Why We Love the One We’re With
Larry Swedroe’s new book, Investment Mistakes Even Smart Investors Make and How to Avoid Them, includes 77 common behavioural blunders. I don’t think there’s anyone alive who hasn’t made at least a do [...]
Couch Potato Portfolio 2011 Returns
The 2011 performance results are now in for my model Couch Potato portfolios. Many thanks to Justin Bender at PWL Capital in Toronto for providing these data. Complete performance results are availabl [...]
Does the Couch Potato Work After Age 50?
Readers often ask me whether the Couch Potato strategy is suitable for investors  approaching retirement, or even those who have stopped working. In his recent book, Retirement’s Harsh New Realities, [...]
An ETF Creation Story
The Couch Potato strategy thrives on simplicity, but advanced index investors (geeks) should understand what goes on under the hood of ETFs. One of the most important concepts is how ETF shares are cr [...]
The Timeless Harmony of a Balanced Portfolio
Deciding on the right asset allocation can cause investors a lot of grief—far too much, in fact, since there is no such thing as a perfect mix of stocks and bonds. In his excellent book Your Money and [...]
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 that you recommend in your model portfolios. But when I checked with my accountant, he warned me that I could [...]
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 funds. In the September 2011 issue of Performance Chaser magazine, you place the follo [...]
Can the Pros Time the Market?
I never meant to make you cry And though I know I shouldn’t call It just reminds us of the cost Of everything we’ve lost Bad timing, that’s all – Bad Timing, Blue Rodeo One of the promises made by act [...]
ETF Risks in Perspective: Securities Lending
This is the final post in a series of three looking at the potential risks that ETFs may pose to the stability of financial markets. The previous two discussed synthetic and leveraged ETFs. Now we’ll [...]
Vanguard Drops the Gloves
It’s not easy to make a splash in the crowded ETF space these days. Many of the new products we’ve seen in the last year or so have been clones of existing ETFs or exotic specialty funds. Any Canadian [...]
