Tuesday 18 January 2011

2011 Calendar Checklist for the Canadian Investor

Most everyone starts a new year by buying a wall calendar or a personal agenda to mark key dates and appointments throughout the year. We are all organized by time and the investor is no different. To help readers we therefore offer an annual calendar with key dates that will affect most investors, along with a set of links to previous posts or other Internet resources where how-to help is available on the various topics in the calendar.

The 2011 Canadian Investor Calendar

January Tactical Stock Trading – exploit January effect

TFSA additional $5000 contribution room for new year starts Jan.1

ETFs/Mutual Funds – year-end distributions paid in during first few days of month; consider reinvestment of cash

Planning – 1) review portfolio goals, performance and rebalance as required; 2) plan tax strategy


February ETFs - calculate adjusted cost base for ROC, reinvested dividends; data from ETF providers available by approx. mid-February

RRSP contribution deadline March 1st


March Tax Preparation – gather tax slips, capital gains data; pick best software


April ETFs/Mutual Funds – quarterly distributions paid in during first few days of month; consider reinvestment of cash

Income Tax – deadline April 30 for filing and paying tax owed


May RRSP tax refund to reinvest or pay down loan


June Real Return Bonds – interest payment June 1


July ETFs/Mutual Funds – semi-annual distributions paid in during first few days of month; consider reinvestment of cash


August


September


October ETFs/Mutual Funds – quarterly distributions paid in during first few days of month; consider reinvestment of cash

Canada Savings Bonds – sale begins early October


November


December Canada Savings Bonds – deadline for purchase Dec.1

Real Return Bonds – interest payment Dec.1

RESP contribution deadline Dec.31

RRSP – deadline of Dec.31st in the year you turn 71 years of age is the last day you can contribute to your own RRSP

RRSP/RRIF – deadline of Dec.31st the year you turn 71 years of age for RRSP closure (RRIF conversion, annuity, withdrawal options)

RRIF/LIF/LRIF – deadline of Dec.31st to withdraw annual minimum amount

Trading deadline of Dec.23 (Canada) / Dec.27 (US) to settle in 2011

Tax Optimization – tax loss selling

TFSA – deadline of Dec.31st to withdraw funds and get the corresponding contribution in 2012


Monthly Income ETFs/Mutual Funds


Variable Bonds – semi-annual interest payment date unique to each bond e.g. TERASEN 5.56%15SEP14 pays twice yearly on Sept.15 and 6 months later on March 15 till it matures and the face value principal is paid back on Sept.15, 2014.

Stock & Preferred Share Dividends – payment after quarterly financial results, i.e. one of 3 cycles – J(anuary) A(pril) J(uly) O(ctober), FMAN, MJSD. Most companies are on January cycle. Check company website Investor section for exact dates of past payments and future schedule


Note Deadline date is the day on or before which something can or must be done e.g. income taxes filed May 1st are late

Links to Topic Resources

January Effect http://howtoinvestonline.blogspot.com/2010/11/investment-climate-change-mysterious.html
TFSA Basics http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/bdgt/2008/txfr-eng.html#q1
Canadian Income Tax 2011 Dates http://www.taxes.ca/info/dates-deadlines.php
Canada Revenue Agency Important Dates for Individuals http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ll-dts/menu-eng.html
Planning – Review Goals & Performance, Rebalance http://howtoinvestonline.blogspot.com/2010/01/annual-investment-review-part-1-review.html
Planning – Tax Matters http://howtoinvestonline.blogspot.com/2010/01/annual-investment-review-part-2-tax.html
Planning – RRSP vs TFSA vs RESP vs Non-Registered Account http://howtoinvestonline.blogspot.com/2010/02/rrsp-vs-tfsa-vs-resp-vs-non-registered.html
RRSP Loans http://canadianfinancialdiy.blogspot.com/2008/01/rrsp-loans-what-to-do-and-not-to-do.html

http://canadianfinancialdiy.blogspot.com/2008/01/rrsp-loans-and-another-thing-timing-is.html
Tax Preparation Resources http://howtoinvestonline.blogspot.com/2010/03/income-tax-season-resources-to-help-you.html
Tax Preparation Software – check website for update this year; last year at: http://canadianfinancialdiy.blogspot.com/2010/04/review-and-ratings-of-canadian-online.html

http://blog.taxresource.ca/cd-download-tax-software/
RRSP Refund http://cmawealthmgmt.com/educ_tax-strattips.html

http://canadianfinancialdiy.blogspot.com/2009/02/is-rrsp-refund-as-contribution-to-tfsa.html
Tax Loss Selling http://howtoinvestonline.blogspot.com/2009/12/tax-loss-selling-explained-what-why-and.html
ETF Adjusted Cost Base http://howtoinvestonline.blogspot.com/2009/01/etfs-and-mutual-funds-calculating.html
ETF Providers for Distributions, Data to Compute Adjusted Cost Base
Barclays Capital (iShares) http://ca.ishares.com/home.htm
Claymore Canada http://www.claymoreinvestments.ca/en/etf/
Horizons BetaPro http://www.hbpetfs.com/pub/en/Default.aspx
BMO Financial Group http://www.etfs.bmo.com/
TD Canada Trust http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/mutualfunds/tdeseriesfunds/

Our goal in presenting this calendar is to enhance your efficiency as an investor, so that things are done promptly at the right time. Or, in the words of a man who succeeded in many spheres of life (see this Wikipedia bio),
"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."
--Benjamin Franklin (quotation from theotherpages.org)


Disclaimer: this post is my opinion for information only and should not be construed as investment advice. Readers should be aware that while every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the above dates and information may contain errors and as such, the article's accuracy is not guaranteed. Do your homework before making any decisions and consider consulting a professional advisor.

4 comments:

Patrick said...

Here's one that's missing: Dec 31 is the last day to withdraw funds from a TFSA and still get the corresponding contribution room in 2012.

CanadianInvestor said...

Thanks, Patrick, a good addition to the list.

Canada Income Tax Forms said...

Hi,

The way you have described about the canadian investor is really appreciative. This makes the post more informative and understandable. Thanks for posting all the necessary information.

Electrical Contractor Houston said...

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