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 balanced portfolios delivered negative returns—somethi [...]
What to do if you have too much in one stock
Nick is retiring with one-third of his investments in his employer's stock. What's the best way to diversify without taking a huge tax hit? [MoneySense]
Which ETFs for an 18-year-old starting a TFSA?
Sam wants to helps his daughter set up a TFSA. How should he get started? [MoneySense]
How Foreign Withholding Taxes Affect Returns
In our newly revised white paper, Justin Bender and I explain the hidden cost of foreign withholding taxes on US and international equity ETFs. I gave an overview of the most important points in my pr [...]
What (Returns) to Expect When You’re Expecting
Investing decisions should always be made in the context of your overall financial plan. And although we know short-term forecasts are futile, a retirement plan needs to include some assumptions about [...]
How Contributions Affect Your Rate of Return
Whenever I update the returns of my model portfolios, readers ask how the performance would have been different had they added money to the portfolios money each month. This question gets to the heart [...]
How Budget 2015 Will Affect Investors
Yesterday’s federal budget included several changes that will affect investors—in the future if not immediately. Let’s look at the three most important announcements, with a focus on how they may appl [...]
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 [...]
An Interview With Wealthsimple: Part 1
Wealthsimple is one of several online investment firms that have launched in Canada this year. They’ve often been referred to as robo-advisors, though they reject that name, and with good reason. Whil [...]
How to Estimate Stock and Bond Returns
Even the simplest financial plan requires assumptions about how your investments will perform. We know these assumptions can never be perfectly accurate, but they need to be thoughtful and reasonable. [...]