Investorial

Nation, if you’re like me, everyone’s crazed about tax season. I haven’t file my taxes yet, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t done my taxes. There’s a difference! More on that next time..

But why is it a “season”? Why worry about it only this time of the year? Shouldn’t we treat it with an around-the-year preparation attitude? I guess one person simply can’t change the mass hysteria around this topic. But one man is doing his best to help you out — Stephen Colbert. He has the funniest solution to all your tax deduction needs. If you find yourself contemplating the implementation Stephen’s 401K idea, check yourself into the looney bin. Tax avoidance should never be the deciding factor on whether to have kids, and it is probably the least effective solution. The video is right after the jump. (more…)

I am nothing if not consistent, and staunchingly stubborn in my views and opinions. Remember when I first opened the debate on money vs. happiness? Maybe you’ve caught my recent thoughts about lack of money creating unhappiness when I decided to add “The Pursuit Of Happyness” to my list of movies to watch.

And while most people just got over the excitement of the Academy Awards, I’m staying excited to recommend another movie for you! The movie isn’t even out yet, but the theme and inspiration for the movie will certainly add another dimension to the debate of money vs. happiness. I do not believe that money begets happiness, and feel it’s always important to prioritize what’s truly important, even as we choose to accumulate wealth. On March 9th, you may feel the same as me after watching “The Ultimate Gift“. What’s so good about (more…)

You know what really grinds my gears? Personal finance marketing ploys that work! It’s in the media everywhere! I swear that every time I hear “Learn What The Rich Know, That The Poor Don’t!“, an angel somewhere must be losing its wings. Who would fall for that crap? Yet everyday, common folks are baited into believing that its their lack of knowledge causing all their financial woes. Guess what, there are tons of people out there willing to sell you the cure… for suckers!

But it’s not just profit-hungry creeps who exploit this. Even venerable bloggers such as Free Money Finance (update: or Ramit Sethi) can stoop to an eye-grabbing headline once in a while. For argument’s sake, we’ll follow with the shallowest definition of being rich and poor - money! I assert that knowledge is not the obstacle that you have to overcome, but 3 simple human qualities you should be striving for. (more…)

Will Smith’s latest movie “The Pursuit Of Happyness” opened in theaters December 15th, 2006. This isn’t a movie review, but as all my other writings on this blog, it’s my editorial from a financial and a personal perspective.

The movie’s title really spoke to me at a time when I’m trying to decide how happy I currently am, and what is it that I want to pursue; what direction I want to take. The movie is based on a true story. But though most people feel that this story is about the American Dream, my empathy is with the sense of responsibility that the main character, Chris Gardner, had for his situation. Want to know why I feel this? (more…)

GuruWatch, launched recently by Flexo (of Consumerism Commentary blog fame), intrigued me with his recent collection of book reviews about Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump’s new book - Why We Want You To Be Rich.

I guess these 2 “gurus” didn’t mind simply swapping advisors. The opportunity to work on a book together probably incubated from the time they met at those Learning Annex seminars. Are two “gurus” really better than one? Or are the sum of the parts less than the whole? Go ahead and read the reviews, but I believe the comments are more interesting! It’s wonderfully entertaining to analyze the polarizing effect that these gurus have on readers. (more…)

Canadian investors really treat our big banks and their mutual funds as angels. While our American friends keep the pressure on fund companies to lower MERs, Canadians cannot see through the devil’s disguise. I wouldn’t mind as much if those funds performed well, but their abysmal net returns makes me wonder why they can justify those high fees? Our investment watchdogs north of the border have failed in affecting mutual fund fee changes. But instead of playing the victim, why not step up and try to be a solution to the problem? This is the first installment of a series called Canadian Banks / Mutual Funds Watch, that I intend to develop on-going. (more…)

Mutual funds are still the no-brainer solution for the average joe who couldn’t care less about reading financial statements, or spend the time day-trading. Much “marketing” debate has been made about management fees. They’re not wrong to be critical but everything is really dependent on the “net” returns you’re able to achieve. My only concern is that consumers do the minimum work of researching the track-record of the fund and the fund manager. A long, consistent and positive tracking record is a must for active-managed funds.

But when John Bogle, founder of Vanguard, decided to balk the norms of the financial industry and aggressively market passive index funds, it was a strong indictment on the vast majority of managers who fail to beat their corresponding benchmark indexes. Vanguard’s promotion of this strategy still trumpets strongly, but there are signs of shifting towards actively managing their index funds, even if it’s just a little bit! (more…)

If you often read news articles or blogs about investments or personal finance topics, you’ll notice they love to offer to consumers tips, advices, and how-to’s. They’re meant to be informative pieces. But have you ever wondered what the industry players may write and read amongst themselves?

Take for example, this article on Advisor.ca talking up the merits of life-cycle funds and how they may benefit the various distribution channels. That’s right, not investors but distribution channels! You shouldn’t be surprised that the mutual fund industry is all about sales. How else could you explain the number of funds existing and created each year? It’s like all the varieties of mp3 players that keep popping up. Just create a new variety and market it! And marketing is the key to winning this game! Therefore, fund companies have to market to distribution channels via such articles.

Let’s dissect some of the more memorable articles quotes in a tongue-in-cheek manner (a la Jon Stewart), shall we? (more…)