You're right about the Kinross financing. I think it was to shore up their balance sheet after buying the mine from Cominco et al.

You might also be right about some of the guarranteed investments, for some of the people.

Even bonds are not such a secure thing anymore, though. The risk of default is still there, and ultimately the risk still belongs to the bank since this is a guarranteed investment.

In the case of my friend, the mutuals are of large cap stocks with heavy exposures to the banking and oil sectors. And he plans to retire at the end of the year, which means he may move them into a RIF or start liquidating them.