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Investing US Currency by Canadians

 
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steelhead



Joined: 28 Mar 2004
Location: Seoul formerly known as Victoria

PostPosted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 5:31 pm    Post subject: Investing US Currency by Canadians Reply with quote

Hey all,

Ive accumulated some US currency, and it is currently sitting in a US currency account, doing nothing.

I hate the idea of not having money my whole life and then finally I come by some, and its just sitting in there gaining its 32 cents a month.

Considering the terrible state of the US dollar, I wanted to put it into some low risk investments and sit on it till I, a) need it or b) the US dollar recovers.

I know nothing about managing finances. Being the starving student for the last 7 years isnt very condusive to learning about investments and money management.

Thanks
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mindmetoo



Joined: 02 Feb 2004

PostPosted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 9:35 pm    Post subject: Re: Investing US Currency by Canadians Reply with quote

steelhead wrote:
Hey all,

Ive accumulated some US currency, and it is currently sitting in a US currency account, doing nothing.

I hate the idea of not having money my whole life and then finally I come by some, and its just sitting in there gaining its 32 cents a month.

Considering the terrible state of the US dollar, I wanted to put it into some low risk investments and sit on it till I, a) need it or b) the US dollar recovers.

I know nothing about managing finances. Being the starving student for the last 7 years isnt very conducive to learning about investments and money management.

Thanks


Buy a US bond. I'm in much the same situation. While working in Seattle, I saved a lot of US dollars. I was caught between "I could be forced to move home any moment and must keep liquid" and "Well, my green card application might come through before I don't make the latest cut in the quarterly layoffs so I should convert everything to Canadian dollars...."

One green back = CAN$1.50 at that point.
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Newbie



Joined: 07 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 10:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

All of the big banks back home should offer a wide range of US dollar mutual funds for you to check out. Some risky, some not so risky and they have the potential for much better retuns than a simple Bond

Bond's are boring. Mutual funds are fun to keep track of and they give you the option you to start off small and just "get your feet wet" without risking too much. Even as US BOND MUTUAL FUND should be able to do better than plain old bonds.

TD Bank has a lot of options (I worked there for 7 years). Check them out at www.tdcanadatrust.com
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Hater Depot



Joined: 29 Mar 2005

PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 12:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whatever you do, for the love of everything holy don't go for an actively managed fund. Passively managed funds are less sexy but offer much better long-term returns -- the fees and costs associated with actively managed funds will eat away a sizeable chunk of your returns. Unless you're doing it for fun, don't fool yourself that you can beat the market.
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seoulshock



Joined: 12 Jul 2005

PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 2:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can invest that money into a real estate investment trust (REIT), and they are traded on the stock exchanges.

Washington REIT pays approx. 5.20% in annual dividends (paid quarterly). NYSE: WRE

Healthcare Property Investors pays approx. 6.40% in annual dividends (paid quarterly). NYSE: HCP

Weingarten Realty SBI pays approx. 4.70% in annual dividends (paid quarterly). NYSE: WRI

There are so many others, but these are three REITs that have a proven track record of higher annual dividends and/or higher earnings per share.

*esp. WRE, it has I believe a multi-decade success record, so that might be a good start for you.

Of course, you'd need to open a trading account, which you can do with an online discount broker, such as Scottrade (I believe $7/trade) or Firstrade (I believe $6.95/trade). Then there are other brokers that are maybe $30, $50, even $100. Of course, to get the deal on Scottrade and other online discount brokers you'd need to know what you're doing. For broker assisted orders, you may be charged like $30/trade or so.

--------

PS: You can also try investing in a bank. For example, Comerica (CMA) has increased their dividends to investors for the past 50+ years or so (something like that). Currently the yield is 3.70%. It's less than the REITs because in order for a company to qualify as a REIT, at least 90% of their earnings must be handed out as dividends, which is why I like them, but 3.70% is also good for a non-REIT, considering other big companies typically give less than 1% or so.

Wells Fargo has a dividend yield of 3.30% (NYSE: WFC). So if you're into banks, these two are good.
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Wrench



Joined: 07 Apr 2005

PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 2:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Newbie wrote:
All of the big banks back home should offer a wide range of US dollar mutual funds for you to check out. Some risky, some not so risky and they have the potential for much better retuns than a simple Bond

Bond's are boring. Mutual funds are fun to keep track of and they give you the option you to start off small and just "get your feet wet" without risking too much. Even as US BOND MUTUAL FUND should be able to do better than plain old bonds.

TD Bank has a lot of options (I worked there for 7 years). Check them out at www.tdcanadatrust.com


Don't ever use banks for financial advise or any sort of mutual fund purchase. I studied economics and it came down to that Banks suck. Use a profesional investor firm.
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Newbie



Joined: 07 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 3:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wrench wrote:
Newbie wrote:
All of the big banks back home should offer a wide range of US dollar mutual funds for you to check out. Some risky, some not so risky and they have the potential for much better retuns than a simple Bond

Bond's are boring. Mutual funds are fun to keep track of and they give you the option you to start off small and just "get your feet wet" without risking too much. Even as US BOND MUTUAL FUND should be able to do better than plain old bonds.

TD Bank has a lot of options (I worked there for 7 years). Check them out at www.tdcanadatrust.com


Don't ever use banks for financial advise or any sort of mutual fund purchase. I studied economics and it came down to that Banks suck. Use a profesional investor firm.


For someone that doesn't know anything about the stuff (like the OP said), banks are the way to go. Canadian banks are safe, reliable, easy to use, and have a huge amount of workforce dedicated to their funds.

Professional firms are quite expensive and some of them have a poor history.

There are some great firms, but if you don't know what you're doing, the firms will treat you like a second class client and take advantage of you.
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RachaelRoo



Joined: 15 Jul 2005
Location: Anywhere but Ulsan!

PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 8:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What are the tax consequences of investing your Korean money with a Canadian bank if you want to avoid paying taxes on your overseas earnings? If you have non-residency status is it basically no problem, or would investing your money with a bank back hope hurt your chances of getting approved for non-res status?
Anyone know?
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Newbie



Joined: 07 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 10:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RachaelRoo wrote:
What are the tax consequences of investing your Korean money with a Canadian bank if you want to avoid paying taxes on your overseas earnings? If you have non-residency status is it basically no problem, or would investing your money with a bank back hope hurt your chances of getting approved for non-res status?
Anyone know?


Investing in something from a Canadian bank while being a non-resident would result in more taxes than usual on your gains. (this is the scenario for foreigners investing in Canadian products)

However, if you are going to stay here only a year or two, you can invest it and wait to cash it out until you're back home and a full resident again and pay the regular taxes.

Whether having an investment will affect the CCRA considering you a non-resident, I don't know. From what I've read before, it does hurt your chances a little to have investments back home but don't quote me on that one.
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4 months left



Joined: 07 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 11:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

steelhead wrote:


Considering the terrible state of the US dollar, I wanted to put it into some low risk investments and sit on it till I, a) need it or b) the US dollar recovers.


The US dollar has been doing well against the Yen and the Euro. All the oil and gas in Canada is the main reason the Canadian dollar has done well against it. Don't count out the US dollar, it is a powerful economy.

Unless you have a ton of cash or are an extremely low risk investor stay away from bonds. After taking away inflation you're not left with much and in Canada they are taxed the highest after stocks and dividends.

Passive investing does not guarantee you a higher return. It does guarantee lower fees but you are tracking an index that usually will not give you impressive growth. If you want to invest in mutual funds, and there are thousands of them, research the best managers and which sector or style - growth, value, equity, balanced etc - you are comfortable with. Remember fund managers change all the time, so if you find a fund with an historical great return, check to see if that fund manager is still running the fund and you have to also check previous years results to make sure one great year does not skew the results.

I would never recommend passive over active investing; again unless your risk tolerance is very low. Do you care if you pay a higher management fee if the fund produces results?

The market can be beat. It is not easy, it takes a great deal of hard work but unless you have the time and the knowledge to do so then don't do it.

Bottom line is that it is your money. Do some research to find out what you feel most comfortable investing in.
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