Taking ETF Trades to the Next Level
Experienced investors know the theory: ETFs are supposed to trade very close to their net asset value (NAV). And most of the time they do. But this week my PWL Capital colleague Justin Bender and I en [...]
Couch Potato Model Portfolios for 2015
Call off the hounds: I have finally updated my model Couch Potato portfolios for 2015. Full details appear on the permanent Model Portfolios page, but here are the new versions in downloadable PDF for [...]
Couch Potato Portfolio Returns for 2014
Here are the 2014 returns for my Model Portfolios. The data below are from the funds' websites whenever available: otherwise I used Morningstar. All ETF returns are based on net asset value rather tha [...]
The Folly of Forecasts
The new year has arrived, which means hangovers, doomed resolutions to lose weight, and a host of forecasts from the gurus in the financial media. I’m not sure which will cause more suffering. The att [...]
Understanding ECN Fees
The promise of commission-free ETFs has steered many index investors toward independent brokerages such as Questrade and Virtual Brokers. These deep discounters have a lot to offer, but before you sig [...]
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 their accounts. A market order will be filled (usually immediately and in full) at [...]
Decoding International Equity ETF Returns
How have international equities performed over the last year? If you research the returns of index funds in this asset class, you may wind up with more questions than answers. I recently received an e [...]
The Couch Potato Goes Abroad
Andrew Hallam’s Millionaire Teacher remains one of the best introductions to index investing. When I reviewed it three years ago, I stressed that Andrew writes with authority because he follows his ow [...]
Ask the Spud: Bond ETFs in Taxable Accounts
Q: Can you share your thoughts about the BMO Discount Bond (ZDB) and the Horizons Canadian Select Universe Bond (HBB) as long-term holdings in a taxable account? – D. F. Earlier this year BMO and Hori [...]
Tax Loss Harvesting Revisited
No one likes to see their investments plummet in value, but it’s going to happen many times over your lifetime. If you’ve got a strategy for tax loss selling, you can make the best of the situation by [...]
