At the Investor Office we're looking to help investors better understand investing in real estate through a new multimedia feature article launched today at GetSmarterAboutRealEstate.ca.
There are many ways people can invest in the real estate market without buying and maintaining properties on their own. But while real estate can help diversify your investment portfolio, real estate investment products have their own unique risks that anyone looking to invest should fully understand.
“Real estate investments can be complex and often have unique characteristics, fees and risks that differ from other investments,” said Tyler Fleming, Director of the Investor Office at the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). “It’s important that investors understand how these investments work and the risks that they come with before making a decision to invest.” Learn more at GetSmarterAboutRealEstate.ca.
Our new multimedia feature article at GetSmarterAboutRealEstate.ca combines information and design to guide readers through several types of common real estate investment securities, including real estate investment trusts and limited partnerships, mortgage investment entities and syndicated mortgages, and uses video interviews with OSC staff members to help explain the topic.
Visit GetSmarterAboutRealEstate.ca to learn more about what it means to invest in real estate. Investors can also learn about different investment products, diversifying their portfolios and working with an advisor by visiting GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca, the OSC’s award-winning investor education website that provides unbiased and independent tools to help people make better financial decisions.
Your 2018 New Year's Resolutions
As we said in the last issue of Investor News, the New Year is a great time to recommit yourself to good money habits. Check out our list of suggested New Year's resolutions for investors in case you missed it.
We know it can be difficult to stick with New Year's resolutions. Visit GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca or InvestorOffice.ca throughout the year to use our many tools and resources that can help keep you on track to meeting your financial goals.
Ask Us An Investing Question
We're here to help. We know that investing and the investment world can be complex. Through our website Re: Investing we offer clear, unbiased answers to your investing questions.
Here are some recent questions people asked us and our responses:
ETF companies are now required to produce and file an easy-to-read summary document called “ETF Facts”. Beginning later this year, every time you purchase an exchange-traded fund (ETF), you'll receive a copy of ETF Facts within two days of the purchase. This document summarizes key information about the ETF you've bought, including what the ETF is invested in, how they trade, their risk and fees.
GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca has many popular tools and calculators. Now that the holidays are over and the bills are coming due, try our Pay off Credit Cards and Debt calculator to help decide the order in which you should pay off credit cards, lines of credits, mortgages and other debt, and how long it will take.
Check Before You Invest
We've developed several short animations to remind investors to always check the registration of any person or business trying to sell you an investment or give you investment advice. Watch the animations back to back at this link or find them, along with other resources, by following us @smarter_money on Twitter and @GetSmarterAboutMoney on Facebook.
Visit CheckBeforeYouInvest.ca to learn more about checking registration and disciplinary histories, spotting the warning signs of fraud and receiving investor alerts and warnings from the Ontario Securities Commission.
OSC staff are taking the Commission's regulatory mandate from Bay Street to Main Street with seminars on preventing fraud and making informed investment decisions.