Investment Management and Financial Planning Thoughts

The Canadian dollar hit par today and Oil rose above $87. Despite this, markets started the morning off in the red after reaching an 18 month high yesturday. They are currently flat and the weight is being driven by concerns over Greece again. This time Greece wants to amend their deal with the European Union. To add to this, I was also reading an article in the CFA newsbrief this morning that said rich investors are hauling their money out of Greek Banks.

On the fixed income front we are seeing a rally in bond prices as stocks retreat. The biggest question borrowers are asking today is: fixed or variable. History suggests variable rate borrowers do better over time however that may be skewed because yields have been in decline since 1980. If the Bank of Canada return rates to normal levels in the next 5 years, variable rates could be much higher.