We're revisiting some of our most notable and most popular articles, tools, calculators, interviews and educational resources published in Investor News from the past year.

Our annual look back will help you catch up on anything you might have missed. Visit GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca for more information on investing basics, avoiding investment fraud and smart tips for managing your money!

Reducing Debt

6 ways to reduce debt. It may be tempting to ignore your debt but dealing with financial challenges earlier will help you avoid an even more difficult situation in the future. Read more

How credit cards work. Credit cards can be a convenient way to pay for your purchases, but it is also easy to lose track of your spending and take on more debt than you can repay. It can take several years to pay off your credit card balance if you only make the minimum monthly payment. Read more

Investing

7 TFSA misconceptions. Tax-free savings accounts or TFSAs can be used to help save for emergencies, retirement and many other financial goals. But misconceptions about how TFSAs work may be preventing you from maximizing your savings. Read more

Active vs passive investing. These are two different approaches to investing, and the choice of investing approach really depends on your investment goals and what matters to you as an investor. Read more

Self-directed RRSPs. A self-directed registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) allows you to play a more active role in choosing and managing your investments. This type of account is popular with do-it-yourself investors. Read more

Planning

Working in the gig economy. The “gig economy” is where people typically find temporary, short-term jobs as independent contractors, consultants or freelancers. As a gig worker, your income could fluctuate depending on the amount and type of work you find. Read more

Planning for long-term care. Retirement means different things to different people. While many of us tend to focus on our ideal retirement scenario, planning for the possibility of long-term care is often given less attention, if any. The reality is your health can change at any time. Planning for these changes can help you live your retirement with dignity and access to important services. Read more

Tools, Calculators and Worksheets

GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca has many tools, calculators and worksheets to help you with your finances. Here are some of our most popular recent additions.

Preparing for and Living in Retirement 

• Retirement Cash Flow Calculator 
• Retirement Budget Worksheet
• Retirement Ready Quiz
• RRIF Withdrawal Calculator

Investing and Managing Money

• Investor Personality Quiz
• Mortgage Payment Calculator

What would you like to learn more about?

GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca can help you learn more about investing basics, saving and managing money, investment fraud prevention and many other topics. Let us know what you would like to learn more about, or what new topics you’d like us to cover!

Interviews

We often sit down with key figures in Canada’s financial services industry whose work impacts investors. So far this year, we've spoken to Mark White, CEO of FSRA, and we caught up with Andrew J. Kriegler, President and CEO of IIROC, as a follow-up to our initial interview with him.

Earlier this year, Tyler Fleming, Director of the OSC's Investor Office, was on BNN Bloomberg to give people information to help better protect themselves against fraud.

Last fall, the OSC's Investor Office published a national research study on investor knowledge, attitudes and behaviours.

Findings include:

• Retirement preparedness: Younger Canadians are most likely to be optimistic about retirement, but least likely to have started saving for retirement. 39% of Canadians aged 18-34 expect their standard of living will improve in retirement, compared to only 8% of Canadians aged 55 and older.

• Conversations about aging and finances: Most Canadian adults with parents aged 45 or older say their parents have not talked to them about how they would like their finances managed if they were no longer able to do so. However, over 4 in 10 (42%) Canadian adults with parents aged 85 or older reported that they are responsible for managing their parents’ financial affairs.

Catch up on all the findings

We created GetSmarterAboutCrypto.ca to help investors better understand cryptoassets by giving an overview of cryptoasset products and services, the OSC’s role in regulating them, and tips for exercising due diligence before considering this type of investment. Learn more

We also created a second educational resource, TBACoin.ca, which mimics what a typical fraudulent initial coin offering website may look like to help those interested in this type of capital raising tool identify potential red flags. Explore TBACoin.ca and learn about the red flags of fraud.

Ask Us An Investing Question

We continue to get great questions about investing from investors. Our Re: Investing website offers clear, unbiased answers to your questions about investing, from a trusted source.

Here are some popular questions that we've received so far this year and our response:

“How does a TFSA work?”
“How do withdrawals from a RRIF work?”
“What happens to dividends earned in a TFSA?”
“Can I transfer money from a mutual fund to a GIC?”
“Can I transfer my RRSP to my TFSA without paying taxes?”

The OSC published OSC Staff Notice 11-784: Burden Reduction, which sought suggestions on reducing regulatory burden with a focus on eliminating unnecessary or outdated rules and processes while protecting investors and the integrity of Ontario's capital markets. The Notice outlined plans to broadly consult Ontario market participants on ways to further reduce regulatory burden as well as on improving the investor experience.

The OSC, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, also established a Burden Reduction Task Force to focus our efforts and to identify steps, in addition to those listed above, that can be taken to enhance competitiveness for Ontario businesses by saving time and money for issuers, registrants, investors and other market participants.

As part of the consultation process, the OSC held three roundtables. Here are the transcripts in case you missed it:

• March 27, 2019 - Roundtable on Reducing Regulatory Burden
• May 6, 2019 - Roundtable on Reducing Regulatory Burden
• May 27, 2019 - Roundtable on Reducing Regulatory Burden

Regulatory Initiatives

Subscribing to Investor News is a good way to stay informed about regulatory initiatives that affect investors. Here are some recent developments and publications:

• CSA 2018/19 Enforcement Report
• The OSC consulted on ways to further reduce unnecessary regulatory burden.
• The OSC welcomed Mary Anne De Monte-Whelan, Heather Zordel, Craig Hayman and Raymond Kindiak as new commissioners who will serve two-year terms.
• The OSC announced that it awarded $7,499,000 to three whistleblowers on separate matters.
• OSC Staff Notice 33-750 Summary Report for Dealers, Advisers and Investment Fund Managers
• The OSC took action to reduce burden for investment fund managers
• The OSC took action to reduce burden for mining issuers
• CSA IIROC oversight review report 

Visit the OSC's website for more information on these and other initiatives.