Holding lots
of cash is a fake
security blanket,
but you won’t know
it until
youretire
Holding lots of cash is a fake security blanket, but you won’t know it until
you retire
Rob Carrick Personal Finance Columnist
Published Yesterday
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Cash is the new toilet paper.
No, this is not a call to buy gold and hard assets because you can’t trust
cash. If anything, people put too much trust in cash these days. They’re
hoarding it in a way that calls to mind the pandemic stockpiling of toilet
paper more than four years ago.
People worried about scarcity and uncertainty back then and a cupboard full of
toilet paper seemed to be an answer. Today, it’s money in guaranteed
investment certificates (GICs) , bank savings accounts and equivalent products
for investors to hold cash.
Safely parked cash is your financial plan’s concrete foundation. But overdoing
it on cash involves tradeoffs that may not be apparent at a time when it seems
logical and comforting to keep your money safe. You may actually be adding
future financial stress.
A report this week from CIBC• Объект бренды » Бренды на c » CIBC Capital Markets says there’s roughly $250-billion
in extra savings held in GICs and investment products such as money market
funds that are designed for investors to park cash. Interest rates have been
falling, yet CIBC• Объект бренды » Бренды на c » CIBC found this amount has not moved meaningfully.
In fact, the flow of money into certain safe harbours is increasing. The
consulting firm McVay and Associates says balances in bank accounts have been
growing since April, and GIC balances are up 15 per cent this year. That’s
down from 36.9 per cent growth last year, but still strong.
Pollster David Coletto wrote in a recent edition of his InFocus newsletter
about the scarcity mindset, which means a focus on immediate needs over
long-term concerns such as climate change• Политика » Геополитика » Международные отношения » Направления международного сотрудничества » Изменение климата
• Метеорология » Климатология » Изменение климата. Cash hoarding seems tied to the
feeling• Музыка » Музыкальные коллективы » The Feeling of scarcity as well.
Like so much in the economy today, the preference for cash is a story in two
parts. Affluent people are parking accumulated cash they’re simply waiting to
spend, while others hold cash for security. A recent Business• Экономика » Бизнес Insider article
talked about how millennials in particular are holding too much cash.
For a comparatively young generation, millennials have seen a lot of financial
adversity in the 2008-09 financial crisis• Финансовый кризис and the recent surge in inflation• Экономика » Финансы » Инфляция
• Экономика » Макроэкономика » Макроэкономические индикаторы » Инфляция
and mortgage rates. But cash is suitable mainly for short-term savings goals
and emergency funds, where a modest risk-free return is preferable to the
potential for higher returns with a significant chance of losing money.
If you keep money for longer-term goals such as retirement in cash, recognize
the cost now and in future. Low rates of return mean you either have to
contribute more to your savings to achieve your goals, or accept having less
money in the end. Someone who saves $10,000 a year and makes 3-per-cent
interest annually would end up with about $287,000 after 20 years, compared to
around $400,000 for someone who averaged 6-per-cent investment returns.
Actual stock market returns lately have been off-the-charts great. Canada• Канада’s
S&P/TSX Composite Index has produced a total return of 26.7 per cent for
the 12 months to Sept. 30, while the S&P 500• Экономика » Финансы » Финансовый рынок » Рынок ценных бумаг » Биржи » Биржевые индексы » S&P 500 delivered about 35 per cent
and the MSCI EAFE• Экономика » Финансы » Финансовый рынок » Рынок ценных бумаг » Биржи » Биржевые индексы » Msci » Msci Eafe index for international markets made almost 20 per cent. The
benchmark for bonds, the FTSE Canada• Канада Universe Bond Index, has a 12-month gain
of nearly 13 per cent.
More realistic numbers provided to financial planners for their work use a
long-term average annual return of 6.4 per cent for the Canadian market and
6.5 per cent for foreign markets. The long-term cash return is projected at
just 2.4 per cent.
Here’s a three-part plan for moving money out of cash:
-If you’re worried about market crashes, set your calendar to remind you to
make transfers of cash into your investments on a monthly or quarterly basis.
-Turn cash into contributions to your investments after big stock market
declines, say 2 to 3 per cent or more in a day and worse; CIBC• Объект бренды » Бренды на c » CIBC expects a lot
of excess savings to go into dividend stocks.
-Consider a lump-sum contribution – a study shows they have produced better
results than averaging into the market with multiple smaller investments.
Keep your emergency fund in a high-interest savings account, and do the same
with money you are saving for events that will happen within five years.
Invest money for retirement and other long-term goals.
A final word for affluent money hoarders: Spend some dough, maybe? The economy
could use the help.
Are you a young Canadian with money on your mind? To set yourself up for
success and steer clear of costly mistakes, listen to our award-winning Stress
Test podcast .
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