Blog
Browse hundreds of posts from Dan’s award-winning blog for information about all aspects of Couch Potato investing.
Why Passive Investors Aren’t Really Lazy
A couple of weeks ago, Balance Junkie wrote a post called Why This Is No Market for Couch Potatoes. The main argument of the post—one that has been ma [...]
Why Do Index Funds Use Derivatives?
Earlier this week I described how several US and international equity index funds get their market exposure by using index futures rather than holding [...]
Holding Your Bond Fund for the Duration
Bond index funds have a place in almost all portfolios, even in a low-rate environment. However, it’s important to match the right bond fund to your i [...]
Will Rising Rates Really Clobber Bonds?
Investors are worrying about a lot of things these days, but the fear of rising interest rates remains near the top of the list. Not only are savings [...]
The Stock Picker’s Quest for Alpha
Among academics, the active-versus-passive debate often centres on mutual funds. But among DIY investors—who readily concede that mutual funds with hi [...]
Can’t We All Just Get Along?
I’ve never been shy about criticizing actively managed mutual funds, but I’m starting to think this debate is getting old. More than that, I feel like [...]
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 on broad market indicators? I’m essentially talking [...]
Review: The House That Bogle Built
In 1951, a Princeton University student wrote a thesis about the mutual fund industry. “Funds can make no claim to superiority over the investment ave [...]
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 one here.) In this conver [...]
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 investors are understandably concerned a [...]
