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complete guide to index investing
ETFs & Funds
Why Index Mutual Funds Still Have a Place
Responding to a recent article on mutual funds by Rob Carrick, a Globe and Mail reader rehashed a ...
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 ...
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 ...
Under the Hood: Vanguard Total International Stock (VXUS)
This post is part of a series called Under the Hood, where l take a detailed look at ...
International Tracking Error: Part 3
In this final post in the series on why international index funds performed so poorly in 2009, it’s ...
Why Do Index Funds Use Derivatives?
Earlier this week I described how several US and international equity index funds get their market exposure by ...
Indexing Basics
A Spreadsheet to Manage Multiple Accounts
You’ve got an RRSP with your employer, another with a discount brokerage, and your spouse has a couple ...
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 ...
Debunking Dividend Myths: Part 6
This post is the sixth (and last) in a series exploring the myths and misunderstandings about dividend investing ...
Are Active Funds Adding Value?
Just how well are mutual fund investors faring in Canada? That question isn’t as straightforward as it may ...
When Should You Use an Advisor?
Dan Solin’s excellent new book, The Smartest Portfolio You’ll Ever Own (see my review here), devotes several chapters to ...
Debunking Dividend Myths: Part 4
This post is the fourth in a series exploring the myths and misunderstandings about dividend investing. The goal ...
Financial Planning
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 ...
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 ...
What Is the Advisor’s Role?
John Lawrence Reynolds' newest book, The Skeptical Investor, argues that Canadians were badly served by their advisors during ...
Dividends: Not As Tax-Friendly As You May Think
If your investments include RRSPs, TFSAs and taxable accounts, asset location is an important consideration. The returns of ...
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 ...
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 ...
Behavioural Finance
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Should You Buy Stocks For Your Kids?
If you’re a parent, how can you set your child on the road to investing success? One popular ...
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 ...
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 ...
It’s Time to Reboot Your Portfolio
It’s been a while since the last new article appeared on the Canadian Couch Potato blog, and over ...
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 ...
TD e-Series Returns for 2020
The TD e-Series index mutual funds remain a useful alternative to the asset allocation ETFs that take centre ...
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 ...
Is VRIF Right for Your Portfolio?
In my last few posts, I introduced the newly launched Vanguard Retirement Income ETF Portfolio (VRIF), explained where ...
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