In my last post I reviewed the returns of my model ETF portfolios in 2021. Now let’s take a look at how the TD e-Series index mutual funds performed during the year. We’ll start with the returns of the four individual building blocks. A reminder that published mutual fund returns are always net of fees, and they assume all distributions are reinvested. Fund nameFund code2021 return TD Canadian... Source ..read more

Well, another year is in the books and it’s time to review how investors fared if they used one of my model portfolios during 2021. Overall, the past year was very different from 2020: we didn’t experience any gut-wrenching market declines, for one. Moreover, while stocks and bonds both delivered excellent returns in 2020, they diverged widely in 2021. This was the second year in which my model... Source ..read more

It’s been a while since the last new article appeared on the Canadian Couch Potato blog, and over two years since the last podcast. So I’m pleased to share the reason for the long silence: I’ve been busy on a new book called Reboot Your Portfolio: 9 Steps to Successful Investing with ETFs. The official publication date is November 1, but the book is already available for pre-order on Amazon and... Source ..read more

Asset allocation ETFs were revolutionary when they appeared in 2018, but they were hardly the first products that allowed Canadian investors to own a diversified index portfolio with a single fund. Way back in 2008, the online bank ING Direct launched what they called the Streetwise Funds. Like the one-ticket ETFs that followed a decade later, these mutual funds held a mix of Canadian... Source ..read more

All investors care deeply about their returns, and with good reason. If you’re an active investor, you’ll want to compare the performance of your portfolio to an index benchmark to see whether you (or your advisor) added value with stock selection or market timing. Even if you’re an indexer, you may want to compare your personal rate of return against that of a model ETF portfolio. Source ..read more

Are asset allocation ETFs cheap, well-diversified and convenient? Absolutely. Are they optimally tax-efficient? Perhaps not, though any tax edge you might get from using multiple ETFs and asset location strategies is likely to be outweighed by the additional costs and complexity. But what if there was an asset allocation ETF that promised better tax-efficiency without significantly higher fees or... Source ..read more

The ongoing popularity of asset allocation ETFs is undoubtedly a good thing—maybe even revolutionary. Canadians have enthusiastically embraced the one-ticket portfolios from Vanguard and iShares in particular—VGRO alone has $1.7 billion in assets. (BMO’s smaller family of one-ETF portfolios is also excellent.) Never one to miss jumping on a bandwagon, other fund providers have recently launched... Source ..read more

Investors using the TD e-Series mutual funds may have noticed an unusual episode at year-end. The TD International Index Fund (TDB911), which has been making quarterly distributions for years, did not make one in December 2020. This has caused some confusion, so let’s try to clear up The Curious Case of the Missing Distribution. The first thing to appreciate is that fund investors didn’t get short... Source ..read more

The TD e-Series index mutual funds remain a useful alternative to the asset allocation ETFs that take centre stage in my model portfolios. Following on the heels of our detailed look at the performance of the Vanguard and iShares portfolios in 2020, let’s look at what the e-Series funds delivered last year. Here’s how the four individual building blocks performed in 2020. Remember, as always... Source ..read more

Just about everyone was happy to wave goodbye to 2020. By the spring it was shaping up to be the worst year for markets since 2008: when the market touched bottom on March 23, Canadian, U.S. and international equities were all showing huge losses. From peak to trough, Canadian equities had declined more 37%, and foreign markets saw losses between 26% and 29%. Even the safety net had gaping holes... Source ..read more