Blog
Browse hundreds of posts from Dan’s award-winning blog for information about all aspects of Couch Potato investing.
Trading ETFs Near Dividend Dates
In my most recent podcast, I addressed an excellent question from Philip, who asked, “Are there days when ETF investors should avoid trading?” Philip’ [...]
Can ETFs provide downside protection?
We all want to capture most of the market's upside while significantly limiting losses. Unfortunately, it’s fantasy. [MoneySense]
Are your return expectations realistic?
An investor is frustrated because her portfolio is down in value. But is the advisor really to blame? [MoneySense]
The Power of the 3BAL Portfolio
[Spoiler: This was an April Fool's joke!] Simple is beautiful, but in investing it ultimately loses its appeal. Since the beginning of 2018, all three [...]
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 as any experienced investor knows, your asset allocat [...]
Couch Potato Portfolio Returns for 2018
No one can say they weren't expecting it. After a long and giddy bull market that began in 2009, we finally experienced a calendar year when even bala [...]
Beyond One-Stop ETF Shopping
The new asset allocation ETFs launched by Vanguard and iShares in 2018 have made it easier than ever for investors to build a low-cost balanced portfo [...]
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 so long for someone to create an ETF ver [...]
When Bond Yields Throw You a Curve
In my previous post, I explained the flaw in the conventional advice about shifting to short-term bonds if you expect interest rates to rise. While it [...]
Bonds Behaving Badly
There are a couple of basic rules bond investors can depend on. The first is that bond prices fall when interest rates rise, and vice-versa. The secon [...]