Posts Tagged ‘Investing’

Mutual funds have been getting a bad rap lately with their high fees, low disclosure and under-performance.  The introduction of ETFs has given investors a lower cost alternative. Even David Chilton did an about face in his new book The Wealthy Barber Returns recommending ETFs instead of mutual funds. It is true that the mutual fund…

I’ve spent a few years dithering about what to do with my RRSP, but since my income has increased over that time I can no longer ignore the tax advantages of making RRSP contributions. After only contributing $1,500 to my RRSP in 2011, I’ve added $5,000 in 2012 and another $5,100 during the first 60…

Conventional wisdom says that when it comes to investing for retirement your exposure to equities should equal about 100 minus your age. That means a 30-something should have up to 70 percent of his or her portfolio in equities to help maximize investment returns over time. Related: Building Your Investment Portfolio As you get older…

I came across an interesting video on CBC News featuring David Chilton, Amanda Lang and Kevin O’Leary.  They were discussing the high costs of Canadian mutual funds, as well as some of the pitfalls to avoid when using ETFs.  It’s just over a year old, but well worth a look. Highest Mutual Fund Costs It…

Capital gains are profits you earn through buying and selling capital assets.  These include, but are not limited to, stocks, mutual funds and bonds. In the US, the IRS estimated that it was losing $11 billion per year in tax revenue by taxpayers misreporting their capital gains.  As a result, in 2011 they implemented new…

Some people have become disenchanted with conventional investments.  With uncertain stock returns and low interest rates many are switching to such unconventional assets such as art and collectibles. Is art an asset or investment? Art as an investment has been considered an interesting and profitable alternative.  Art sales are thriving, with buyers eager to own…

I haven’t always been a DIY investor.  Like many Canadians, I started investing in mutual funds through a financial advisor at my bank. I was getting matching RRSP contributions from my employer, up to 2% of my salary each year, but in order to get the match I had to invest through a specific bank…

One of the most important things to understand about yourself when it comes to finances and investing is your risk tolerance. Your risk tolerance is basically a measure of how much risk you can handle.  This includes your financial ability to handle risk, as well as your emotional ability to understand risk. You need to…

Last week I asked, can you trust advice from your bank?  The bottom line is you should be wary of any advice you receive from someone who can profit from your actions. That doesn’t just hold true for banks and financial advisors, but the same goes for real estate agents, mortgage brokers, insurance brokers and car salesmen. I received…

Investing isn’t rocket science, but our irrational behaviour often leads to poor returns.  For the 20 years ending December 2010, the S&P 500 Index averaged 9.14% a year, but the average equity fund investor earned only 3.83% a year. This happens because we tend to buy after the stock market goes up, and bail when…