UCPBA Calgary Dinner Meeting & Scholarship Night

The Fundamentals of Successful Investing (for Young and Old) in the Upside Down World of ZIRP* and NIRP*

Speaker:  Bohdan Romaniuk

 *Zero Interest Rate Policy    *Negative Interest Rate Policy 

Program
6:30 – 6:45 Cocktails
6:45 – 7:30 Dinner
7:30 – 7:45 Presentation of UCPBA 2016 Scholarships
7:15 – 8:30 Presentation by Bohdan Romaniuk
8:30 – 9:00 Networking opportunity

Location:
Danish Canadian Club, 727 11 Ave. SW, Valhalla Room

Cost:
Members: Adult $35/Senior or Student $30
Non-members: Adult $50/Senior $40/Student $35

Investors have every right to be confused and concerned. For the first time in history, interest rates in many industrialized countries have fallen below zero. In Japan, the EU and elsewhere, investors and savers are now required to pay for the privilege of keeping their money in the bank or of lending it to the government (by purchasing bonds). Approximately $7 trillion dollars worth of government bonds (issued by over a dozen countries) now carry negative interest rates. It’s no wonder that people in Europe and Japan are rushing to withdraw their cash from banks in order to avoid this new form of taxation/penalty levied against savers.

But the madness doesn’t stop there. Not satisfied with the existing heavy penalties against using cash for even relatively small open-market transactions, Central Banks and government officials around the globe are now openly discussing the need to completely eliminate cash in favour of strictly electronic currency. The European Central Bank just announced that it would stop printing the €500 banknote. The U.S., for its part, is considering eliminating the $100 bill. And many other countries are mulling similar measures that will eventually lead to an entirely cashless society.

In his May 26 presentation, Bohdan will explain (1) why NIRP and the “war on cash” portend the largest tax grab in history; (2) why young people saving for retirement and seniors simply trying to get by in their golden years should be deeply concerned; and (3) what specific steps can be taken and what investment strategies can be pursued by every individual, young and old, to preserve their hard-earned savings and augment their investment portfolio in a world that has literally turned upside down.

Bohdan Romaniuk has an Honours B.A. in Economics from the University of Alberta, an M.A. in Economics from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and an L.L.B. from the University of Toronto. He was a senior executive with TELUS Corp. from July 1994 to July 2001, after which he directed his attention to more entrepreneurial endeavours. Mr. Romaniuk remains active in a number of business ventures, and holds positions on the Boards and Audit Committees of both publicly-listed and private companies. He served on the Investment Committee of a national charitable foundation for the past 11 years and remains active with the International Telecommunications Society, where he has held the position of Secretariat since 2005, after 10 years on its Board of Directors. Mr. Romaniuk is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Bohdan is on the board of Directors of the Canada Ukraine Foundation and a former member of the board of the Calgary Opera Association.  He is a member of the current UCPBA executive and served as its president from 2011 to 2015.  Bohdan is also an avid fly fisherman and maintains a lifelong interest in amateur astronomy. This will be Bohdan’s 9^th presentation on economic and financial topics for the UCPBA membership.