety. Listen today to find out more.

Episode 147: The Real Estate Market Over the Last 10 Years

Today on ThinkSmart Financial Advisors, Rob McClelland and Mike Connon, discuss, once again yes, the real estate market and its performance over the last ten years. This time we take a deeper dive and look not only at residential real estate but at the global real estate market, operational real estate, infrastructure real estate, resorts and lodging, land holdings, diversified investment products, development, and industrial lands. There are so many types and parts of the real estate market that we often don’t consider, but which ones are the best performers? Find out more today on ThinkSmart.

Episode 146: Why Are Humans Hard-Wired to be Bad Investors?

Today on ThinkSmart with TMFG Financial Planners Rob McClelland and Mike Connon discuss some of the science behind what leads humans to be bad investors. Investing is easy, isn't it? Well, maybe not with all the parts that make up the human psyche, you might be surprised that we ever have a successful outcome. Today we discuss; Anchoring, Sunk Cost Fallacy, Back-fire effect, and Belief Bias amongst a host of other tendencies that investors tend to lean on. Join us to learn more.

Episode 145: How Covid Has Changed Everything

As we head into year two of the COVID -19 pandemic Financial Planners Rob McClelland and Mike Connon take a look at the accelerated rate of change across the many industries that directly affect our day-to-day lives. While in many cases there have been huge advances that have required companies to pivot their sales and service offerings it has also in some instances come at a cost to the consumer. Join us today as we look at what is happening in the automobile industry, the housing market, the job market and, more. 

Episode 144: The Many Mistakes That Are Made On Registered Accounts

Registered Retirement Savings Plans, Registered Retirement Income Funds, TFSAs and RESPs at one time, the rules for these types of registered accounts were pretty straightforward, but they have become rather complicated. Over the years, we have come across many accounts that have been set up incorrectly. Considering that these are some of your biggest assets, they can become very costly mistakes. Join us today as we take you through the best strategies to employ with your registered accounts to ensure you are retaining the maximum value of your investments.

Episode 143: I Finally Bought Some Crypto

No doubt, one of the hottest topics in today's financial and tech world is cryptocurrency. However, as Financial Advisors, one of the critical job requirements is to do our due diligence before recommending anything to our clients. Cryptocurrency is an elusive, misunderstood investment product that the best technical and financial minds struggle to comprehend in its totality. Much like the dot-coms of the late 90s, you have to be sure you're backing the right horse. There are still so many uncertainties surrounding it, and there are little to no controls or protections in place. Join us today as we discuss what we have discovered so far as we begin our investment journey with cryptocurrency.