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The objectives of this website are to encourage you to take more responsibility for your financial future, to help you learn how to invest on your own, and hopefully to make at least a modest contribution to achieving your financial goals. See also: finiki, the Canadian financial Wiki and A Primer for Canadian DIY Investors
Regulators starting to tighten leash on ETFs [Globe and Mail, 15Mar12] "Exchange traded funds are all the rage these days, and regulators have quickly realized that oversight hasn’t kept up with the explosion. Not only do regulators want to ensure that investors aren’t getting screwed, they’re also worried about the effects ETFs have on marketplace stability. The Bank of England recently pointed out that the complexity, opacity and interconnectedness of ETFs can “amplify propagate stress across markets.” In layman’s terms: they can really mess things up."
The Bogle Issue [Journal of Indexes, March/April 2012] "If one person can be credited with making the existence of this publication possible, it would be John Bogle. Yes, indexes have been around for over a century, but it wasn't until Mr. Bogle launched the Vanguard 500 and kick-started an entire investment phenomenon that they were viewed as anything other than measures of the market. So some 35 years after the advent of the first index fund, it makes sense to pay tribute to the man who started it all."
Is 'Derisking' Even Riskier? [WSJ, 25Feb12] "When you 'derisk,' be sure you understand whether you are eradicating risk—or just replacing old risks with new ones... When everyone seems to want to unload the same risks at once, it is a good idea to ask yourself whether joining them might be the biggest risk of all."
Understanding MERs, management fees and other costs [Globe & Mail, 23Feb12] "You can’t control what the market will do from one day to the next, but by understanding management fees, MERs and TERs, you can get a grip on your investing costs. Keeping these costs down is one of the secrets to building wealth over the long run."
The flaws in Canada's financial adviser system - The Globe and Mail [Globe & Mail, 17Feb12] "In the investing industry, the line between what’s best for the client and what’s good for the adviser is easily blurred. Advisers want their clients to enjoy high returns, but they need to make money, and the potential for large rewards is tempting. That creates an inherent conflict of interest in many client-adviser relationships, critics say, and too many investors are left in the dark about the fees they’re paying to advisers and the effect those fees have on returns."
A dozen ways financial advisers can stretch the truth - The Globe and Mail [Globe & Mail, 17Feb12] "When people make a living selling products, they sometimes stretch the truth to make a sale. It certainly happens in the financial industry, where people spout all kinds of nonsense to get investors to buy what they’re selling. Here are 12 examples of untruths told by investment advisers who put making the sale above what’s best for clients."
Why "stay the course" still makes sense [Vanguard, 19Jan12] "Yes, the future is ultimately unknowable. What you can know, however, is your personal time frame for reaching your financial goals and your personal tolerance for taking financial risk... If you have a longer time frame—as most people do when investing for retirement—then we believe a balanced and diversified portfolio can help you reach your goals. And if you lose a lot of sleep worrying about your investments, you should probably factor your lower personal risk tolerance into your asset allocation."
Your own worst investing mistakes [Canadian Business, 19Jan12] "Investing is a marathon, not a sprint. Look at last year’s winners if you must. But don’t buy anything based solely on past performance. The biggest investment enemy, after all, is the one we face in the mirror each day."
Older Stuff
Other StuffAsset Correlation Data for Canadian InvestorsBuying US Securities from Canada • US Estate Tax Issues for Canadians Bylo's contribution to improving Canadian literacy Can you afford to invest in mutual funds? Can you find an honest advisor or broker? ASL Direct offers mutual fund trailer fee rebate CIBC's special MER rebate offer to index fund clients with large accounts How Much Can You Safely Withdraw From Your Savings During Retirement? How To Measure The True Cost Of Holding A Fund Exchange-Traded Funds and Indexes Investment Aphorisms Low-MER No-Load Index Funds Available in Canada On MERs, Taxes and Partners Mutual Fund Fee Impact Calculator updated Performance of Indexed vs Actively-Managed Portfolios for 15 years ending 31Dec07 Real Return Bonds for Canadian Dummies Rogues' Gallery The Stromberg Files Why Diversify? Random StuffFama Factors Out French: "I Did All The Work"Bylo rebuts Index-fund pros and cons (and con jobs?) Bylo rebuts Indexing caused "devastating losses" Bylo rebuts The problem with indexes Confessions of a Former Mutual Funds Reporter Bylo rebuts Investment Café Dear Bylo On Buy-and-Hold Top ten reasons NOT to index Bylo rebuts Index funds have their dark side, too Seven Investing Principles Investing with hindsight What's in the bag? Plain language risk disclosure Securities markets revealed Improbable probabilities Investing's rule-of-40 What's a billion? Something to think about Warren Buffett's Quiz for Investors Most clients lost with Lynch? Call it the Magellan Myth Dilbert, Alex and Herman on Investing More cartoons on: Investing, Mutual Funds, Retirement, Stocks, Finance Bylo in the NewsWe did it! They heard us! Finance department news release of 07Sep00Thank you to everyone who spoke up against the proposed tax changes to US funds and ETFs held by Canadians. With your help we made the Finance department listen to ordinary Canadians before they introduced legislation that would have devastated many of our portfolios. See also Revised Draft of Legislative Proposals for the Taxation of NRTs and FIEs and Proposed rules on treatment of FIEs. new Primer on ETFs: Some help amid the bear market [Globe & Mail, 21Mar09] "bylo.org: A do-it-yourself investing advocate known as Bylo Selhi maintains this site, and the emphasis is on index funds and ETFs. You'll find a helpful list of links to the websites of the Canadian and U.S. companies offering ETFs, as well as to a web page with a complete inventory of ETFs listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. If you want to better understand the indexes that ETFs track, this site has links for them as well." Seven essential websites for becoming a better investor [Globe & Mail, 29Jul08] "Financial wisdomforum Forum is the online financial-discussion board with the highest level of discourse on investing subjects in Canada, thanks in large part to frequent contributions from knowledgeable participants such as Bylo Selhi (an index-fund advocate), Shakespeare (the author of an online investment primer) and Yielder (a dividend investor). And they don’t mind answering questions." Index investing: 'Just set it and forget it' [Toronto Star, 19May08] "Index funds are suitable for those who have little money to invest and want to buy small amounts on a regular basis. You can find links to low-cost index funds at www.bylo.org/idxfunds.html... Index investing makes sense for people who don't find finance fascinating... It's the perfect 'set it and forget it' strategy, giving satisfactory results and requiring very little attention, so you can get on with your life."
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