Child saves up for her immediate and long-term purchases.Sasiistock/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
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Maya Corbic has made it her mission to help parents provide their kids aged 10 and up with the tools they need to become wealthy later in life.
Mrs. Corbic, author of From Piggy Banks to Stocks: The Ultimate Guidelines for a Young Investor, imparts her lessons on Instagram and runs a “wealthy kids investment club” that parents join along with their kids and other workshops. She says working with parents and kids simultaneously helps to dispel money myths on both sides.
Globe Advisor spoke recently with Mrs. Corbic, who is also the chief financial officer at the Investment Industry Association of Canada, about her book and workshops in Toronto.
Why did you write From Piggy Banks to Stocks?
I heard from many parents who wanted to teach their kids about investing but had trouble understanding all the facts themselves. They didn’t know how the stock market worked, for example. I’m 44 now but still learning. A lot of us were taught to save money but not how to invest. I never had anybody tell me to invest my money.
You grew up to be a chartered professional accountant. Did you take economics or personal finance courses in high school?
I didn’t. To be honest, I didn’t even know those courses were being offered. I originally wanted to go into sciences, so that was my focus at the time. I could have benefited from this book when I was younger. I had two part-time jobs in high school and could have invested $20 or $30 a week easily. That alone can accumulate over a long period of time with compound interest – and you can have significant wealth.
What financial challenges did you experience growing up?
I was a new immigrant to Canada from the former Yugoslavia. I came over when I was 15. My former country didn’t have a stock market. My parents didn’t have credit cards until they came to Canada. While I understood how money worked in a different world, I had to learn how it works in Canada.
What lessons do you want advisors to learn from your book?
Advisors need to build relationships with their clients’ younger children. They can help educate kids through books catered for them. Children will eventually inherit from their parents and advisors will want those kids to become clients. And if advisors communicate with the kids now, that also strengthens the bond between the advisor and the parent.
You want kids to be able to ask questions and participate in these meaningful discussions to achieve their goals. It doesn’t necessarily need to be long-term goals. Kids don’t think about retirement, they don’t care about that. But perhaps they need advice on how to buy a car, for example.
– Deanne Gage, Globe Advisor reporter
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Must-reads from Globe Advisor this week
Divorcing couples’ desire to speed up the process is resulting in financial repercussions
While Canada’s divorce rate declined drastically in 2020, according to Statistics Canada, some advisors say they’re seeing an increase in the number of couple clients who want to separate. Debbie Hartzman, certified financial planner (CFP) and certified divorce financial analyst at Hartzman and Associates Inc. in Kingston, Ont., observed a slight uptick in separated couples and more agitation among them. After a few years of living in close confines during multiple lockdowns and COVID-19-related restrictions, they’re more than ready to cut the strings and venture out on their own. Deanne Gage reports.
Why this $2.1-billion money manager favours growth stocks over dividend-payers
Barry Schwartz doesn’t spend much time worrying about which way the markets are heading. Instead, the executive vice-president and chief investment officer at Baskin Wealth Management prefers to own a collection of growth-focused companies that will thrive in good and bad environments. “We like big-branded, strong companies that make acquisitions when times are tough because they have the balance sheets to do it. Then, when times are great, they ride the waves,” says Mr. Schwartz, who is also a portfolio manager at Toronto-based Baskin, which oversees $2.1-billion in assets. Brenda Bouw asks what he’s been buying and selling.
‘Being an advisor is a lifestyle,’ says this financial planner, who uses inclusive experiences to connect with clients
In the Behind the Advice series, we ask advisors about their relationship with money from a young age, lessons learned over the years, and how their experiences influence the advice they give clients today. Ryan Chin, a CFP with Peridot Financial Solutions Corp. at Sun Life Financial Investment Services (Canada) Inc. in Hamilton, talks about growing up in Barbados, being vision impaired and how investing in an MBA changed his career path. As told to Brenda Bouw.
Six satellite ETFs for an RRSP
When building a retirement nest egg, a core-satellite strategy can enhance diversification and the potential for higher returns. For investors who use exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the core of a portfolio should be in cheap, passive ETFs tracking major indexes such as the S&P/TSX Composite Index or the S&P 500. But a smaller portion, such as 10 per cent of a portfolio, can be allotted to so-called “satellite ETFs” that focus on long-term themes or sectors, such as industries or countries. Their fees are typically higher than plain-vanilla ETFs, especially in the case of actively managed funds. Shirley Won asked three ETF experts to give their top satellite picks.
Also see:
How advisors are working toward winning over their clients’ children
Will investors’ love affair with AI tech stocks persist this year?
How wealth management firms are luring advisors with collaborative work environment
What private equity investors need to consider in this higher interest rate environment
Understanding a company’s executive incentive compensation can highlight investment dangers
What you and your clients need to know
Chasing the dough: Former BMO executives who founded Toronto bakery return to Bay Street with boutique firm
Shifting from baking to Bay Street, two former Bank of Montreal executives and co-founders of Toronto’s Sticky Bakery are returning to their roots with the launch of Delisle Advisory Group, a boutique investment advisory firm focused on families and high-net-worth Canadians. The former head of BMO Private Wealth Canada, Andrew Auerbach and his wife, Jean Blacklock, an estate lawyer who spent more than a decade working in Bank of Montreal’s private banking arm, received approval this week from the Ontario Securities Commission to open a Toronto-based discretionary investment counselling firm. Clare O’Hara reports.
Think rate cuts are coming soon? Be prepared for disappointment, says CIBC’s Benjamin Tal
The Bank of Canada’s policy rate is a key focus for the investment community, given the impact of higher interest rates on businesses and individuals. Investors are trying to predict when the first rate cut may occur and where the policy rate might settle. The central bank’s monetary policy decisions are data-dependent, so to get a sense of where inflation, wage growth, the labour market and economic conditions may be headed, Jennifer Dowty recently spoke with CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal.
The first four months of the year are a ‘danger zone’ for TFSA contributors
Every year, financial planner Travis Koivula has clients who look at their TFSA information on the Canada Revenue Agency website and conclude they have more contribution room than they thought. “We have to stop them and say, no, actually the website is wrong,” he said. Mr. Koivula calls the first four months of the year a “danger zone” for making deposits to tax-free savings accounts. During this period, the CRA shows TFSA contribution room for the current calendar year that can be based on incomplete information. Contributions you made to your account in the previous calendar year will likely not be reflected until March or April. Rob Carrick has more.
Deadline to receive partial CEBA loan forgiveness looms for Canadian businesses
Jan. 18 was the deadline for Canadian businesses to repay pandemic loans and receive partial forgiveness, a move that business groups say will spell closure for thousands of struggling companies. “I believe the government will regret the decision to not grant more time as small businesses fail and default on their entire loan,” said Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, in a press release. Almost 900,000 businesses and non-profits received a Canada Emergency Business Account loan during the COVID-19 pandemic, securing up to $60,000 in interest-free loans to help them survive. The Canadian Press has the story.
– Globe Advisor Staff