Ellen Roseman

While affordability remains elusive in many Canadian markets, the situation has improved since the last iteration of Zoocasa’s report. Published in October 2022, the previous report found that only 10 markets were affordable for median-income…

#FPM2023 Would you know what to do if you get scammed? According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, more than 91,000 cases of fraud were reported just in 2022. And this is just the tip of the iceberg since only about 5% of all frauds are reported. To…

The SVB crisis has made us worry about how our deposits and investments are protected when the company holding them goes out of business. Here’s a summary of what happens in Canada that should make you feel more secure.

An explanation by the CEO of a small U.S. bank of the decisions made by Silicon Valley Bank, leading to a run by customers and its insolvency. She says SVB didn’t do the right risk management in a changing market environment. #bank #riskmanagement…

Silicon Valley Banks Chief Administrative Officer was the CFO of Lehman Brothers' Global Investment Bank when it collapsed. You can’t make this shit up.

How do you ask a financial advisor about the fees you pay for their services? A simple question isn’t enough, says David O’Leary. You must be quite detailed and specific. Here's how to ask about fees so they can't spin things and give you a…

An entrepreneur’s effort to take her freshly pumped breast milk on an airplane in Korea after being told it wasn’t allowed in a carry-on bag and had to go into the plane’s luggage compartment. What an ordeal! She had already checked her luggage and…

Gen X & Baby Boomer job seekers: If you're not getting interviews, you are not alone. In my recent survey, 53% of Gen X/Baby Boomer job seekers said they can't land an interview. If that's you, audit your resume and LinkedIn today. Start with…

Some needed talking down after a BMO survey showed that many Canadians thought they would need to save $1.7 million to retire comfortably. Not necessary for most people, but we’re sensitive to fear mongering by the big banks.

Keep up the good work, JP and your team. As a former FAIR director and perpetual promoter of investor rights, I’m glad to see the progress you’ve made in the past year.

NEW REPORT! Ever wondered what the tax consequences are of forgiving a family loan, such as a prescribed rate loan? It's all discussed in our latest report:

The Tiny House - Living Simply and Frugally to Reduce Your Environmental Footprint.

It's hard to buy an affordable home in Canadian cities. With a shortage of sale listings in recent years, house prices rose faster than inflation and household incomes, leading to fierce bidding wars in which buyers paid way more than the asking…

FAIR Canada, joined by a coalition of consumer advocates, called on the federal government to honour its commitment to create a single ombudsman for all consumer complaints against banks. Currently, several banks use a for-profit organization to…

I just updated my Linktree profile. After more than 15 years as a director of FAIR Canada and a former chair and co-chair, I am now off the board and free for other board or governance work. I'm still a big fan of FAIR and I will continue to follow…

“In our view, appointing one director to represent the interests of consumers is a tall order for any individual. Furthermore, it suggests the responsibility for representing such interests lies with only one director. We believe all directors share…

This is an excellent guide to the complaint process for clients of banks and investment dealers. Thanks to FAIR Canada for putting it together and giving plain language guidance to customers who find the process confusing.

This RRSP season don’t be pressured to invest in something that is not right for you. One of the best ways to protect yourself as an investor is to get informed. MoneySmart Manitoba produced a great series of podcasts you may want to check out. The…

FAIR Canada recently released it's first investor survey, revealing many interesting findings: • 80% of investors surveyed started investing before age 35  • 52% of investors have only CPP/QPP to fall back on, whereas only 31% have another pension…

Known unknowns One of the most interesting bits in Richard Warnica’s profile of Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri in today’s Toronto Star is this quote: “We didn’t know what to say”. You don’t need a global consulting firm to develop a SWOT analysis to…