Wealth for Your Life

The US and Israel are only 10 days into their war with Iran and not only has the S&P 500 face-planted into negative territory, but oil just topped $100/barrel, levels not seen since 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Those of us who lived through those dark days of 2022 will remember that a sharp rise in the price of oil was one of the biggest drivers of high inflation that year, with the US and Canada hitting 9 and 8 percent that summer. Anytime there is a loss of life from war it is a tragedy and I personally hope both wars end soon. While I can’t control geopolitical events, I can control how I invest, so let’s look at how the Iran war is currently affecting oil prices and our overall portfolios.

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This is not a drill! A number of Canadian financial institutions are offering enticing bonus payments to regular investors like you and me – and all we have to do is transfer our investment accounts from our current brokerage to the next.

For example, as part of Wealthsimple’s (Un)Real Deal running until March 31^st 2026, if you transfer over one or more investment accounts, Wealthsimple will match a percentage of the total account value, depending on which bonus option you choose.

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When I logged into my brokerage account today, I was pleasantly surprised to see my Canadian index fund popping 1% on strong bank earnings. The banks make up one third of the Canadian index, so when they do well, Canadian index fund holders tend to do well. But the bigger news here is that the banks are raising their dividends, yet again.

TD is raising its quarterly dividend from $1.05 to $1.08 per share

BMO is raising its quarterly dividend from $1.63 to $1.67 per share

CIBC is raising its quarterly dividend from $0.97 to $1.07 per share

What exactly is a dividend and how can it help us build wealth? Basically, when a company makes a profit, it can either invest that money back into the business, or it can return the money to shareholders in the form of a dividend. Dividends are a way for companies to both reward their shareholders and entice them to buy even more shares.

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Picture this. You’re on a Greek island, enjoying a mouthwatering gyro. You swipe your credit card to pay for your delicious snack but unbeknownst to you, the bank charges you an additional 2.5% in foreign exchange (FX) fees. That’s $25 CAD in FX fees for every $1,000 you spend! By the time your trip of a lifetime is over, after paying for hotels, meals, museum and ferry tickets, you’ve handed over a stack of cash to the bank – cash that could have gone towards an extra glass of Assyrtiko while you take in breathtaking views of the caldera at sunset.

Luckily, there are now 5 Visas, 2 American Express, and 2 Prepaid Mastercards that charge Canadians zero FX fees while traveling abroad. Let’s review the contenders and choose the best travel card for our 2026 travel adventures!

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It’s been a good year so far for index investors as US, global and Canada indices hit all-time highs. At the time of this writing the S&P 500 is up over 13% from the start of the year. The FTSE 100 is up 11% and Canada’s TSX is up 19%. Despite tariff threats and geopolitical tensions, the stock market has continued marching upward, buoyed by weaker than expected US inflation numbers, a confident consumer and the hopes that AI will deliver cost savings and record profits for every type of business imaginable. The US Federal Reserve’s September interest rate cut of 25 basis points has further encouraged investor sentiment during what is historically a poor performing month. Septem’bear’ is now effectively known as ‘Septem-‘bull’.

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While the first three months of 2025 saw mild stock market declines, things really started falling off the rails on April 2^nd, otherwise known as ‘Liberation Day’. During a formal rose garden ceremony, U.S. President Trump held up a large board announcing reciprocal tariffs on approximately 60 countries and a universal tariff of 10 percent. These countries had been “ripping off” the US for years, Trump insisted, although economists would argue that his calculations were a tad embellished and tariffs over-reaching, as even an island inhabited only by penguins would be tariffed. Indeed, no one is safe in a trade war.

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