by Sandi Martin | Aug 26, 2014 | Because Money, Blog, Investing, Personal Finance
This month, we were delighted to welcome Michael Katchen of WealthSimple to the show to talk about what’s wrong with the asset management industry, how he and others like him plan to break it, and why regular Canadians who, for whatever reason, shouldn’t...
by Sandi Martin | Aug 5, 2014 | Blog, Investing, Personal Finance
Before I let you read the rest of this post, I want us to agree on a set of facts: It is extremely rare (but not impossible) for any one investor, investment professional, or investment management company to consistently and reliably outperform the market for any...
by Sandi Martin | Oct 15, 2013 | Blog, Investing, Management Expense Ratio, MER, Personal Finance
The point: management expense ratios do a poor job of communicating the price you’re paying for a mutual fund and the value you’re getting in return. This is the second of a two-part rant, and you can find the first part here. If you walked into the...
by Sandi Martin | Sep 27, 2013 | Blog, Investing, Management Expense Ratio, MER, Personal Finance
The point: When you buy mutual funds from the bank, or an advisor, or through your employee plan, how do you know if you’re getting what you’re paying for? I’m not a fortune teller, but I can probably guess what mutual funds you hold in your RRSPs....
by Sandi Martin | Jul 16, 2013 | Best Discount Brokerage, Blog, Investing, Personal Finance
The point: If you’re starting out as an index investor, and are going to be regularly contributing in a self-directed brokerage account, the best discount brokerage for you is TD Direct Investing, but not for any of the reasons most reviewers list. *UPDATED*...
by Sandi Martin | Jul 10, 2013 | Blog, Investing, Mutual Funds, Personal Finance
Mutual funds are profoundly boring, although their ETF cousins have been known to be a little saucy. As an investor, you probably have a vague feeling that by buying mutual funds, you’re performing the financial equivalent of buying a pink tract home and driving...
