Short “Insights” Articles
Are you “Smart Money” or “Dumb Money”?
Amateur investors often look down on professional fund managers thinking they are not worth their fees. Meanwhile, professional fund managers tend to think of amateur investors as “dumb money”. What is “dumb money”? It is investors that invest when the markets are high and then sell when the markets are low.
Read MoreLosing Money by Chasing Yield
The classic truism by Raymond DeVoe Jr. is particularly appropriate today: “More money has been lost reaching for yield than at the point of a gun.” Searching for investments with higher yields has often led to bubbles and has often lost money for investors. For example: The sub-prime mortgage-backed securities that collapsed in 2008 were…
Read MorePaying too much tax? How much is too much?
Do you ever wonder whether you are paying more tax than you need to? Do you hear stories about people claiming all kinds of deductions or about rich people being able to avoid tax? At tax time each year, these questions are foremost in Canadians’ minds.
Read MoreDumbest Investment Line of 2012 – “In these uncertain times”
One of my pet peeves is the phrase “in these uncertain times”. I see it constantly in the media and in financial industry talks and articles. Rarely is anything smart said after “in these uncertain times”. When are times not uncertain? Was 2012 uniquely full of uncertain news? No. Pick any year. If you google…
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