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Hello all, I have a $30,000 term deposit with my bank coming up that I made this time-is last year because I wanted to do something with my money more than keep it in a savings account, but didn't really have the time or capacity to research investing at that point. I certainly don't need the money right now, nor will I in the near/medium future as I have a good chunk of cash liquid in savings. Reading through the thread and Canadian Couch Potato, it seems to me that an ETF is definitely the way to go for my goals. Is it a crazy idea to open a QTrade account and shove all that money into XBAL or XGRO? It feels weird to go "All in" but I guess the nature of these funds is that they are, by definition, decidedly NOT "all in." Does the COVID world change anything in any of your eyes when it comes to this subject? My TFSA pot is currently unused. e. the rate is 1.3%, which now that I've done a bit of research, doesn't look so hot... Nofeed fucked around with this message at 14:40 on May 12, 2020 |
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May 12, 2020 14:35
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Less Fat Luke posted:If you have a long way to retirement then XGRO is probably slightly better but if you want to be a little more safe then XBAL is fine too. Also what is the 1.3% rate referring to? Sorry, that's referring to the rate the bank gave me on the term deposit. That's great, thanks for the advice, I'm still debating between the two but I definitely prefer less uncertainty when it comes to money/investments so perhaps the XBAL is the way to go.
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May 12, 2020 15:12
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Thanks for the input and help so far, this thread has been great. After reading more and thinking about my current situation and saving horizon, it does appear that XGRO is probably the right option for me. Here's what I was thinking of doing over the next month: 1. Invest the $30,000 term deposit (Plus my paltry interest on it!) into XGRO in a TFSA account on Qtrade. 2. I'll be receiving a very large tax-free sum from my employer in June, allowing me to top up the TFSA to the current maximum, going "all in" on the same ETF as above, with some to spare to add to my short/medium term savings as well. Which leaves me with a couple questions: 1. Does QTrade support DRIP for XGRO? As I understand it this is probably the best way to "use" the distributions. 2. For my short/medium term savings, I think getting them over into a High Interest Savings account would be prudent as my current financial institution gives me 0.3%. Would anyone have a specific suggestion of institution, or a recommendation for a different approach? The LBC Digital High Interest Savings Account looks like a good option, but I may be missing something in the fine print. 3. Am I missing anything else, generally? What is something you wish you know before you started on your own journeys in this stuff?
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May 13, 2020 16:45
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Moving my eFund over to EQ bank. Anyone want to send me a referral code and get some sweet dollars? If you're not comfortable posting the link here I can be reached at nofeed@fastmail.com as well. Cheers!
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Jun 13, 2020 13:27
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Lexicon posted:Sure why not. Thanks! Account created and funded. Merci beaucoup! e. EQ Bank has a very slick registration, website, and App while offering 2% interest. Would highly recommend. (Well, until it all craps out for some terrible and unforseen reason, but the last 15 minutes have been great!) Nofeed fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Jun 13, 2020 |
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Jun 13, 2020 18:55
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Guest2553 posted:Holidays can be a stressful time, especially in the burning tire fire of a year that is 2020, but if anyone is looking for a glimmer of positivity, here it is: at least you're not this guy. These CAN'T be real... Some Dumbass posted:Good Afternoon,
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Dec 14, 2020 21:12
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Sassafras posted:Your guy has a few dozen posts that include an awful lot of weird contradictory nonsense, possibly just financial-topic trolling, some chance of being a way-into-crypto 'free man', otherwise just someone who sees the world through quite an amazing muddle, and not just because he's quebecois. Definitely sticking to getting my financial advice from Goons in any case. So far the biggest thing I've "screwed up" in my personal finance journey is probably contributing to an RRSP after maxing out my TFSA this year, despite not really being able to use the deferral till next year due to happy largely-working-tax-free-for-2020 reasons, and thus not being as efficient as possible (And is very much a first world problem, I do realize) loving tax deferred accounts man, how do they work.
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Dec 15, 2020 19:39
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Yep, that's the plan! Though on second thought, maybe index investing isn't for me, the folks over at reddit have some GREAT IDEAS about Investing in Bitcoin through tfsa and rrsp that are certain to be far more profitable. At least the top comment is telling the fellow to not... it's not even the only question of the sort on the first page either. I'm going to have to stop reading through these things it's a total rabbit hole
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Dec 16, 2020 06:52
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Rime posted:No I fed the two buy screenshots he posted here into my portfolio app to simulate what he's got if he's still holding. I wonder how many people who make these crazy bets and win actually end up in a long-term strong financial position? My expectation is that, much like some other people who make large amounts of money in a short time (Some actors/celebrities, many professional sportspeople etc) they extrapolate their gains out to infinity and end crashing and burning when their skill/talent/youthful good looks (Read: luck, in the case of the r/wallstreetbets croud) runs out. It is my hope that GhostTTY is able to realize his gains and live a financially worry-free life for the rest of his days. Though, to be in the mindset to make those bets in the first place, I would imagine that the life I propose perhaps is not what they are looking for...
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Jan 3, 2021 17:04
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Kraftwerk posted:If I'm going to be investing on a monthly basis to an ETF, should I do it through Questrade? They haven't stole my money yet! Questrade seems to me like the perfect discount brokerage if you want to make regular purchases of ETFs. ECN fees at 0.0035/share aren't worth worrying about (And if you're clever about adding liquidity with your orders, you can even dodge them, but who cares honestly) If you have a need to rebalance your portfolio (Or, just to figure out what to buy with your new money!) Passiv is a really neat tool, and the "Elite" membership is free for Questrade clients! Otherwise, Questrade supports DRIPs and PACCs for your favourite eligible one-stop shop asset allocation funds, for maximum autopilotage. As far as complaints are concerned, the most frequent ones I see are: 1. Can't journal shares same day for Norbert's Gambit; 2. Terrible margin rates; and 3. Just generally not a ton of support if you want to be a cool high roller stock picker dude; But I have a feeling none of those three things apply to you, so in that case I would recommend it! e: I forgot a semicolon kill me now Nofeed fucked around with this message at 16:33 on Feb 2, 2021 |
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Feb 2, 2021 16:27
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Vasler posted:What's a good mix of ETFs to buy from Vanguard for this type of situation? Check out the model portfolios at https://www.canadianportfoliomanagerblog.com/blog/ The asset allocation etfs offered by Vanguard, Blackrock, etc are great choices for a one-stop low-cost globally diversified portfolio, Justin at the above link goes into super detailed and nerdy analysis about them in some blog posts. Ticker examples: VGRO (20% bonds), VBAL (40%) etc. You’ll want to find yourself a “discount brokerage” that you can self-direct your portfolio in. There’s been a lot of recent chat in the thread about Canadian options. Questrade is popular and the platform I started on. No major complaints as a buy-and-hold investor; buying is free and the interface isn’t complete garbage. You’ll be able to initiate a transfer from your discount brokerage of choice asking your old financial institution to pretty please send everything over - especially useful for RRSP and TFSA accounts, so that you don’t need to worry about the effects of withdrawing funds and trying to recontribute them elsewhere.
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Feb 3, 2021 04:12
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Hey no problem! I knew nothing about this stuff until I read the thread and asked a bunch of questions, it’s generally full of useful people. I’d definitely get started on signing up soonest, it will take some time for your brokerage account to get set up so may as well get that iron in the fire. Transfers can be initiated from the receiving institution, and if both are set up to use ATON (Canadian standard for this sort of stuff) it will be a seamless experience. I’ve only ever transferred ETFs this way so it worked out easily and quickly for me. Others in the thread may be able to comment, and provide personal experience if you want to divulge who you’re with now and what type of instrument your money is in. e: that’s a great link from pokeyman above ref the subject! Nofeed fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Feb 3, 2021 |
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Feb 3, 2021 04:33
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RuBisCO posted:Thanks! I was pretty proud of myself and everyone else in my life is a financial disaster so I can't go around flexing on them. Way more detail than you could ever want comparing the Vanguard and iShares offerings e. where is your no name gang tag from?? It's amazing! e2. wow they're everywhere, I have avs tuned off while phone postin' so this is a suprise Nofeed fucked around with this message at 19:48 on Feb 4, 2021 |
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Feb 4, 2021 19:46
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Cold on a Cob posted:I go with iShares because they're a bit less Canada heavy but it probably barely matters in a 20+ year time frame. If anyone was curious about Vanguard's thought process on selecting home country bias, you can read all about it HERE! It's a quick and good read on the subject, would highly recommend.
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Feb 4, 2021 19:56
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It looks like most of the banks/brokerages are still in the same boat, from the complaints I've been hearing.
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Feb 7, 2021 23:40
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Cyril Sneer posted:I've read a few articles about Questrade's robo-investing option, which I think they just call "portfolios"? I'm a Questrade customer where I've just got some money sitting in a TFSA that I should do something with - but I can't seem to find how to actually, uhhh, access/get to/set one up. Has anyone done this before? Justin Bender has really awesome guides and resources for index investing with ETFs. He can be found at https://www.canadianportfoliomanagerblog.com. He does a lot of work with Dan Bortolloti over at Canadian Couch Potato as well, another excellent resource: https://canadiancouchpotato.com. Give Justin's video on asset allocation ETFs a watch. With your current account at Questrade you'll be able to get invested as soon as you're ready! One neat feature is that you can submit a request to have the dividends immediately reinvest as more shares - useful once you build up a large enough amount to do so. On some of the products (Namely, iShare's offerings of XGRO and XBAL) you can set up a PACC, so that funds are automagically removed from your bank and used to purchase more shares on a regular basis of your choosing.
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Feb 9, 2021 16:58
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Kraftwerk posted:If you expect to get paid a bonus that would cover the entirety (or majority of your debt) and have no immediate need for purchases or savings, is it better to take the tax hit and pay the debt down? Or should it still go to an RRSP to mitigate your tax exposure? The simplified view would be to compare the interest rate of your debt with the expected return of your investments. Would you take the "guaranteed" return from paying down your debt over the potential return of whatever your chosen portfolio is?
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Feb 10, 2021 00:48
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Voodoofly posted:Basically we are now in the market for a new bank, so any recommendations are welcome. We figured we would check out Vancity but at this point any bank that actually responds to a phone call or an email would be great. I like Vancity. No fees, pretty much just does what it says on the tin. Plenty of branches with helpful friendly people working in them (Seriously, compare and contrast by walking into a TD sometime) I've never had an issue with their phone support, but I also haven't had a need to call them since COVID so who knows how they're faring. The App and Website are fine. Not the best ever, but functional and does what you need it to do. The credit cards they have aren't the most competitive, but it seems like you potentially already have one you like? You're still better off going to an online bank for a HISA though - but that applies to any real-life bank. e: Holy poo poo yeah get rid of that 8.25%! That's awesome that you can just kill it!
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Feb 10, 2021 01:20
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DeadMansSuspenders posted:https://www.coindesk.com/first-north-american-bitcoin-etf-approved-by-canadian-securities-regulator Weak. Tell me when the triple leveraged version comes out, only then can I YOLO my TFSA to the moon!
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Feb 12, 2021 17:36
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slidebite posted:Is this a suitable thread to specifically talk about retirement as well? If this isn't the place, then I don't know where else would be! Not that I'll be much of a help, mind. IIROC weighing in on the recent surge in brokerage accounts being opened: quote:Since the start of the pandemic, there has also been a significant surge in inquiries and complaints to IIROC's Complaints & Inquiries team. Between March 2020 and January 2021, DIY investors' inquiries and complaints are up by 270% compared to the same period in 2019.
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Feb 14, 2021 19:06
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 Hey, uh, Questrade, I realize that it's a busy time of year for you, but... uh, 3 years...?
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Feb 22, 2021 12:57
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Kraftwerk posted:Here's another thing I don't really understand regarding ETFS. Return of capital will affect the adjusted cost basis of your position. Receiving a dividend is, functionally, more or less no different than selling a percentage of your portfolio worth the same number of dollars (Details are in the taxes - dividends, pay tax this year. Appreciation, capital gains realized when selling) As soon as I hear "Passive Income" in relation to personal finance alarm bells start going off in my head, because it is generally a term used by people trying to sell you some type of trading/retail investment course scam thing on TikTok or Instagram (Or by people who suggest becoming a petty tyrant of multiple rental properties, or by proponents of dividend investing strategies)
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Feb 25, 2021 07:06
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Kraftwerk posted:I’m not inclined to disagree but I wonder if the 20% bond portion helps with retaining gains during market downturns in exchange for slightly less growth. The PACC on the iShares products are pretty awesome. Turn on the drip too for ultimate  investing! As far as you bond allocation is concerned, though your friend is correct in that you would expect to have a greater return by going all equities, that assumes you are a perfectly frictionless, massless, spherical, and rational investor. The best asset allocation is the one that keeps you in the market when it inevitably drops, as opposed to panicking and selling low.If you want to understand how unfortunately complex the RRSP investment decision is, feel free to take a gander over to Retail Investor. Buddy has a nice spreadsheet you can use to model your planned contributions with. Kraftwerk posted:I have a side goal where I’d like to invest in an ETF that focuses on alternative energy companies. Like renewables, nuclear, fusion and other technologies designed to mitigate climate change. This is more of a hobby investing thing because I like the idea of these industries and want to contribute to better energy options. I also want exposure to companies leading the way in battery technologies and some up and coming stocks that seek to create new waves in that direction. This would strictly be for buy and hold purposes rather than short term profits. A note on purchasing an alternate energy ETF: Your stated goal in doing so is that you want to "contribute to better energy options." Purchasing a company's stock on the market does not in any way support or contribute to said company. The person on the other end of the trade is another retail investor like you, or perhaps some manner of institutional fund. If it makes you feel good then OK, but just know that it's completely useless at actually making any sort of change in the world, with the exception of adding uncompensated risk to your portfolio. This is your one chance to use the dread engine of capitalism in your favour, best take maximum advantage of it. Kraftwerk posted:My last concern is that I feel (emphasize feel) that something isn’t right with the US stock market. Industry fundamentals do not back up current stock valuations in my opinion. There’s no way any of this physically makes sense. I’m also worried about inflation and bond yields seem to be up which backs this up. Based on this belief I have no idea how to invest my money. What do you guys think? I think you're on the right track for investing your money! The markets are always dumb and the system is stupid but it's the best way to prevent you from eating cat food in old age.
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Feb 28, 2021 00:29
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Subjunctive posted:Given that companies often buy other companies using their stock, a stock price and higher market can be to a company’s advantage. Sure, the price of a stock can be important for that company in certain circumstances - but are you not implicitly suggesting here that trading volume is responsible for raising the price of a security?
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Feb 28, 2021 01:33
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As per usual, there's an excellent and relevant Ben Felix video on the subject. Further resources in the description box thingy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwl3-jBNEd4
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Mar 1, 2021 22:12
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I always feel like a cool cyberpunk hacker whenever I pull off Norbert's Gambit. The not cool part is that we actually do live in a cyberpunk dystopia, just not the neat neon kind, alas.
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Mar 2, 2021 22:37
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a primate posted:Alright, thanks. I’ll have a look at that link and check in again if I’m having trouble navigating things. Thanks for the advice, it’s much appreciated! Generally a diversified portfolio would seek to cover the following equity markets: Canada USA Developed International Emerging Then add a Canadian bond fund for your fixed income allocation. You can easily replicate one of the "ridiculous" portfolios from Justin Bender over at the Portfolio Manager Blog, using equivalent eSeries funds instead of the Vanguard or iShares offerings (Step 1 on the same page will also help you with thinking about your preferred fixed income allocation. You can then pick the appropriate allocation from Step 2 to figure out what your target weightings should be) The difference between 5% here and there in your allocation isn't going to make too much of a difference, so don't sweat too much about it, but having a goal that you are constantly aiming towards will help keep you disciplined! e: totally didn't notice the excellent link from provided by xtal above to the Couch Potato that covers basically everything I've said but better. If you're looking for help with asset allocation though, the link in this post might be able to help a bit. Nofeed fucked around with this message at 20:15 on Mar 9, 2021 |
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Mar 9, 2021 20:11
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Mantle posted:"Free" or flat rate? I only see questrade, qtrade, and viitual brokers doing free ETF buys. Qtrade is only free on certain ETFs, and only for trades over $1000 - doesn't seem worth it to me at all. Questrade seems fine if all you're doing is buying and holding ETFs and nothing more complex than, say, running Norbert's Gambit. It's probably the best platform overall, assuming the free Passiv elite subscription continues in perpetuity. Wealthsimple Trade would probably be the closest competitor for the buy and hold ETF investor, but they currently handle USD rather poorly if you're into that.
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Mar 15, 2021 21:13
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Kal Torak posted:What are you talking about? Nobody has free trades unless you are talking about the handful of brokers that allow free ETF buying That is, in fact, exactly what we're talking about.
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Mar 15, 2021 21:21
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Killingyouguy! posted:My chief concern is accidentally investing in the fossil fuel industry. If I get poor from not investing then so be it I'd rather be poor than have the blood of the planet on my hands. My understanding is that all the 'green' mutual funds still invest a bunch in oil and poo poo but also throw in like, a single producer of cardboard straws or whatever the gently caress. Here are the top ten holdings of WSRD and WSRI, the two funds that compose the equity portion (International Developed and North America, respectively) of a Wealthsimple SRI(Tm) Portfolio code:code:Luckily for you, owning a small slice of a fossil fuel company doesn't result in any more oil being removed from the earth than would have had you not owned that tiny slice, it only entitles you to a small amount of the profit generated thereof, so invest freely and with no guilty mind!
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Mar 15, 2021 23:54
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Killingyouguy! posted:That's not my understanding of how investing works? I thought the point was I hand over my money so the company can spend it to do some activity which generates a profit and I get a slice of the profit. If I don't hand over my money it becomes (very very very...) slightly more expensive for the company to do their work of removing oil from the ground The vast vast vast majority of the time, by the time shares are available for you to purchase on the market, the issuing company has already raised the capital from their sale when issued through an underwriter - you're buying used. Definitely check out the prospectus of any fund before buying. Yahoo is still somehow relevant in the internet finance world, and a good place to quickly check what the top ten holdings of a particular fund are, for example. Just search the ticker and yahoo finance then click around a bit.
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Mar 16, 2021 00:47
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Square Peg posted:I'd argue there is a significant enough difference between consuming things that we need in our society that are made from petroleum and literally profiting from the actions of petroleum companies via buying and holding their stock that it's not really a fair comparison. Company stock is also a consumption good “that you need” in a society that doesn’t guarantee a comfortable and dignified retirement.
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Mar 25, 2021 05:55
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pokeyman posted:The 4% rule guy thinks it could be the 4.5% rule on https://rationalreminder.ca/podcast/135, for what it's worth. It's a good chat about when the 4% rule is and isn't appropriate. There's a transcript there too if audio isn't your preferred format. I think we're at the point where there's not a single Canadian investing topic that hasn't been covered in detail by one of the PWL crew - whether Ben, Justin, or Dan.
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Apr 6, 2021 18:34
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And if you do want to do something a bit more complex than just buying XEQT, Passiv makes it nearly as simple. The elite tier with all the cool wiz-bang features is free for Questrade users.
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May 24, 2021 03:08
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Might be worth looking into American brokerages that do business in Canada as well, such as IBKR, but this is definitely far beyond my knowledge.
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May 26, 2021 12:31
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VelociBacon posted:Thanks guys. If I understand correctly that I can contribute up to 18% of my last year's earnings, then I have some space above the 12k. I largely neglect my RRSP in favor of TFSA contributions (work in healthcare, have the govt pension) so I also have a lot of contribution room carried over from previous years. Posting the obligatory "RRSPs are more confounding than you previously thought" link. TLDR; deferring your deduction is almost never worth it, estimate how much you will want to deduct for the year and make that your contribution. There's a good spreadsheet on the website you can use to model different strategies with break-even points helpfully calculated etc. There are a lot of weird things like the child/workers benefits that can be minmaxed for by way of RRSP contributions as well.
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Jun 24, 2021 21:37
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DrBox posted:Hello, You could try a high(er) interest savings account with an online bank. Comparisons HERE! I've been quite happy with EQBank, which admittedly is a bit of a thread favourite. Ask around for a referral link and you can get a free 2x 
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Jul 14, 2021 09:25
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virinvictus posted:Is Canadian Couch Potato guy done blogging? I know he was done with his podcast, but I like his style. He’s with PWL now!
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Aug 9, 2021 16:01
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Bilirubin posted:Madness  Get your investments the hell out of there. If you go with Questrade, you also get a complementary Elite subscription to Passiv, a very clever service that will make balancing your portfolio an easy one-click operation, if the one-stop-shop asset allocation EFTs aren’t your thing.
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Feb 26, 2022 02:21
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As a person on the internet with an opinion, which therefore qualifies me as an expert in this area, you sound like the ideal “buy xeqt/xgro/xetc on an internet discount brokerage” kinda investor.
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Feb 26, 2022 02:52
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