# Help! Assess elderly grandparents portfolio...



## dentist101 (Feb 11, 2011)

*"duplicate. see investing section. sorry" - please delete*

so my grandparents have been using a financial advisor that i don't really like on a personal level, and i'm not sure he is the brightest guy. aside from that, they can't really tell me where exactly their $$$ is, and how much risk they are exposed to. i don't like the fact that they are invested yet don't know where it is invested. during the 2008-2009 crash, they took quite a hit and were very upset at the loss. it has since come back, but it's now a great time to re-balance and re-assess. she is 85, he is 88.
here is the low-down of their financials:

assets:
-home -$250k
-agricultural land - $600k (minimum)
-non-registered savings - $315k
-registered savings - $230k
-other assets - $100k

liabilities:
ZERO

income:
-agricultural income - $55,000/year
-CPP/OAS - $26,000/year
-whatever RIFs are converted each year from registered account

expenses:
-taxes (agricultural land taxes, personal taxes, home taxes)
-groceries
-gas
-life insurance policy ($200k) with $5k/year premiums

both are very healthy, still drive, and very active. they can quite easily live off of their income, and want some return with minimal risk.

my question comes as to what they are invested in with the registered and non-registered accounts. can someone make this out and give me an opinion on if their asset allocation is reasonable or too overweight in equities. my personal opinion is that they shouldn't be in equities except for perhaps 5-10% overall. this does not SEEM to be the case.

NON-REGISTERED:
Total: $315,000
-thru canada life
-22% fixed income -> fixed income fund (laketon) S-19
-> fixed income fund (bissett) S158

-77% balanced funds -> balanced fund (bissett) S104
-> balanced fund (trimark) S-54
-> asset allocation (fidelity) S191

sorry i can't be more specific than this, i don't know enough about these products than i copied off the statements i saw

REGISTERED:
Total: $230,000 ($115k each)
-thru Mackie Research

-cash - 5%
-fixed income - 9.4% (TD MTG-A)
-equities - 77% -> PBN - 2.9%
-> TDG - 12.8%
-> MTG CON INCM PTF (MTG 421) - 36.6%
-> SEN DUSFD T/R (NCE722) - 24.8%
-other - 8.5% (BMO A/Y 3YR PN 10/D/N)

i know this is not really organized, but i have this gut feeling that they have a far too complex portfolio for people their age with their income stream. i also believe (although i don't really understand each product specifically) that they are too overweigh in equities. they are under the belief that the registered account in virtually "guarenteed". they know that they have some risk in the non-registered account, but they have no idea what that means. i told them that 2012 does not have a warm and rosy outlook, and volitility is profound these days. can anyone give me opinions on this. i love my grandparents, and they have worked very hard for their $$$ over the years to have it invested incorrectly for their needs. thanks


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Why did you post this in two places in the forum? This was already posted in the Investing section. It was not necessary to post it twice.

Mods please delete this thread and refer to the other thread that is already active.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

They could substantially reduce their risk by:

- selling the land (perhaps over several years to mitigate any capital gains)
- consolidating the TFSA, non-registered accounts in one place, invested in bonds or a monthly income fund (low hassle).

Take the RRIF and buy an annuity. At their age, they should be able to get a hell of a yield. MG has the annuity pricing calculator, but I'd expect people in their mid to late 80s to be able to get more than a 20% yield. So, for $230k, they could largely replace their income from the agricultural land, and have substantially reduced risk.

A lot depends on their motivation for their estate. How much would they like to bequeath?


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## dentist101 (Feb 11, 2011)

i apologize. i posted it once, and then realized that it would be better to have it in a different section, and didn't know how to delete the original. my bad.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

Just edit your post and say just "Duplicate. Please see Investing thread. Sorry!"


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