Canadian Couch Potato is your
complete guide to index investing

ETFs & Funds

The Promise of Fundamental Indexing

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of attending a talk by Rob Arnott, the creator of the Research ...

Tim Pickering on Managed Futures, Part 1

On Monday I wrote about managed futures, a strategy that can add a layer of diversification to a ...

Should You Buy US-listed ETFs?

Jason, a reader of this blog, recently wrote to ask why an investor would want to invest in ...

Tim Pickering on Managed Futures, Part 2

Here's part two of my interview with Tim Pickering, president of Auspice Capital Advisors, who manages both the ...

ETF Risks in Perspective: Securities Lending

This is the final post in a series of three looking at the potential risks that ETFs may ...
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Indexing Basics

Beating the Market Is a New Idea

Today we take it for granted that virtually all mutual funds and stock pickers are trying to earn ...

A Different Perspective On the Last Three Years

Your eyes open slowly, and the light stings your retinas. Your mouth is burning with thirst, your muscles ...

Lessons From the Last Decade

This has been a scary few months in the markets, and nervous investors may be tempted to second-guess ...

Couch Potato Portfolio Returns for 2014

Here are the 2014 returns for my Model Portfolios. The data below are from the funds' websites whenever ...

Confessions of an Investing Parasite

As index investing has gained popularity, it is also attracted its share of scorn. The latest example is ...

A Spreadsheet to Manage Multiple Accounts

You’ve got an RRSP with your employer, another with a discount brokerage, and your spouse has a couple ...
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Financial Planning

It’s Time to Ban Advisor Commissions

Should financial advisors be banned from collecting commissions on mutual funds? That’s been hotly debated for years, and ...

Why Plans Should Come Before Products

When I wrote the MoneySense Guide to the Perfect Portfolio [now out of print], I waited until Chapter ...

What Is the Advisor’s Role?

John Lawrence Reynolds' newest book, The Skeptical Investor, argues that Canadians were badly served by their advisors during ...

A Monte Carlo Case Study: Can I Retire Early?

Last week’s post about Monte Carlo simulations in financial planning sparked some interesting comments, so I thought a ...

Ask the Spud: Is My Pension Like a Bond?

Q: My wife and I have been using the Couch Potato strategy for a few years now, but ...

Ask the Spud: Am I Vulnerable to US Estate Taxes?

Q: I am ready to follow the Couch Potato and would like to use the US-listed Vanguard ETFs ...
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Behavioural Finance

Why RESPs Should Be Kept Simple

In the last couple of weeks I’ve received two questions from readers who were trying to figure out ...

Podcast 20: One-Stop ETF Shopping

I’ve always tried to stress that successful investing is about the right process, not the right products. But ...

Cost Versus Convenience in “ex Canada” ETFs

I used to own one of those one-piece cutlery tools designed for hiking and camping—the kind with a ...

Why Simple Is Still a Hard Sell

Last January, I overhauled my model portfolios to make them simpler. Some of the older options included small-cap ...

Should You Buy Stocks For Your Kids?

If you’re a parent, how can you set your child on the road to investing success? One popular ...

Podcast 25: Dr. Steve Wendel on Investor Success

The latest episode of the Canadian Couch Potato podcast features an interview with Dr. Stephen Wendel, Head of ...
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Portfolio Management

How to Set Up a Hands-Off ETF Portfolio

For DIY investors, asset allocation ETFs may be the greatest gift to come along in decades. It’s never ...

A New Rebalancing Spreadsheet for ETFs

It’s easy enough to build an index fund portfolio with your desired mix of stocks and bonds. But ...

It’s Time to Reboot Your Portfolio

It’s been a while since the last new article appeared on the Canadian Couch Potato blog, and over ...

TD e-Series Returns for 2020

The TD e-Series index mutual funds remain a useful alternative to the asset allocation ETFs that take centre ...

Ask the Spud: Can I Make Taxable Investing Easier?

In Episode 4 of the Canadian Couch Potato podcast, I answered the following question from a listener named ...

Is VRIF Right for Your Portfolio?

In my last few posts, I introduced the newly launched Vanguard Retirement Income ETF Portfolio (VRIF), explained where ...
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Popular Posts

Unveiling the 2020 Couch Potato Model Portfolios

As long-time readers will know, I review my model portfolios once a year and, …

TD e-Series Funds: The Next Generation

For almost 20 years, the TD e-Series mutual funds have been one of the …

How to Set Up a Hands-Off ETF Portfolio

For DIY investors, asset allocation ETFs may be the greatest gift to come along …

Asset Allocation ETF Showdown: Vanguard vs. iShares

In the brief time they’ve been around, asset allocation ETFs have transformed the way …

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