Posts Tagged ‘Investing’

“Risk taking is inherently failure prone. Otherwise it would be called sure-thing taking.” – Jim McMahon The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines risk as the possibility of loss or injury; the chance of something going wrong; an outcome that can be different than expected. People who like the thrill of skydiving or mountain climbing can take great risks…

This is a guest post by Mike, aka The Dividend Guy. He authors The Dividend Guy Blog since 2010 and manages portfolios at Dividend Stocks Rock. He is a passionate investor. For the past five years, I’ve exchanged a lot of email with many of my readers. One of the main topics of discussion is…

Many people are saying that since all stock markets went down in 2007 – 2009, international diversification doesn’t work anymore. How is it supposed to help you when everything is falling apart? Does it even work? Is it worth the trouble? I’ll show you a few examples from recent years so you can see for yourself.…

While investment firms and regulators continue debating over issues like fee disclosure, advisor conflict of interest, and a standard of care for investors, a new breed of investing services has put the industry on notice by bringing low cost investing to the masses. Last year I reviewed the new robo-advisor entrants, but since then Questrade has…

“I’m interested in investing but I don’t really understand how to get started. Could you please explain how to begin investing in index funds?” The work involved in learning about investing may seem overwhelming when you have no idea how to begin. The following is a primer on how to get started investing with an…

My DIY investing journey began after the global financial crisis in 2008-09.  It wasn’t until markets crashed by as much as 50 percent that I started to take notice of my investment statements and performance. Aside from the significant decline in my portfolio, the most alarming number was the 2.7% MER being paid on a…

The first Canadian ETF was created in 1989 and called the TIP-35, which tracked the TSE 35.  Since then, the ETF market has expanded considerably.  Currently, according to BlackRock, there are over 3,000 different ETFs available globally. ETFs started out as a way for investors to tap into the returns of major stock markets using a…

While I continue to battle my behavioural biases when it comes to investing, I’ve at least given some thought as to how I’d make the move to indexing from my current portfolio of dividend stocks.  The answer is a two-fund solution. To make things as simple (and cheap) as possible I’d start by liquidating all…

One of the strongest arguments made by investment industry groups against banning embedded commissions – or the trailer fees paid to advisors when you purchase mutual funds – is that investors don’t want to pay up-front for financial advice. Advocis, which represents financial advisors across Canada, and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association, believe things are…

To be a successful investor you need to control your emotions and commit to a disciplined investment plan. If you have an investment advisor or manager, he or she should have prepared a written investment policy statement (IPS) for you. This goes beyond the boilerplate “Know Your Client” questionnaire we’re familiar with. The IPS is…