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This month, we sat down with Kevin McSweeney, Senior Vice-President, Portfolio Manager & Lead for our Canadian Equity Alpha mandate. With over 25 years of financial services experience, including 17 years in asset management with CI, Kevin is an expert in both Canadian and global infrastructure equities. Alfred Lam:  Kevin, it’s a pleasure to have you with us. Before we dive into investment topics, can you share how you got started in the industry and what led you to become a

It is not “if” robots will compete but when Humans have been worried about robots replacing them for over four decades. Until recently, the closest invention resembling a robot—the personal computer—boosted productivity but still relied heavily on human input. However, this may change with the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the recent announcement of Nvidia’s “Jetson Thor” superchip. Jetson Thor could be a game-changer. Capable of learning, processing, and e

As a retiree with a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), you have a minimum amount you must withdraw each year, starting no later than the year after you opened the RRIF. But what if you have one or more years when you don’t need the entire amount, or any of it, to support your retirement lifestyle? Also, what if you want to keep the investments you would be cashing out? Keeping the investments in kind You can make an in-kind transfer of investments from your RRIF to a n

“Financial independence, retire early” (FIRE) and “you only live once” (YOLO) are essentially opposite approaches, but they share a common goal—to seek happiness and achieve financial freedom. They’re just focused on different stages of life. With FIRE, the point is to live frugally, save aggressively and ideally retire earlier than the traditional retirement age—by a decade or more. While FIRE followers plan for future happiness and freedom, YOLO is all about wanting it now.

The day when you no longer need to work to cover your current and future cost of living, including realizing your retirement dreams—that’s your financial independence day. To identify it, some people try using one of the many online retirement calculators that ask you to input information so you can find out if you can retire at a specific age. Others look to retirement guidelines, such as needing annual retirement income that’s 70% of your pre-retirement income. But these me

Retirement is often viewed as a new chapter in your life, but it’s typically not just one chapter. These years are often divided into three very different phases. A great many retirees—though not all—go through the active, slowdown and inactive phases, sometimes called the go-go, slow-go and no-go phases. The active phase: retirement to age 75 When you’re younger, you may imagine retirement as a time when life slows down. That will likely happen eventually, but there isn’t a

From education and entertainment to medicine and transportation, artificial intelligence (AI) is having an impact on virtually every sphere of existence. That includes our financial life. AI is already making inroads into wealth planning and can be a valuable tool for advisors. For example, AI can be used to present potential outcomes of different strategies to achieve a specific financial goal. But can AI take over the advisor’s role? Here are a few reasons why AI can be a h

Choosing an executor (liquidator in Quebec) to appoint in your will is an important estate planning decision. Many people instinctively appoint their spouse, siblings or adult children. This may seem logical, but appointing a family member is not always the best option. While some view being named as executor as an honour or a sign of trust, those who have served in the role know it’s far from being a privilege—it’s a demanding job. Being an executor involves a large amount o

Are you a pet parent – whether to a furry friend, feathered companion or another beloved animal?  No matter if your companion is a cat, dog, bird, horse or exotic animal, it is important to have a plan in place to ensure they are cared for in the event you are no longer able to do so or upon your death. This is something every pet owner should read, to protect their special family member. While many pet owners view their pets as family members – and treat them as such (I know