Blog

Investing articles can be long and boring.  Why don’t I read the article for you and provide the important message for DIY investing success. Here it is. Larry Swedroe is an excellent commentator and expert on investing. He writes articles for etf.com. He’s also a big believer in index fund investing. He recently published an article discussing how poorly hedge […]

Aside from the actuaries I’ve highlighted in this blog (Malcolm Hamilton and Fred Vettese – our All Stars actuaries), this is the first time I’ve read an actual money manager admit that Canadians do not need 70 or 80 or even 100% of their working income to live well in retirement. And by living well, I mean the same standard […]

From William Bernstein, author of “The Four Pillars of Investing. Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio” and “The Investor’s Manifesto. Preparing for Prosperity, Armageddon, and Everything in Between”. A simple chart that should help you decide how much of your savings you should be willing to invest in stocks. The younger you are, the more time you have to make […]

Short answer. YES! Here’s the math. According to Morningstar, a financial website that knows everything about mutual funds and index funds, the average mutual fund in Canada has a Management Expense Ratio of 2.5%. That means for every dollar you have invested with this fund, they take 2.5% away each and every year. So if you give them $1000 in […]

I’ve met several people over the years who can’t imagine working until they are 65 years old.  Their job is stressful, the hours are long but the pay is good.  It’s a pretty much unavoidable fact that the more money you make, the more demanding the job is.  Most people put up with these work demands because of their lifestyle […]

Investing articles can be long and boring. How about I read the article and provide you with the important information for DIY investing success. Here it is. First, from Warren’s Buffett’s 2018 Letter to Shareholders: If an investor paid 1% in fees for 77 years (the length of time since Mr. Buffett bought his first shares), they would have lost […]

For some people (my father included) the idea of buying a low cost index fund like our investing all stars recommend is just not going to happen.  For these folks investing and trying to beat the market is just too enticing.  Let’s not forget, we’re all human and who among us hasn’t given in to temptation at least once in […]

Investing articles can be long and boring.  How about I read the article and provide the important information for diy investing success. Here it is. From the National Bank of Canada: “In the long run, homeowners often fare financially better than renters because homeownership enables forced savings that accumulate over the years, growing into a sizeable nest egg.”   “homeowners […]

Below you will find a blog post I wrote in June 2014 questioning the “expert” prediction of a well known and respected Canadian economist. His book sold incredibly well and I’m certain many people believed his predictions about oil prices heading for the stars and loaded up on oil stocks and oil company debt. A year and a half later, […]

  In this blog, I tell my readers that the Vanguard low cost index funds VCN, VXC and VAB are highly recommended by our investing all-stars. I personally own both VCN and VXC. However, I have recently stopped buying both and have replaced them with a relatively new product that I’d like to tell you about. It’s also important for […]