Faiella Financial Newsletter
A Note from Rocco
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 With the arrival of a new year, I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with an overview of events in the financial markets in 2011 and some insights into the current investment climate.
Global equity markets were volatile for much of the year. After beginning 2011 on an optimistic note, prices slid lower through the summer and fall and many stock indexes finished the year with double-digit declines. Notably, the U.S. was the world’s best-performing major stock market in 2011. Despite the relative strength of the Canadian economy, our equity market was down, thanks in part to the weakness in natural resources stocks. In contrast, high-quality bonds posted good results as investors sought the safety of government securities.
The year’s challenges came from several sources. Early in the year, political uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East and Japan’s devastating natural disaster rattled investor confidence. Later, rising inflation in emerging markets, especially China, led central bankers to take steps to cool their heated economies, raising additional concerns about the pace of global growth. The summer’s protracted political wrangling over the U.S. debt ceiling and the decision by Standard & Poor’s to remove the triple-A rating on U.S. government debt also weighed on investor sentiment.
By far, however, the biggest issue fuelling investor fear throughout 2011 was the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe. What began as anxiety about the debts of smaller countries such as Greece expanded to encompass major nations like Italy and France and raised significant doubts about the viability of the euro currency and many of the region’s banks.
The impact of these concerns on market psychology was clear, as wary investors eschewed riskier assets, including stocks, in favour of perceived safe havens. The price of gold, for example, reached an all-time peak of nearly US$1,900 per ounce in mid-August, although it corrected significantly later in the year. The U.S. dollar strengthened against many other world currencies, including Canada’s. Investors flocked to U.S. and Canadian government bonds, driving up prices and reducing their yields even further.
To read my full overview, please click here or visit our website, www.faiellafinancial.com.
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Are You Financially Prepared for Bad Health?
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Study - the Sun Life Canadian Health Index.
While 53% of Canadians believe that a major health condition would have a “big, perhaps permanent impact” on their personal finances, just 58% of Canadians are preparing or are prepared in case they get sick. And just 8% of Canadians told us they have a written financial plan that covers health-related issues such as insurance and risk management.
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This is worrying. The need to prepare for a serious health event should be part of every financial plan. Talk to your advisor about disability insurance, critical illness insurance, long-term care insurance and personal health insurance.
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Faiella Financial can help you be prepared in case your health suddenly changes.
Get a quote today. 705-674-1974
or visit www.faiellafinancial.com/health-insurance
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Stressed out? You don’t have to be
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Written By Gerald McGroarty, Brandon Taylor Consulting
I love quotes.
So, let’s start with a great line from self-help expert Dr. Wayne Dyer, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” This is the perfect phrase for today’s topic: Stress.
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There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and the Maple Leafs missing the play-offs. But if we were to add a fourth, stress would be next in line.
Stress is one of those emotions that we spend endless hours coping with and even more time trying to conquer. In an era of trying to do more with less, juggling driving the kids, etc., life is coming at us at warp speed and carrying with it a suitcase full of angst, anxiety and apprehension.
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