My name is Mark Goodfield. Welcome to The Blunt Bean Counter ™, a blog that shares my thoughts on income taxes, finance and the psychology of money. I am a Chartered Professional Accountant. This blog is meant for everyone, but in particular for high net worth individuals and owners of private corporations. My posts are blunt, opinionated and even have a twist of humour/sarcasm. You've been warned. Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Monday, June 29, 2020

Working from Home – Get Me Out of Here!

This will be my last original blog post until September—my brain has nothing left in it after the last few months of dealing with COVID financial subsidies, loans, and my regular deferred personal and corporate tax filings. I will post The Best of The Blunt Bean Counter the next two months and hopefully golf a lot.

Like most people, I have been working from home due to COVID. I would venture to say that many of us are somewhat surprised at how well we have adapted to our home offices and how efficient we have been from home. But personally, I do not like working from home full-time, as my virtual office never seems to close.

I cannot wait until I can start going back to the office so I can meet with colleagues and clients again (in whatever modified form that takes). I am okay with a couple days a week from home, but that is it. (And I don’t even have children at home to take care of anymore—although my dogs have become much needier now that they are used to me being home full-time.)

The issue of working from home has become an extremely hot topic for obvious reasons. A few weeks ago, I read an excellent article by Eric Andrew-Gee of The Globe and Mail, “Is the office era over?”

Remote work: A case study


The article was premised on a 2010 study of Ctrip, China’s largest travel agency, which had half its people work from home four days a week for nine months back in 2010. The CEO of Ctrip, James Liang, happened to be taking his PhD at Stanford and, along with Professor Nicholas Bloom and other researchers, analyzed the results of this remote-work experiment several years before COVID hit the world economy.

The study revealed two key results about employees who worked from home:
  1. They were 13% more productive.
  2. Even though they were more productive working from home, they were not content. The study found half of the workers who had a 40-minute or longer commute said they wanted to return to the office, as they were lonely. Bottom line, the study showed working from home “was great for productivity but lousy for morale.” 
The Globe article is very wide ranging. If this topic interests you, I suggest you read the entire article (it may be behind a firewall if you are not a Globe subscriber). Below, I summarize five of my favourite points made in the article:
  1. “The logistical success of the experiment [working from home during COVID, which the author considers a delightful surprise revealed by the pandemic] has unlocked the second delightful business surprise of the quarantine: real estate savings.” It is going to be very intriguing to see how this plays out in the future.
  2. Global architecture firm Gensler asked its 2,300 employees about their preferences post-COVID, and only 12% wanted to continue to work from home—44% wanted to go back to the office or were undecided, and the rest wanted to work from home on a part-time basis. Anne Bergeron of Gensler said this: “People miss in-person collaboration. On-the-job learning that you get casually from peers is not there.” 
  3. Who is going to pay for computers, WiFi access, and ergonomic chairs going forward? 
  4. “That sense of the home as a place of calm and relaxation–a sanctuary from the demands of work–is now in jeopardy.” 
  5. Professor Bloom believes the ideal situation is “working in the office Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (to create a buffer with the weekend) and spending Tuesdays and Thursdays at home. Cycling through A and B teams [the teams being groups of employees] could feed innovation, give workers a respite from the office slog and reduce the need for real estate by half.” 

My personal experience: Four takeaways


My four takeaways from working at home are as follows and dovetail with the Globe’s article:
  1. I suspect my true nature is somewhat anti-social, but over the years I have adapted to become more social (or my arrogance is at such a level that I think people need to hear my opinion–remind me to ask my colleagues about this when we get back to the office). Thus, I have been surprised at how much I miss going to the office to collaborate and discuss issues with colleagues and to meet clients. Phone or video communication does not fully replace actual human interaction for me.
  2. One of my more subtle skills is that I usually have a good sense of when a client’s eyes are glassing over from too much technical talk or they are just disengaged. I am typically fairly good at bringing the conversation back around, so they become reengaged. I feel that this skill is somewhat muted when I cannot look them straight in the eyes. 
  3. In my work office I am up and about, walking the floor, going downstairs and moving, even if it is going to get some water. At home I find I am more static, and I have had multiple bodily discomforts. Who knew working from home could be so hard on the body? My wrist kills from a mouse that does not move as easily between screens at my home office, my chair is not as ergonomic as my office chair, and I have had soreness in my hips from too much sitting. But seriously, even if I purchased better computer accessories and a better chair, I would probably find I am just sitting more (even though I am working out more). 
  4. One of my clients recently told me “the virtual office never shuts down.” It just seems you need to be on even more at home—and more importantly, as in point #4 above, home loses its sense of sanctuary from work. 
We all know things are never going to be the same, and everyone has different likes and dislikes about working form home. However, I think the initial Ctrip study was bang on. Businesses are going to have to experiment to find the balance between productivity, employee morale and mental health.

The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation.

BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms.

Monday, June 15, 2020

Benchmarking your investments - now and forever

As I write this introduction on June 13, the stock markets have recovered spectacularly from their March lows.

Whether they continue to climb is subject to debate. Some market watchers think the recovery will be quicker than expected. They remind us that the indexes are made up of several large companies that have weathered the COVID storm to date. Those companies will also likely benefit in the near term, as they will be able to acquire less fortunate companies at attractive prices. These market watchers suggest the markets are just reflecting the future.

Others think the markets are not reflecting reality either currently or down the road, as consumer spending will be dampened for years. I have no idea who is correct, and I am not sure anyone really does.

Today’s blog post on benchmarking was initially conceived by my colleague Carmen McHale to be an education piece on what benchmarking is and how it can be used. It morphed, however, to include some discussion on benchmarking and COVID.

I have read and been inundated with articles, commentary and newsletters on investing during COVID and have been considering how my clients and I have fared during COVID. As you will quickly realize after reading Carmen’s post, benchmarking is not as simple as it seems. Neither is finding the right benchmarks for your investments. A 60% equity/40% fixed income portfolio can vary widely. The 60% can be all equities, mostly U.S., an even mix across Canada, U.S. and international, or 40% equities, 10% hedges, 10% real estate; and the 40% fixed income can be all bonds, or bonds and preferred shares (personal pet peeve, I don’t like preferred being classified as fixed income, but that is a topic for another day). So finding an apples-to-apples benchmark is very difficult.

So how does one benchmark their advisors’ investment returns (if they are not provided appropriate comparisons by their advisor) during COVID – or their own for that matter? Personally, I like the suggestion made by Ian McGugan in a recent Globe and Mail article (if you are not a Globe and Mail subscriber, access to the article may not be available).

While Ian’s article is on constructing a portfolio going forward, he makes a valuable remark near the end of the article on balanced portfolios: “even if you conclude these products aren’t right for you, they can provide a good baseline for comparison with other approaches in these unclear, unsettled and unknowable times.” For the week ending June 12, I looked at the year-to-date returns of a few balanced funds (typically 58% equity/42% bond or so) and their YTD losses ranged, but were about 1.6% on average. As Ian says, these may not be appropriate funds or benchmarks for you, but they are good baseline comparatives.

I think this just became my most long-winded introduction in the history of the blog, so without further ado, here is Carmen.

_________________

By Carmen McHale


A benchmark is information that helps you compare the performance of your investments. I tell clients that if they are going to pay someone to manage their investments, they should expect to get returns that are at least as good as the benchmark after fees.

Indexes such as the S&P 500 are common benchmarks to assess investment performance. In fact, some investors invest through mutual funds or exchange traded funds that simply follow the index – this is often called passive investing.

By comparing your performance against a relevant benchmark index, it is possible to see how much value an active manager adds (or does not add) over a passive approach. It allows you to evaluate the performance of your portfolio and how much of the total return comes from investment decisions that were made by the advisor versus the movements of the financial markets overall.

Benchmarking for risk


When comparing your returns against the benchmarks, it is equally important to see how much risk your portfolio is taking verses the benchmarks. Benchmarking for risk allows you to see how consistent the returns are over time, and can give you an idea of if your investments are taking on more risk than the benchmark.

Risk can be measured in many ways. However, I personally like to use standard deviation, as most investors can easily understand this metric, and it is published by most mutual funds. A fund with higher standard deviation has more price volatility, while a lower standard deviation tends to produce returns that are more predictable.

See this example of balanced fund returns over the last five years. In this fairly typical case, the portfolio consists of 35% fixed income, 32.5% Canadian equities, 27.5% global equities and 5% cash.


 Year         Portfolio Return
(Net of fees)
    
 Benchmark Return
 2015 5.33%3.87% 
 2016 5.86%8.32% 
 2017 9.54%7.88% 
 2018 -1.66% -2.26%
 2019 16.73% 15.65%
 5 -YEAR AVERAGE 7.16% 6.69%
 STANDARD DEVIATION 6.71% 6.57%
 Range of returns at 1 Standard Deviation 0.45% to 13.87% 0.12% to 13.26%
 Range of returns at 2 Standard Deviations -6.26% to 20.58% -6.45% to 19.83%
 Range of returns at 3 Standard Deviations -12.97% to 27.29% -13.02% to 26.4%

The standard deviation of this portfolio is 6.71% while the standard deviation of the benchmark over the five years was 6.57%, but what does that mean?

Standard deviation explained


From a high level, it is apparent that this portfolio manager managed to get higher average returns over the five years, despite taking on similar risk as did the benchmark.

Now think back to your statistics classes. If you can’t quite recall the details, here’s a refresher on the basics of standard deviation. When assessing how much risk you have in your portfolio, it is wise to look at three standard deviations so you can get an idea of the potential downside you could experience in any one year (like the beginning of 2020). Here’s what three standard deviations mean with our portfolio and benchmark:
  • One standard deviation - If the data behaves in a normal curve, then 68% of the data points will fall within one standard deviation of the average, which means 68% of the time your portfolio should produce returns between 0.45% and 13.87%, while the benchmark should produce returns between 0.12% and 13.26%.
  • Two standard deviations - If you want to capture what happens 95% of the time, you go to two standard deviations from the mean. Returns should fall between -6.26% and 20.58%, while the benchmark should produce a range from -6.45% to 19.83%.
  • Three standard deviations - How about the other 5% of the time? Take it to three standard deviations to get 99.73% of the time – which means your portfolio in any given year should return between -12.97% and 27.29%, while the comparable benchmark should produce a range between -13.02% and 26.4%.
To keep matters, as simple as possible, I like to boil it down to one number to compare by dividing the five-year average return over the standard deviation (return to risk ratio):

                    Portfolio return/risk = 106.71%; Benchmark return/risk = 101.83%.

The higher the ratio, the better, so our model portfolio should perform well against the benchmark.

Our typical portfolio during COVID-19


The onset of COVID-19 can be considered an extreme shock to the economic environment, so let’s examine how this typical portfolio performed against the benchmark during this time.

The same portfolio example above had a negative return of -8.94% as of March 31, 2020 compared to the benchmark return of -9.44%. The returns of the portfolio were well within three standard deviations (-13.02% noted above). The portfolio not only has superior returns when they are in positive territory, but also demonstrated less downside in a volatile market environment.

Minimum acceptable return


When benchmarking investments for my clients, I also like to calculate something called Roy’s Safety-First Ratio, or simply SFRatio. This allows clients to see what would happen if their investments perform at less than expected returns. To do this, we create a minimum acceptable return, or threshold return. By fixing a minimum return, an investor aims to reduce the risk of not achieving the investment return.

Let’s imagine your financial plan indicates a minimum required average return of 4.25%. Now you have three portfolios to choose from:

  • Portfolio A: expected return - 13%; standard deviation - 20%
  • Portfolio B: expected return - 9%; standard deviation - 11%
  • Portfolio C: expected return - 8%; standard deviation - 6%

Which portfolio should you choose?


If you want to have the portfolio that has the highest likelihood of meeting your required return, you can calculate the SFRatio. Here is that formula:
  • Expected return of the portfolio; minus 
  • Minimum required return; divided by 
  • Standard deviation of the portfolio. 
Using this formula, here are your three SFRatios for these portfolios:
  • Portfolio A: (13% - 4.25%)/20% = 0.4375
  • Portfolio B: (9% - 4.25%)/11% = 0.4318
  • Portfolio C: (8% - 4.25%)/6% = 0.625
As you can see, Portfolio C has the highest SFRatio, and therefore has the highest probability of earning the investor their required rate of return.

Benchmarking during COVID-19


These days, financial projections are a bit of a tough call. It’s not just that the economy may look quite different in the next five to 10 years from its profile over the past decade. It’s also that their impact on the markets is difficult to predict.

Benchmarking for performance during COVID-19 is as relevant as it’s ever been. The benchmarks you use should cover the same periods of time, and you will see how your investments perform against other potential investments.

The true difference-marker during COVID-19 is benchmarking for risk. With volatility so high, risk skyrockets, so keep on the eye on the ups and downs of your investments. If there ever was a time to know that your portfolio is taking on more risk than the benchmark, COVID-19 is that time.

For more in investing during COVID-19, check out this recent roundtable discussion on protecting your wealth in the COVID-10 economy.

The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation.

BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms.

Monday, June 1, 2020

Mixing and Matching: The Financial Ins and Outs of Blended Families

In February 2018, the Vanier Institute of the Family reported that there were nearly 518,000 stepfamilies, or blended families, in Canada in 2016. This total accounted for 12% of couples with children. The institute further broke down stepfamilies as simple (only one spouse brought children into the blended marriage - 61%) and complex (both spouses brought children into the marriage - 39%).

These statistics reflect that the Brady Bunch is not the uncommon family situation it once was. Blended families have gone mainstream.

Blended families bring a host of issues, from family integration to increased stepsibling rivalry to financial and tax issues. Today, I will address the key tax and financial issues.

Financial assets coming into the marriage


Unlike the typical marriage, where there are often minimal financial assets and the couple begins the slow climb to build those assets, blended families tend to occur later in life, where one or both parties have not only children but also substantial assets.

Both spouses have often gone through divorces and are very cognizant of protecting their assets. This results in some of the following issues:
  1. In many cases, while both parents love and treat each others’ children as their own, the reality often is that one or both parents want to protect some or all of their assets for their biological children.
  2. One spouse feels the other spouse should treat the stepchildren and biological children equally when it comes to finances and inheritance.
  3. The children of one or both spouses fear their family’s assets or inheritance will be taken by the new spouse.
These are very complicated financial and emotional issues and are a minefield that must be navigated with care.

Key areas of financial and tax concern


The financial issues for a blended family are too numerous for a single blog post. Today I will cover the following issues:
  1. The money discussion
  2. Marriage contracts
  3. Wills and powers of attorney
  4. Prior documents
  5. Estate planning
The Money Discussion

In a blended marriage, saving and spending habits are typically already in place for each spouse, and those habits may not be the same. The spouses’ financial assets may also be significantly different. Each spouse will have thoughts on their legacy. It is thus practical and responsible to discuss these issues before you enter into the blended marriage.

These discussions typically center on how expenses are shared, whether to open joint bank accounts, how assets purchased after the wedding will be owned, how to fund the children’s RESPs, and how to plan their estates.

While some of these topics can be contentious, it is always better to discuss financial topics before the discussion is forced on you.

Marriage contracts

Marriage contracts are very important in blended marriages where there are substantial assets and private corporations brought into the marriage. These agreements (technically known as prenuptial agreements when signed before the marriage), deal with support and division of property if the blended marriage dissolves or one spouse dies. It is also important to get advice on how family homes and other assets brought into the marriage are treated under the family law of that province. These variations in law may tie back directly into the marriage contract.

Discussing a marriage contract can be very unsettling for people entering a first marriage. In second or third marriages, the sobering reality of divorce proceedings often makes both parties more amendable to discussing and negotiating a marriage contract. It is suggested the contract take the form of a prenuptial agreement (i.e.- entered into before the marriage, not after). 

Many experts recommend discussing your marriage contract with your children (especially if they are older and responsible) to possibly alleviate their concern that their inheritance will be “taken” by the new spouse.

Wills and powers of attorney

Readers of this blog know I have written ad nauseam on ensuring you have an updated will and ensuring you have financial and personal care powers of attorney (POAs), the latter covering medical treatment and healthcare treatment. The POA gives authority to an individual to act as your agent.

Updating or preparing these documents is vital when entering into a blended marriage. This is because most provinces have rules relating to wills upon divorce that can affect or void how your current will is distributed. While provincial laws may or may not negate provisions related to your former spouse, you clearly in almost all cases want to remove any reference to your ex-spouse.

Your POA document will also often designate your former spouse, so you will want to update these documents and not leave it to provincial law to assign this key role.

As noted above, each province has different rules in respect to wills and POAs, so legal advice should be obtained.

Prior documents

It is important to review documents to determine if beneficiaries need to be updated. Some of the more important documents to review include the following:
  1. Life insurance polices
  2. RRSPs
  3. Pension plans
The last thing most people want to do is leave their insurance, RRSP or pension plans to their former spouse.

Estate planning

Estate planning is complicated enough in a first marriage; second or third marriages multiply the risks and complexity. Say you leave all your assets to your spouse because their will also has provisions for your children. But as noted above, if your ex-spouse remarries, certain provinces may void their prior will and leave your children out of luck. Alternatively, they could change their will and “write out” your children. How do you ensure your wishes are undertaken?

Spousal trusts

Spousal trusts in general will allow your assets to flow tax-free into the trust for the benefit of your spouse. Your spouse, subject to terms of the trust, will be the beneficiary of the income and capital for as long as they live, and then the terms can specify that the remaining assets are transferred to your children and stepchildren. These trusts are complicated, and you need to engage a lawyer who specializes in estates to assist you with your planning. It is also prudent to have your accountant work hand in hand with the estate lawyer to cover off your financial and tax issues.

Direct gifts in your will

Another option is to leave distinct inheritances to your spouse, biological children and stepchildren in your will, create separate trusts for each, or do both. Again, tax planning is imperative, as there may be deemed tax dispositions on the gifts to your children if the inheritance is not a cash-only gift.

Gifts during lifetime

Depending upon your financial situation, it may be simpler to give gifts to your children while you are alive to help with home purchases, grandchildren’s educational needs or any other expense. Before undertaking this strategy, you should ensure you create a financial plan to ensure you do not put your retirement or your spouse’s future living expenses in jeopardy.

Insurance

Many people in blended marriages are conflicted or feel pressure to ensure their new spouse is taken care of, their biological children receive the inheritance the parent envisioned, and their stepchildren receive a similar inheritance to the biological children or at least something substantial. As there is only so much money and assets to go around, it is common to use life insurance to build additional liquidity to cover or assist in paying estate taxes, ensure vacation properties or businesses do not need to be sold, and provide funds for inheritance equality for children and stepchildren.

The above is a very cursory review of some of the complex issues facing the parents of blended families. As noted throughout the post, it is essential you obtain proper family, estate and tax advice as you navigate the financial issues of a blended marriage.

This post covered steps you can take to protect your assets when getting married - steps that are taken well in advance of a potential divorce. These days, as we weather the economic effects of COVID-19, we’re facing a challenge to our portfolios that few could have anticipated. But there are things you can do to protect your wealth. Have a look at this recent COVID-19 roundtable discussion featuring top economic and investment professionals.

The content on this blog has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The blog cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO Canada LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO Canada LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information on this blog or for any decision based on it.

Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation.

BDO Canada LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms.