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ETFs & Funds
ETF Risks in Perspective: Leveraged ETFs
This post is the second of three that will look at the potential risks that ETFs may pose ...
More Swap Talk With Horizons
Here's part two of my interview with Jaime Purvis, Executive Vice-President, National Accounts, for Horizons ETFs. (See part ...
iShares Launches All-in-One ETF Portfolios
Back in February, writing about the newly launched Vanguard’s asset allocation ETFs, I asked why it had taken ...
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: Synthetic ETFs
Not so long ago, ETFs were simple and transparent. But with the tremendous growth in the industry, ETFs ...
Swap-Based ETFs: What Are the Risks?
Monday's post discussed the inner workings of the two swap-based ETFs launched by Horizons in late 2010. Many ...
Indexing basics
Why You Should Beware of First Dates
Imagine that you’re the marketing director for MegaAlpha Investments and you want to advertise two of your mutual ...
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 ...
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 ...
Where Do Returns Come From?
You don’t need a lot of mathematical horsepower to be a Couch Potato investor. Indeed, simplicity is one ...
Couch Potato Model Portfolios for 2015
Call off the hounds: I have finally updated my model Couch Potato portfolios for 2015. Full details appear ...
The Making of a Couch Potato
I know very few people who began their investing lives as Couch Potatoes. Most started out in mutual ...
Financial Planing
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 ...
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 ...
Blog for Financial Literacy: A Simple Plan
Today’s post is part of the Blog for Financial Literacy campaign spearheaded by Glenn Cooke of Life Insurance ...
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 ...
Behavioural Finance
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
Three Reasons to Ignore Market Downturns
“Long-term investors shouldn’t worry about daily or weekly blips in the markets.” How many times have you heard ...
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 ...
Beyond One-Stop ETF Shopping
The new asset allocation ETFs launched by Vanguard and iShares in 2018 have made it easier than ever ...
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 ...
Put Your Assets in Their Place
Couch Potato investors hear a lot about asset allocation, but asset location is also an important consideration. Asset ...
The Limits of Limit Orders
For some time now I’ve been suggesting that ETF investors use limit orders—never market orders—when placing trades in ...
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