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ETFs & Funds
Where Does VRIF’s 4% Payout Come From?
In my last post, I introduced the new Vanguard Retirement Income ETF Portfolio (VRIF), an asset allocation ETF ...
Inside the Horizons One-Ticket ETFs
Are asset allocation ETFs cheap, well-diversified and convenient? Absolutely. Are they optimally tax-efficient? Perhaps not, though any tax ...
Are ETFs Growing for the Wrong Reasons?
On the day his company announced it was acquiring Claymore, BlackRock’s CEO Bill Chinery called ETFs “electric cars ...
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 ...
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 ...
ETF Risks in Perspective: Leveraged ETFs
This post is the second of three that will look at the potential risks that ETFs may pose ...
Indexing Basics
Debunking Dividend Myths: Part 3
This post is the third in a series exploring the myths and misunderstandings about dividend investing. The goal ...
Couch Potato Portfolio Returns for 2013
Here are the 2013 performance figures for my Model Portfolios. Last year was one of stark contrasts: huge ...
Some Advice for New Potatoes
One of the most gratifying things about writing this blog is getting emails from young people who are ...
Worst Mutual Fund Ad of the Year?
The mutual fund industry loves to sell past performance, and it's not above massaging the data to make ...
Lessons From the Last Decade
This has been a scary few months in the markets, and nervous investors may be tempted to second-guess ...
Beating the Market Is a New Idea
Today we take it for granted that virtually all mutual funds and stock pickers are trying to earn ...
Financial Planning
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: Is My Pension Like a Bond?
Q: My wife and I have been using the Couch Potato strategy for a few years now, but ...
What Is the Advisor’s Role?
John Lawrence Reynolds' newest book, The Skeptical Investor, argues that Canadians were badly served by their advisors during ...
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 ...
Why Plans Should Come Before Products
When I wrote the MoneySense Guide to the Perfect Portfolio [now out of print], I waited until Chapter ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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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