Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) are not the most exciting product. They work sort of like savings accounts in that you deposit money and earn interest, except that the funds are generally locked in for between 1 and 5 years. On their own, they will likely generate much lower long-term returns than a diversified portfolio that … Continue reading Ladder your GICs

While most Canadians seem to think that housing is the best investment you could make, the main reason to own a home is because you need a place to live. As a pure investment, housing has a lot of undesirable qualities: it's expensive to buy and sell (realtor and legal fees, taxes);its value is tied … Continue reading The Real Reason to Own a Home, Aside From Needing a Place to Live

Canadians pay some of the highest mutual fund fees in the world. Morningstar’s Global Investor Experience Study reports that the average fee for the typical mutual fund in Canada is around 2%, compared to 0.6% in the US. It’s even worse for those who get their mutual funds from a commission-based advisor like you would … Continue reading High Mutual Fund Fees are Devastating

Geographic diversification is key to protecting your investment portfolio. Any country’s stock market can experience long periods of underperformance. Japan’s experience If you had invested $10,000 US dollars in Japan’s stock market on March 12, 1996, how much would that be worth on March 19, 2020? $9,600... But that couldn’t happen in Canada Fortunately, Canadians … Continue reading Your Investments Should be Global

One of the most important decisions you will make about investing is the percentage of your portfolio that will be in stocks, bonds and cash. Assuming you invest in low-cost index funds (see Investing Basics), your portfolio’s risk and rate of return will primarily be determined by this decision. Cash If you are saving for … Continue reading Choosing an Appropriate Asset Allocation for Your Investment Portfolio