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I am a relative newcomer here so maybe I should not be commenting (but since I am not that bashful here or in other forums......).

I don't think the issue is at all related to criticism of alternative opinions (or hope it is not). Alternative points of view ARE healthy. I think it is that readers get/got tired of a lot of threads going off topic polluted with almost the same repetitive information over and over again. Sticking to the thread's topic as much as reasonably possible is simple courtesy.

I too consider this a loss. When relating to complete strangers, one has to make adjustments, as everybody functions differently, and some habits may be annoying. (Not mine, of course!)

There was a lot of wisdom in what SD had to offer, the product of many years of experience and research, and I appreciated it. I don't know that he got much out of being here though, as he seemed to have figured out everything he needed to know.

I suspect that some of us now know a lot more about strip bonds than we used to - and won't forget it in a hurry!

The question as to whether the world is going to h*** in a handbasket financially remains open in my mind, and is a serious possibility. I will continue to seek clarification on this, wherever possible. I would like to find a financial advisor who at least recognizes that it's possible. I am so tired of the view which approaches the health of the economy as a matter of unassailable faith and insists that stock market investments are the only answer. I am looking for informed opinions that can look at all possibilities. When things go very wrong, as they sometimes do, it is usually unanticipated.

Hi. I have found this site to be very helpful. I stumbled on it when researching Ally. We have to keep in mind that we are all different, different ages, different backgrounds, different likes and dislikes. While SD had long and repetitive entries that may have been good information and I think we all may repeat when we are talking in a new topic with a new member. Like watching TV, if you don't like what you are watching, change the channel! Maybe he should have been a little less confrontational and be offered a category on bonds to head up and help those folks who are interested in bonds.

@hdubya - I highly doubt you work in investment management. If you would have structured any client's portfolio in the same way as SD2013, you wouldn't remain in business very long, especially if your MER was 2%. Oh, and you told them to wait 25 years while their strip bond matured.

Regardless of what 'his' "families" objectives were, 'his' investment strategy was very obtuse.

SD2013 was a yield chaser. He was fixated on government bonds, strip bonds & GICs as if they were the be all and end all investment - and any idea otherwise was foolish and misguided.

There was never one mention of owning physical metal as a hedge, nor was there any mention of owning high beta or dividend paying stocks.

A million dollar plus portfilio (as 'he' suggested at one point) and you don't have dividend paying stocks within your portfolio pool? Come on. That is obsurd.

No "investment manager" worth their salt would come onto this forum and defend a forum member (unless they knew them of course, or was them...you did know SD2013 was a male after all).

Remember, those who can do, those who can't teach.

If SD2013 stuck to the topic of what was being asked, and didn't veer off on a tangent spouting all 'his' so called investment knowledge, giving answers to questions that were not even asked, then yes, he has a place here. Other than that, he should stick with his fantasies of stripping bonds.

I used 4-5 commissioned salesmen at full service brokers over about 15 years before I gave up on their 'conflict of interest' and went solo about 1998-1999 when E*Trade (now Scotia iTrade) came to Canada as a discount brokerage. Few commissioned advisors (including the ones at the banks) have one's best interests at heart. Their fudiciary duty is to their employer, not the client.

Fee based advisors, who do not sell products, are the best to help investors develop a financial plan, an investment strategy, including risk profies, asset allocation, re-balancing and diversification principles. These things are more important than selection of actual products over a long period of time. It is then up to the client to execute/implement the plan buying the various products.

ITISTHETIMETHISISTHEPLACE said

@hdubya - I highly doubt you work in investment management. If you would have structured any client's portfolio in the same way as SD2013, you wouldn't remain in business very long, especially if your MER was 2%. Oh, and you told them to wait 25 years while their strip bond matured.

Regardless of what 'his' "families" objectives were, 'his' investment strategy was very obtuse.

SD2013 was a yield chaser. He was fixated on government bonds, strip bonds & GICs as if they were the be all and end all investment - and any idea otherwise was foolish and misguided.

There was never one mention of owning physical metal as a hedge, nor was there any mention of owning high beta or dividend paying stocks.

A million dollar plus portfilio (as 'he' suggested at one point) and you don't have dividend paying stocks within your portfolio pool? Come on. That is obsurd.

I don't know who hdubya is, and neither do I know the identity of SD2013.

SD's portfolio made very good sense for someone in his position. At one point he gave us an idea of his total assets, which were substantially over 1 million as I recall. Someone with that much money can do very well on longterm strips because they have them maturing regularly and there is enough money coming in that way to meet their needs. For him, it made sense. He ALWAYS said you had to hold them until they matured in order to avoid market risk, and he OFTEN said that if you couldn't do that, you shouldn't buy them. This was solid advice in my opinion. However, for most of us it was not a useful strategy, as most of us don't have that much money and can't wait that long. For other needs with shorter horizons, he offered detailed reports on GIC rates.

I do think it would be difficult for a financial planner to make a good income from selling strip bonds. But a really good planner knows that only a small portion of his clients are suited to this strategy. Most people WANT to invest in the stock market, one way or another, so there is plenty of opportunity there for the adviser to get rich. A planner who genuinely meets your needs will build their reputation more quickly, and will benefit from that free advertising in lieu of making more money from the client.

The advice has been heard over and over again from all quarters, that in putting together one's financial plan, one needs to look at what is one's goal. From there, you figure out everything else. SD knew that his goal could be met with strip bonds etc., taking little to no risk. Good for him! Why take risks that you don't need to take? A good financial advisor will be very aware of that, will respect it, and will not try to push a client into riskier investments.

A million dollar portfolio, or more, with a complete absence of equities, is by no means impossible. It is absurd to suggest it is. There are lots of people who have either inherited money, earned a great deal of money, sold family homes in hot markets in Toronto or Vancouver, or have previously invested successfully and no longer require equities to meet their goals.

My suspicion is that you are too young to have been an investing adult during the very high interest rates of the past. During this time lots of smart people bought long bonds which brought in excellent returns for many years. And now they have lots of money and don't plan on throwing it away on higher risk investments.

SD has removed all/most of his posts but I wrote here about his family's worth and makeup using his previous messages for context.

SD said his family was worth $7.8 million. Assuming wills structured to pass that wealth on down, one could well assume the entire family was sitting with nothing but bonds and didn't need more than GIC/Bond income.

If I had $7.8 million I might well put it under my mattress in $20's and gold bars and wait my time out.

Greg