asset class solutions such as global corporate real estate, infrastructure, private debt and hedge funds.

In fact a review of asset shifts amongst the world’s largest pension and endowment plans reveal that this so called smart money has already shifted their investment allocations significantly to alternative investments and reduced stock and bond exposure.

The case for investing in alternative investments

At TriDelta we research the marketplace for viable portfolio solutions including an analysis of where leading pension and endowment funds invest. They have been reducing their bonds and, to a lesser extent, their publicly traded stock portfolios. Under the catch-all phrase of alternative investments, many pensions and endowments have instead been investing between 25 per cent and as much as 75 per cent (Yale University Endowment Fund) in alternative investments.

to think harder about their biggest asset. One of the most common questions I receive is, "Should I sell my house now?" This is often followed by "If I decide to rent or move to a retirement residence, how can I best fund all of the fees?"

While these questions can best be answered as part of a broader financial plan, here are my basic answers:

'Should I sell my house now?'

The decision to move from a house to a condo or to a retirement residence should be driven by lifestyle more than money. It is extremely difficult to time any market, and the real estate market is no different. The time to sell the long-term family home is when you are ready to make that next step - physically, emotionally, and if necessary, financially.

• Artificial Intelligence: Computers become exponentially better in understanding the world. This year, a computer beat the best Go player in the world, 10 years earlier than expected.
• In the US, young lawyers already don't get jobs. Because of IBM Watson, you can get legal advice (so far for more or less basic stuff) within seconds, with 90% accuracy compared with 70% accuracy when done by humans.
• So if you study law, stop immediately. There will be 90% less lawyers in the future, only specialists will remain.
• Watson already helps nurses diagnosing cancer, 4 times more accurate than human nurses. Facebook now has a pattern recognition software that can recognize faces better than humans. In 2030, computers will become more intelligent than humans.
• Autonomous cars: In 2018 the first self driving cars will appear for the public. Around 2020, the complete industry will start to be disrupted. You don't want to own a car anymore. You will call a car with your phone, it will show up at your location and drive you to your destination. You will not need to park it, you only pay for the driven distance and can be productive while driving. Our kids will never get a driver's licence and will never own a car.
• It will change the cities, because we will need 90-95% less cars for that. We can transform former parking spaces into parks. 1.2 million people die each year in car accidents worldwide. We now have one accident every 60,000 miles (100,000 km), with autonomous driving that will drop to one accident in 6 million miles (10 million km). That will save a million lives each year.
• Most car companies will probably become bankrupt. Traditional car companies try the evolutionary approach and just build a better car, while tech companies (Tesla, Apple, Google) will do the revolutionary approach and build a computer on wheels.
• Many engineers from Volkswagen and Audi; are completely terrified of Tesla.
• Insurance companies will have massive trouble because without accidents, the insurance will become 100x cheaper. Their car insurance business model will disappear.
• Real estate will change. Because if you can work while you commute, people will move further away to live in a more beautiful neighborhood.
• Electric cars will become mainstream about 2020. Cities will be less noisy because all new cars will run on electricity. Electricity will become incredibly cheap and clean: Solar production has been on an exponential curve for 30 years, but you can now see the burgeoning impact.
• Last year, more solar energy was installed worldwide than fossil. Energy companies are desperately trying to limit access to the grid to prevent competition from home solar installations, but that can't last. Technology will take care of that strategy.
• With cheap electricity comes cheap and abundant water. Desalination of salt water now only needs 2kWh per cubic meter (@ 0.25 cents). We don't have scarce water in most places, we only have scarce drinking water. Imagine what will be possible if anyone can have as much clean water as he wants, for nearly no cost.
• Health:  The Tricorder X price will be announced this year. There are companies who will build a medical device (called the "Tricorder" from Star Trek) that works with your phone, which takes your retina scan, your blood sample and you breath into it.
• It then analyses 54 biomarkers that will identify nearly any disease. It will be cheap, so in a few years everyone on this planet will have access to world class medical analysis, nearly for free. Goodbye, medical establishment.
• 3D printing: The price of the cheapest 3D printer came down from $18,000 to $400 within 10 years. In the same time, it became 100 times faster. All major shoe companies have already started 3D printing shoes.
• Some spare airplane parts are already 3D printed in remote airports. The space station now has a printer that eliminates the need for the large amount of spare parts they used to have in the past.
• At the end of this year, new smart phones will have 3D scanning possibilities.  You can then 3D scan your feet and print your perfect shoe at home.
• In China, they already 3D printed and built a complete 6-storey office building.  By 2027, 10% of everything that's being produced will be 3D printed.
• Business opportunities: If you think of a niche you want to go in, ask yourself: "in the future, do you think we will have that?" and if the answer is yes, how can you make that happen sooner?
• If it doesn't work with your phone, forget the idea. And any idea designed for success in the 20th century is doomed to failure in the 21st century.
• Work: 70-80% of jobs will disappear in the next 20 years. There will be a lot of new jobs, but it is not clear if there will be enough new jobs in such a small time.
• Agriculture:  There will be a $100 agricultural robot in the future. Farmers in 3rd world countries can then become managers of their field instead of working all day on their fields.
• Aeroponics will need much less water. The first Petri dish produced veal, is now available and will be cheaper than cow produced veal in 2018. Right now, 30% of all agricultural surfaces is used for cows. Imagine if we don't need that space anymore. There are several startups who will bring insect protein to the market shortly. It contains more protein than meat. It will be labelled as "alternative protein source" (because most people still reject the idea of eating insects).
• There is an app called "moodies" which can already tell in which mood you're in. By 2020 there will be apps that can tell by your facial expressions, if you are lying. Imagine a political debate where it's being displayed when they're telling the truth and when they're not.
• Bitcoin may even become the default reserve currency ... Of the world!
• Longevity: Right now, the average life span increases by 3 months per year. Four years ago, the life span used to be 79 years, now it's 80 years. The increase itself is increasing and by 2036, there will be more than one year increase per year. So we all might live for a long long time, probably way more than 100.
• Education: The cheapest smart phones are already at $10 in Africa and Asia. By 2020, 70% of all humans will own a smart phone. That means, everyone has the same access to world class education.
  Every child can use Khan academy for everything a child needs to learn at school in First World countries. There have already been releases of software in Indonesia and soon there will be releases in Arabic, Suaheli and Chinese this summer. I can see enormous potential if we give the English app for free, so that children in Africa and everywhere else can become fluent in English and that could happen within half a year.

Prior to joining TriDelta Financial, Alex spent four years working for an organization, exclusively serving Ontario dental professionals and their families, providing wealth management solutions and comprehensive financial planning advice to help them integrate both their personal and corporate assets into custom-tailored investment and estate plans.

Alex is married with three children. When he is not working, he can be found on the soccer field, either coaching his children or playing the world’s most popular sport.

Although she started her career in programming and spent more than a decade at various Information Technology companies she prefers the excitement and challenge of wealth management.

Your Body: "Use It Or Lose It"

If you want to feel 10 years younger—for the rest of your life - keep running.

By Amby Burfoot of Runner's World, Friday, June 9, 2017

Back in 1963 when I began running as a high-school junior, it seemed a risky business. So many people warned that I would end up a wreck. My heart would grow weak with fatigue. The disks in my back would be ground to dust. My knees, if they moved at all, would creak and groan.

I even detected hints that my brain would turn to mush. “What do you think about when you’re running?” I was asked with clear disdain. “It’s so boring.”

In fact, my running pals and I, all under 30, knew only one runner who had reached the advanced age of 55: “Old John” A. Kelley, two-time winner of the Boston Marathon. I figured the other runners from Kelley’s generation must have died from heart disease. Or were confined to wheelchairs. Or mental wards.

We kept running, but we were spooked. We felt like explorers in a new and perilous land. I remember being particularly concerned about wear-and-tear mechanics. My toothbrush lasted only a month or two, after all, and my father traded in the family car every three years before the engine froze up. Why should runners be any different?

any of you wondering how best to approach your health issues. They also provide specific discussions on various topics, which are detailed on their September flyer.  We also recommend you email them to be added to their distribution list of monthly flyers.

Here is the first in our series of health care articles:

Why do I need to be an advocate?

Being an advocate means you understand what you need and know how to effectively ask for it while respecting others.

Advocacy is based on the foundation that everyone has the right to be heard, to have their concerns addressed and to be treated with respect and consideration. You're entitled to the best health care and health outcomes but in a complex, under-funded system with overburdened healthcare professionals, unless you're willing to be an active advocate you may not get the care you deserve.

Having lived with lupus for most of my adult life, I can attest to the value of having a strong voice. Many times in the past symptoms have been minimized or explained away as irrelevant. Not until I held firm and pressed for further investigation did I find the answers (and diagnoses) I needed.

You are responsible for your own healthcare.

This is absolutely essential. We must each take responsibility for our own health and do all that we can to improve it. Taking charge of your health and working with your family doctor and other healthcare professionals will improve your sense of control and well-being and ensure a higher quality of life.

Becoming a better advocate

1. Be firm and tenacious
• Don’t give up easily even when faced with challenges; stand your ground
2. Nurture your relationship with your family physician
• They are your health “quarterback” and essential to getting referrals to other care providers
3. Keep personal medical records
• With no universal system in place you need to keep track of all your health information
4. Be prepared and ask questions
• Make a list of questions and items to discuss at each appointment so nothing gets missed
5. Educate yourself
• Become the expert – learn everything you can about your condition and treatment options
6. Communicate your concerns and wishes
• Don’t be afraid to express how you feel – speak boldly but respectfully
7. Ask for a second opinion
• If you aren’t happy with what you’re being told, ask for a second opinion – it’s your right
8. Stand up for yourself
• Don’t allow yourself to feel intimidated or rushed – make sure you get the answers you need

Being your own advocate is not an easy task. Speaking up can be very intimidating especially when you’re dealing with healthcare professionals. It takes a lot of practice and self-confidence. If you’re finding it overwhelming to advocate for yourself or a loved one we can help. We can give you the voice you need to get you the care you deserve.

Virginia Miles
vmiles@compasshcsolutions.com
647-502-9079

By John Dowson.
The Ontario disability support program (ODSP), the income benefit for adult Ontarians with a disability, aged 18 years to 65, was introduced in 1998. The ODSP benefit replaced the old Family Benefits Allowance (FBA) which had been in place for a number of years, however on September 1 2017 the ODSP will undergo a number of major changes. These are the first major changes to the program since it was introduced 19 years ago.

Over the past 19 years the income benefit has been increased in increments of between 2% and 1% to the current maximum monthly benefit of $1,128 for a single person living on their own. On the other hand the changes in the asset limits and cash gifts for people who receive ODSP have changed little, that will change on September 1 2017. The changes will help to enhance the lives of the more 400,000 Ontarians who receive support through the ODSP plan.