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ETFs & Funds
TD e-Series Returns for 2021
In my last post I reviewed the returns of my model ETF portfolios in 2021. Now let's take ...
Will the Real S&P 500 Please Stand Up?
I received an email recently from Scott, a reader with a great question about index funds and ETFs ...
Trading ETFs Near Dividend Dates
In my most recent podcast, I addressed an excellent question from Philip, who asked, “Are there days when ...
Couch Potato Portfolio Returns for 2021
Well, another year is in the books and it's time to review how investors fared if they used ...
Inside Tangerine’s Global ETF Portfolios
Asset allocation ETFs were revolutionary when they appeared in 2018, but they were hardly the first products that ...
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 ...
Indexing Basics
Do You Have the Advisor Six-Pack?
When people criticize the financial industry in Canada, the target of their wrath is usually high fees and ...
Review: The House That Bogle Built
In 1951, a Princeton University student wrote a thesis about the mutual fund industry. “Funds can make no ...
When Should You Use an Advisor?
Dan Solin’s excellent new book, The Smartest Portfolio You’ll Ever Own (see my review here), devotes several chapters to ...
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 ...
Ask the Spud: Can You Time the Markets?
Q. Have you ever done any calculations into the optimal time to purchase index funds or ETFs based ...
Can You Have Too Much Diversification?
Is it possible for a portfolio to be too diversified? There are certainly a lot of articles making ...
Financial Planning
Why Plans Should Come Before Products
When I wrote the MoneySense Guide to the Perfect Portfolio [now out of print], I waited until Chapter ...
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 ...
What Is the Advisor’s Role?
John Lawrence Reynolds' newest book, The Skeptical Investor, argues that Canadians were badly served by their advisors during ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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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