Canadian Couch Potato is your
complete guide to index investing

ETFs & Funds

Inside the iShares ESG Asset Allocation ETFs

Two of the biggest trends in investing these days are the popularity of one-fund portfolios and the focus ...

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 ...

Where Does VRIF’s 4% Payout Come From?

In my last post, I introduced the new Vanguard Retirement Income ETF Portfolio (VRIF), an asset allocation ETF ...

Inside Tangerine’s Global ETF Portfolios

Asset allocation ETFs were revolutionary when they appeared in 2018, but they were hardly the first products that ...

Currency Hedging in International Funds

Currency hedging can be confusing for investors who use index funds and ETFs that hold foreign stocks or ...

Should You Buy US-listed ETFs?

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

Indexing Basics

Lessons From the Last Decade

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

Worst Mutual Fund Ad of the Year?

The mutual fund industry loves to sell past performance, and it's not above massaging the data to make ...

Review: Rob Carrick’s Guide

Rob Carrick is one of a small number of journalists who stand up for individual investors in this ...

Review: The Smartest Portfolio You’ll Ever Own

There comes a time in every Couch Potato’s life when he or she has to answer a nagging ...

Debunking Dividend Myths: Part 1

This post is the first in a series exploring common myths and misunderstandings about dividend investing. The goal ...

Scott Burns Interview: Part 2

Here is part two of my interview with Scott Burns, the newspaper columnist and Chief Investment Strategist at ...
Read more

Financial Planning

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: 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 ...

Why Plans Should Come Before Products

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

Dividends: Not As Tax-Friendly As You May Think

If your investments include RRSPs, TFSAs and taxable accounts, asset location is an important consideration. The returns of ...

What Is the Advisor’s Role?

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

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 ...
Read more

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 ...
Read more

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 ...
Read more

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 …

Recent comments