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Finding the Right Advisor
One of my favourite financial authors, William Bernstein, used to recommend that investors ditch their financial advisor and handle their portfolios themselves. But in his 2010 book, The Investor’s...
View ArticleGlobe and Mail Best Blog Award
I’m pleased to announce that Canadian Couch Potato has been selected as the top investing blog in Canada by the Globe and Mail. The article appears in today’s issue of the paper and online here. I’d...
View ArticleWhy Staying the Course Isn’t “Doing Nothing”
On Tuesday I linked to a poll of some 200 institutional investors who were asked about their outlook for global equity markets. The smart money seems to be evenly split between buyers, sellers,...
View ArticleCouch Potato Live in Toronto
Looking for something to do on Wednesday, November 9? ING DIRECT is hosting a public event to discuss personal finance with four panelists, including yours truly. The other three are: Rubina Ahmed-Haq,...
View ArticleETF 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...
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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...
View ArticleWhy 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...
View ArticleWhat’s Next for iShares — Part 2
Here is part two of my interview with Mary Anne Wiley, Head of iShares, who explains what to expect in the wake of BlackRock’s acquisition of Claymore. You can read the first part of the interview...
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ETF Webinar Today
This afternoon (Tuesday, August 14) I will be participating in a webinar called “ETFs in Portfolio Management and Construction,” moderated by Yves Rebetez of ETF Insight. I’ll be joined by two industry...
View ArticleCouch Potato Portfolio Returns for 2012
I think we can safely say we are now almost four years into the most disrespected bull market in history, to borrow a phrase from Alexander Green. In a recent roundtable in The Wall Street Journal, the...
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Canadian Couch Potato Threatened By Legal Action
[Note: This post was an April Fool's joke!] I regret to announce that this blog is in jeopardy of being shut down due to pending legal action. On the afternoon of Friday, March 29, I received a letter...
View ArticleMore DIY Investing Challenges
In my last post, I looked at some of the biggest challenges faced by DIY investors. I came up with the list after working with clients of PWL Capital’s DIY Investor Service. The theory behind indexing...
View ArticleUS Investors in Canada: What to Watch For
Index investors in the US have always had it easier than Canadians, thanks to lower costs and more choices. Unfortunately, if those investors move to Canada, their plight becomes much more difficult....
View ArticleIs It Time for Tax Loss Selling?
Last October, Justin Bender and I published a white paper on tax loss selling with ETFs. It explained how index investors can harvest capital losses while maintaining a consistent exposure to the...
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How Taxes Can Affect ETF Performance
In our recent white paper, After-Tax Returns, Justin Bender and I introduced a methodology for measuring the effect of income taxes on ETF returns. Justin also created a downloadable spreadsheet you...
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Do You Have the Advisor Six-Pack?
When people criticize the financial industry in Canada, the target of their wrath is usually high fees and underperformance. These are huge issues and, of course, they go hand-in-hand. But the more I...
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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...
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Taking ETF Trades to the Next Level
Experienced investors know the theory: ETFs are supposed to trade very close to their net asset value (NAV). And most of the time they do. But this week my PWL Capital colleague Justin Bender and I...
View ArticleGlobe and Mail Best Blog Award
I’m pleased to announce that Canadian Couch Potato has been selected as the top investing blog in Canada by the Globe and Mail. The article appears in today’s issue of the paper and online here. I’d...
View ArticleWhy Staying the Course Isn’t “Doing Nothing”
On Tuesday I linked to a poll of some 200 institutional investors who were asked about their outlook for global equity markets. The smart money seems to be evenly split between buyers, sellers,...
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