How to MAKE a million bucks!

[RedRose]

Oh Wow! Thank YOU All.
As you may have gathered with all my anxiety and vascilating over this decision.
I am at my wits end trying to navigate in this 'unknown to me' world.
Thank you for your advice.
I was heading to TD to one of their Wealth Management officers.
She is a CFP and a CIMM not sure what the later stands for.

If I transfer to a TDW efund can that be a registered plan account.
Do I do it online or call a person at the bank?
I am not computer savvy either.

The only discount broker I have seen is Ed Jones.

Thank you again for pointing me in the right direction and helping me avoid the pitfalls.
I sure hope I can do this.

[humble_pie]

kcowan now look what you've done.

redRose needs a trustworthy advocate, preferably from within her own family.

read between my lines. You've been there.

[Just a Guy]

RedRose

Looks to me like you may want to look into a Couch Potato investing plan as advocated by Moneysense Magazine (www.moneysense.ca).

You can have registered accounts through TDW. Most banks will help you set up your account, since it makes them money, but you can also do it on-line or over the phone. Registered accounts may need something special done, I talked to my banker and he set up mine.

You may want to watch your fees when you start. They should give you discounted fees when you reach a certain point, and it's the total of ALL your trading accounts. They missed the total when I opened a new account and it had the full fees.

Also, remember that the people speaking at banks are A) trained by the banks, and B) there to make money for the banks. If you make some money, that's okay but their advice makes a lot of money for the banks usually, so take the "free seminars" with a grain of salt.

I'd read Moneysense magazine if I were you...personally I didn't like the wealthy barber returns...his first book was good, the second pretty old advice rehashed so he makes more money.

[Toronto.gal]

I am at my wits end trying to navigate in this 'unknown to me' world.

No need to feel all that anxiety RedRose & you should not have to do it all alone.

I completely agree with HP's comments.

[CanadianCapitalist]

I completely agree with HP's comments.

Me too. I think RedRose will be better served by a trusted advisor. Her needs are quite different from those of us who are still in the accumulating stage. She would need the help of someone with expertise in retirement planning. I think MoneyGal made this point a long time back when RedRose first posted here.

[Jungle]

And that's why I suggested a fee only advisor. She will not be alone, there is no conflict of interest and they can write a plan as she is in retirement.

[humble_pie]

no need to feel all that anxiety redrose & you should not have to do it all alone.

dear Rose,

sometimes i wonder whether you might invite your daughter to join you as you plan your retirement savings. You had such a lovely vacation in the caribbean with your daughter & the grandchildren last month.

many parents do involve their adult children in their estate planning. Here in cmf forum, we've seen a number of members writing about their wills & also writing how they communicate their principal decisions & wishes to their adult children, actually quite early in life, certainly long before they become frail.

you have already told us about your thoughtfulness in wanting your daughters to inherit a part of your estate in outright ownership. As i recall, this was a consideration in mulling over the post media pension.

would, perhaps, some frank discussions with the offspring be in order. I am sure they will be happy to hear you & to help you. After all, they are their mother's children & she is a Rose !

[MoneyGal]

The issues in a decumulation portfolio are very, very different from an accumulation portfolio. All the discussion of licensing, fee arrangements, and investing fees are not central issues. Even estate planning is not the issue here.

The issue is that someone who has very little investing experience - I'm not sure RedRose has ever had her own investing account - is making the decision to take a large lump sum and she needs to convert it into a stream of income that (1) is sufficient for her needs, (2) has a high probability of lasting for as long as she is alive, and (3) meets her estate goals. In addition, by taking this approach she is taking on the requirement to make investing decisions for as long as she is alive (unless she converts most or all of the lump sum into an annuity of one form or another).

All of these issues involve tradeoffs - "if I spend less, by how much do I increase the probability my income will last as long as I do?" etc. - and she needs and deserves someone who doesn't just have a passing familiarity with these issues, but is extremely well-versed - because the stakes are too high otherwise. I am extremely skeptical that a "regular" bank advisor would have the expertise required, and a discount brokerage is worse still. RedRose's concern is not "how do MAKE a million dollars?" but "how do I make my [lump sum] last?"

[humble_pie]

the lasting capacity of the assets is not quite so critical a problem when one remembers that there are at least 4 of them. In addition to the late husband's looming pension distribution, Rose has an rrsp of her own, a pension of her own from her employment (she was a nurse) and a house with no mortgage.

i would like to see a responsible member of the family assisting Rose with finding an advisor. Rose seems to be having difficulty searching all by herself, so a trustworthy family member who would accompany her to appointments, take notes & discuss the issues with her afterwards would be a huge help.

[RedRose]

Thank YOU all so very much.
My daughter and son are not experienced in financial matters either.
Both are deep in debt. They have come along with me and understand less than I do.

I did find one fee advisor but he wanted $1250 to $1500 to look at my options offered by the CV.
The fee advisor said he would waive the fees if I invested with his company and products.
He was beginning to sound more like the bank and insurance sales man, so I declined the service.

Will I ever get there? Thank you all so much again for your input.

Here are my choices: (and my conclusions so far)

1. Lump sum, taxable right away (no)
2. Transfer to RRSP (++fees, from what I am hearing from you all, especially if mutual funds right?)
3. Transfer to my existing pension with OMERS (buy back is possible and Voluntary Contribution, with lower fees but they manage the funds) all my eggs in one basket? the fund made 3% last year)
4. Transfer to an annuity (no legacy, unless I take riders that are more expensive and reduce the income stream, also riders on indexing, hybrid annuity but again more fees)

Ideally I would like to diversify as I have been reading but have to take the first step.
Not sure if it becomes locked in to where ever I put it once its there.