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Personal Finance

It’s all funds, games until …

Regulators up surveillance of ‘gamification’ techniques used to game investors (potentially) of their money

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025

Fun and games aren’t just for children this holiday season. Turns out, investing is increasingly gamified.

However, it’s more of a year-round thing, as online investment platforms use “gamification” techniques, which can make the business of dollars and cents a little more fun.

In essence, gamification involves leveraging powerful behavioural psychology tools that nudge, through video game-like design, consumers toward engaging in certain behaviours — for better and for worse.

Canada’s largest investment regulator — the Ontario Securities Commission — has conducted a few studies examining gamification to understand its potential for benefiting and harming investors.

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How the pinch steals Christmas

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Preview

How the pinch steals Christmas

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025

Pinched pocketbooks can have many people feeling more Grinch-like than a Jolly Ole St. Nick vibe this holiday season.

A recent survey from CPA (Chartered Professional Accountants) Canada found gift budgets this year are going up 10 per cent over last year to reach $661 on average. That’s not counting all the other costs — food, travel, entertainment — that also swell in December.

Bank of Canada inflation data shows prices are 20 per cent higher than pre-COVID-19 pandemic, and Statistics Canada data points to the average wage growing less than $2 to reach $35.20 an hour.

The CPA study found a growing number plan to use credit, 49 per cent, up slightly from last year. That is relatively in line with Bank of Canada data showing 46 per cent of Canadians typically carry a balance on their credit cards, says Li Zhang, financial education advocate with CPA Canada. “That balance will probably be bigger after the holidays.”

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Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025

Pexels

Becca Mintz, head of credit and data at Capital One, says credit cards are a double-edged sword: they’re convenient and build a credit history, but high interest costs sting if you’re unable to pay the balance.
Pexels Becca Mintz, head of credit and data at Capital One, says credit cards are a double-edged sword: they’re convenient and build a credit history, but high interest costs sting if you’re unable to pay the balance.

Gift that keeps giving

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Preview

Gift that keeps giving

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025

Imagine a gift this holiday season that could one day be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. And it would all start with the impetus to contribute to a little-known registered savings plan.

It’s fairly common for grandparents to contribute to their grandkids’ Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs), helping the children and their parents, who are increasingly cash-strapped with a myriad of other costs, save for post-secondary education.

But contributing to a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) can be even more life-changing.

“You’re giving somebody something that could potentially be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars over time,” says Alyssa Mitha, director of tax and estate planning at Mackenzie Investments.

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Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025
Gift that keeps giving

Halloween spare change

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Preview

Halloween spare change

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025

It’s a spooky time of year, in more ways than one.

Halloween approaches with its legions of ghouls, ghosts and KPop Demon Hunters (the hottest costume this year, by the way).

The increasingly longer nights, shorter days and looming winter may also deepen a sense of dread already manifesting amid concerns over the economy and household finances.

Tariff upheaval is potentially driving a stake into the heart of the Canadian — and global — economy.

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Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025

Anne Nygard / Unsplash

Called the ‘Halloween Effect,’ the U.S. stock market typically provides its best returns from Oct. 31 until the start of May.
Anne Nygard / Unsplash Called the ‘Halloween Effect,’ the U.S. stock market typically provides its best returns from Oct. 31 until the start of May.

Cost to see your favourite performers has soared thanks to reselling

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Preview

Cost to see your favourite performers has soared thanks to reselling

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025

The law of supply and demand is alive and well when it comes to seeing your favourite performer or sports team, live and in person.

Concert tickets, notably to American music superstar Taylor Swift’s recent Eras Tour, can be so in demand, buyers are willing to pay thousands on legal resale sites.

Key players to lay blame upon are undoubtedly resellers — organized crime in faraway jurisdictions or maybe just a tech-savy teenager next door.

Whoever they are, many use bots (software purchased online) allowing them to rapidly and repeatedly purchase tickets on sale from generally the one main ticket source: Ticketmaster.

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Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025

Alexander Ward / Unsplash

‘You used to stand outside a stadium to sell a ticket and they’ll lock you up for that, but these guys can now do it legally online,’ Joe Ruicci says of the high-priced resale market.
Alexander Ward / Unsplash ‘You used to stand outside a stadium to sell a ticket and they’ll lock you up for that, but these guys can now do it legally online,’ Joe Ruicci says of the high-priced resale market.

What spirit animal are you?

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Preview

What spirit animal are you?

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025

Markets surge and retreat on growing volatility driven by the collective feelings of hundreds of millions of investors.

These “animal spirits” — a term coined by economist John Maynard Keynes to describe how instinct and emotions drive economic activity — have leaned toward greed, exuberance more often than not with the U.S. and Canadian stocks markets recently reaching all-time highs.

Maybe investors are euphoric about the impact of artificial intelligence or perhaps many buy what U.S. President Donald Trump is selling: a so-called new “Golden age of America.”

Whatever the driver, these animal spirits give some investment professionals pause.

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Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025

Seth Wenig / The Associated Press

Financial information is displayed at the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Wednesday.
Seth Wenig / The Associated Press Financial information is displayed at the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Wednesday.

Demand for increasingly complex chips soars, presenting opportunity to profitably power portfolios

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Preview

Demand for increasingly complex chips soars, presenting opportunity to profitably power portfolios

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Saturday, Sep. 27, 2025

Call it the quest for the most chips. As the companies and governments seek to leverage the potential of artificial intelligence, semiconductors have risen to the top of their shopping list.

For investors, this demand has manifested materially — at least for those who have exposure to the U.S. stock market. The world’s largest publicly traded company, Nvidia Corp., is a semiconductor producer that, until the advent of generative AI search engines like ChatGPT, was best known for making graphics computer chips for video gaming.

Even the other big tech companies that dominate the U.S. stock market rely on Nvidia in most instances to provide semiconductors for their cloud computing and AI-powered capabilities. What’s more, most of these firms also have research and development arms dedicated to designing their own chips.

“On a high level, semiconductors ultimately manage the flow of electricity in equipment,” says Alexander Smahtin, senior analyst at Global X Investments Canada Inc.

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Saturday, Sep. 27, 2025
Quest for semiconductor supremacy

Parents beware of expensive activities as children age (but still pay for anyway)

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Preview

Parents beware of expensive activities as children age (but still pay for anyway)

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 13, 2025

It’s getting creepy at this time of year for many families with children.

It’s not just the Halloween marketing arriving weeks in advance; it’s the cost creep many parents experience as their children return to school this month. School fees, supplies and clothes are one set of costs. Another, often larger financial outlay is registration fees and equipment for hockey, riding, figure skating, indoor soccer and many more.

You name the activity; there are likely parents willing to pay thousands for their children to be active outside of house and school.

“It really does creep up as your child gets older,” says Treena Nault, a certified financial planner at IG Private Wealth Management in Winnipeg.

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Saturday, Sep. 13, 2025
Extracurricular costs creep

Ingeniously profitable?

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Preview

Ingeniously profitable?

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025

It’s GENIUS, at least by name.

The recent passage of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, in a rare display of bipartisan co-operation, is seen as the first major step to push cryptocurrency into the big league of global finance.

While it isn’t necessarily targeted at the most recognizable of cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin), the legislation involves the U.S. officially recognizing stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies backed by real assets (like the U.S. dollar).

And that is largely viewed as a win for proponents of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance overall.

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Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025
Ingeniously profitable?

AI-powered personal finance is here: for better and for worse

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Preview

AI-powered personal finance is here: for better and for worse

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025

Financial advice at your fingertips is by no means a new innovation.

Yet with the rise of artificial intelligence, getting insights about your money has been taken to new heights of potential benefit — and dangers.

“There is a lot of upside to using AI, especially for budgeting, and it’s often good as a first draft for anything you want to do,” says Monisha Sharma, Toronto-based chief revenue officer at Fig Financial, which provides consolidation, home improvement and unsecured loans.

Fig has some insight on AI’s benefits. The fintech company leverages AI technology to make loans quickly to Canadians, but its use case is contained to Fig’s own specific data to ensure a low error rate.

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Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025
AI-powered personal finance is here: for better and for worse

Many Manitobans renewing mortgages in coming months, facing higher payments

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Preview

Many Manitobans renewing mortgages in coming months, facing higher payments

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025

If you have a mortgage, it’s likely a source of some financial stress—particularly if its term is expiring this year or next. Bank of Canada data shows that 60 per cent of mortgage holders are renewing this year and next with most holding five-year, fixed-rate terms set to increase with payments that could be 10 per cent higher or more than they were previously paying.

A recent TD survey has found that 22 per cent Manitoba mortgage holders are renewing next year, with 72 per cent expecting higher payments that will affect their living situation.

“That’s highest of all the markets,” says Crystal Leigh, associate vice-president at TD, specializing in mortgages, based in Halifax, noting the national average is 57 per cent.

“There were several options folks also indicated that they were exploring to manage their cash flow to adjust.”

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Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025

Pexels

Sixty per cent of mortgage holders in Canada are renewing this year.
Pexels Sixty per cent of mortgage holders in Canada are renewing this year.

Warpath to profitability?

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Preview

Warpath to profitability?

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Saturday, Jul. 26, 2025

The defence industry is often overlooked by investors. It’s perceived as boring compared with technology or worse, it’s just an unethical way to put profit in the portfolio.

Since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia, however, the defence industry has drawn significant investor interest. Notably, the perception has changed. That includes some of those who might have felt investing in defence was distasteful; they now see it as a needed buttress against rising authoritarianism.

Of course, another shift is financial — based on the forecast injection of hundreds of billions of dollars in additional spending by NATO members.

Canada alone is expected to increase military spending about $70 billion annually to meet its most recent defence commitment of five per cent of gross domestic product.

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Saturday, Jul. 26, 2025

Pexels

NATO members (including Canada) are forecast to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in additional annual spending in defence in the years to come.
Pexels NATO members (including Canada) are forecast to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in additional annual spending in defence in the years to come.

Good alarm system key in new world of financial security

Andrew Froese 5 minute read Saturday, Jul. 19, 2025

We once relied on strong locks to keep our assets safe. Now, we need to rely on strong alarm systems.

Imagine before the internet, before the first computer. Our investments – stock certificates, paper bonds, wads of cash, rolled coins, gold — all had a singular physical form. They each had to be somewhere at all times.

Keeping your assets safe depended on the security of locked door that sealed them from the outside world. The vault at the bank, a safety deposit box, the safe in your basement — they all felt impenetrable; they made us feel secure. Then came debit and credit cards. These tools are designed to give flexible access to your accounts. In short, your assets can be anywhere.

The world changed, so necessarily, we changed.

Failed to save for summer vacation? Consider these ideas to take break without breaking the bank

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Preview

Failed to save for summer vacation? Consider these ideas to take break without breaking the bank

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Saturday, Jul. 19, 2025

If you’re the average summering Canuck, chances are you’re passing on America for your summer vacation.

A new survey suggests a majority are holidaying in-country this year. The BMO Real Financial Progress Index found 62 per cent of respondents plan to vacation in Canada this summer. No doubt many are avoiding the U.S. tiffed at its current administration’s stance toward Canada.

Recent Statistic Canada numbers reveal border crossing to the U.S. were down more than a third year over year in June by automobile and more than 20 per cent by plane.

Just because fewer of us are venturing south of the border, however, doesn’t mean we’re cutting back on holidaying with the survey finding respondents plan to spend on average $3,825.

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Saturday, Jul. 19, 2025

Travel Manitoba

In-country vacations are popular with Canadians, who are crossing the border into the U.S. less and less these days.
Travel Manitoba In-country vacations are popular with Canadians, who are crossing the border into the U.S. less and less these days.

JP Morgan launches 5th such ETF in Canada in past year, but skeptics persist

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Preview

JP Morgan launches 5th such ETF in Canada in past year, but skeptics persist

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Saturday, Jul. 5, 2025

Negative consumer sentiment in Canada toward anything American-made has not stopped one of the world’s largest investment managers from launching products north of the border.

JP Morgan Asset Management, based in New York, recently introduced a new actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF), specially designed to provide Canadian investors with access to its world-leading U.S. stock-picking managers.

“Actively managed ETFs are what we do well and that expertise is what we’re bringing to Canada,” says Jay Rana, head of Canadian adviser business at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in Toronto.

Part of the storied U.S. investment bank J.P. Morgan Chase, the asset manager oversees US$3.7 trillion, among largest money managers in the world. It recently brought a stock-picking strategy for the U.S. stock market to Canada in an ETF wrapper that doesn’t even exist in that form in the U.S.

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Saturday, Jul. 5, 2025
Actively managed but truly more profitable?

Live, work, play, profit

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Preview

Live, work, play, profit

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Saturday, Jun. 14, 2025

If you’re familiar with the real estate investment trust RioCan, it might not be for the right reasons these days.

RioCan has made headlines for its partnership with Hudson’s Bay Co., operating a portfolio of a dozen properties that were home to the insolvent and now shuttered department store chain.

In reality, HBC accounted for a small part of the business of Canada’s second-largest REIT, which owns 177 properties, encompassing 32 million square feet.

Despite the view the Bay’s closure could be seen as another nail in the coffin of in-person retail’s demise, RioCan is bullish on the sub-sector of commercial real estate.

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Saturday, Jun. 14, 2025

SUPPLIED

RioCan property: Yonge Eglinton Centre in Toronto
SUPPLIED RioCan property: Yonge Eglinton Centre in Toronto

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