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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: A Primer for Canadian Do-It-Yourself Investors
Comments? Questions?
Financial Webring Forum or 
Bogleheads Forum |
Who speaks for investors? [Ellen Roseman, 06May08] "Instead of listening to a committee of investors, the OSC and self-regulatory organizations will listen to each other. They will talk about issues that concern investors — and invite a few investors to chat from time to time — and that’s all... It seems to me there are many articulate people who can speak for investors. There’s no lack of input. The bigger question is: When will the regulators and SROs start listening to investors? And taking action on what they’re told?"
Discuss on FWF
Fee-only must mean just that [Financial Post, 29Apr08] "MacKenzie says the trend has been for some firms originally grounded in true fee-only planning to drift into the more lucrative field of fee-based or what might be more accurately termed 'asset-based' compensation. 'There is a difference between what I would call pure fee-only planning where the fee is based on the time involved, and fee-only planning where the fee is based on the size of the account.' He says a conflict arises in that asset-based fee-only advisors have an incentive to recommend investments with higher growth potential."
Discuss on FWF
Book helps advisers and their clients [Toronto Star, 29Apr08] "Toronto lawyer Ellen Bessner has distilled 20 years of experience defending and teaching financial advisers into a simple book... Tips in her book should make for better advisers, fewer surprises and less misunderstanding. Meanwhile, consumers who read the book will be better equipped to select the sort of adviser who acts with care and professionalism, and know better how to work with that person."
Discuss on FWF
Tough questions for advisors [Strategic Imperatives, 28Apr08] "In recent conversations with financial advisors, I’ve asked them about the tougher questions they’ve gotten from prospects - here are some of the questions which advisors have been asked."
Discuss on FWF
Fee-only pioneers keep time [Financial Post, 22Apr08] "Despite the similarity of terms, there is a huge difference between fee-based and fee-only. True fee-only advisors work like lawyers or accountants, charging by the hour or setting fees for defined tasks, such as wills or tax returns. They do not receive commissions on the sale of securities, investment funds or insurance products nor asset-based fees. More than 10% of the United States' 57,000 certified financial planners are fee-only, but they are relatively rare in Canada."
Discuss on FWF
Fee-based accounts sound good, but they're just as open to abuse [Globe and Mail, 22Apr08] "Securities regulators are taking a close look at an increasingly popular trend where people pay for investment advice through a regular flow of fees based on the size of their account... Reputable people in the investment industry believe fee-based accounts are the most ethical way to do business because they eliminate the bias for advisers to recommend products that benefit them more than clients. But it's now obvious clients can be exploited in fee-based accounts, too. What's an investor to do? Put integrity at the top of your list of requirements when finding an adviser."
Discuss on FWF
The increasing complexity - and masked risks - of wealth management [Globe and Mail, 19Apr08] "In any investment structure, the majority of the extra return, if there is any, belongs to the buyer who is taking the risk. In too many products today, this is not the case. The current generation of structured products have little or no transparency and, as a result, they mask the risks being taken and how the potential rewards are being apportioned... If you don't understand what you're getting into, don't buy it."
Discuss on FWF
And It All Comes Down to This... [WSJ, 06Apr08] [If link is dead, search Archive for "clements", then select 04/06/08 article.] "How can I keep you on track in the years ahead? Here, culled from my two decades as a personal-finance writer, are eight simple suggestions.
1. Embrace humility.
2. Control what you can.
3. Save yourself.
4. Put pen to paper.
5. Keep your balance.
6. Take comfort.
7. Think big.
8. Take the long view."
Discuss on FWF
Performance of Index vs Active Portfolios • A 15-year (ending 31Dec07) performance comparison between portfolios comprised of the median actively managed funds versus similarly-weighted portfolios of index funds. As in all previous years going back to 1998 — before, during and after the infamous technology bubble — the indexed portfolios continue to beat active by a substantial margin. How does your portfolio measure up?
Discuss on FWF
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Older Stuff
Other Stuff
Asset Correlation Data for Canadian InvestorsBuying US Mutual Funds and Stocks from Canada
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 Stuff
Fama 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 News
We 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
Investor Education Month is great, but these sites will help you learn every day [Globe and Mail, 09Oct07] "A spot for more experienced investors is the Financial Webring Forum, where an active participant with the online moniker Bylo Selhi maintains his own website focusing on mutual fund investing. This site is full of links to articles about finance and educational material aimed at the cost-conscious do-it-yourselfer."
Discuss on FWF
Grow your own? [The Gazette, 02Jun07] "Can an individual successfully do it themselves? The answer, according to experts interviewed for this story, is yes, provided they have the desire and devote the time to learn the principles of prudent investing. They also have to make sure they have the discipline to avoid hyperactive trading and control their emotions through market volatility."
Investment books to read [Toronto Star, 04Apr07] "If you want Canadian advice, check out a set of linked websites, at www.financialwebring.com, aimed at helping do-it-yourself investors. In particular, look at these sites... www.bylo.org, by a Toronto man using the pseudonym, Bylo Selhi, who adores John Bogle and seems to have collected every article ever written about index investing."
Take the time to tinker with your finances [The Gazette, 02Jan07] "The beginning of the new year is an ideal time to take a look at your finances and make at least a few low-pain changes that can pay huge dividends over time. Here are 10 suggestions humbly offered to help improve your personal finances."
More...
 No big deal - you don't have to worry about risking your life savings. We do it for you. National Post, 19Feb01 |  National Post, 07May03 |
 Investing web site of the month • March 2002 |
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