Learn before you choose
Guides
Clear explanations, worked examples, and practical steps for Canadian banking and investing decisions.
Investing basics
Investing basics
Can you pick the winning active fund in advance?Canada's latest SPIVA persistence report tests whether a place among yesterday's best active funds lasts long enough to help investors choose.Last reviewed August 2026Why Warren Buffett recommends low-cost index fundsBuffett built his fortune by choosing businesses, but he has repeatedly told most investors to own the market cheaply instead.Last reviewed August 2026Why Reddit keeps saying "just buy XEQT"The Reddit catchphrase makes investing sound like a one-ticker joke. Here is the sensible idea behind it, the risk it leaves out, and the other all-in-one ETFs Canadians can compare.Last reviewed August 2026How index investing worksSee how an index fund uses one simple set of rules to hold a representative share of a market.Last reviewed August 2026Active versus index investingUnderstand the difference between paying a manager to choose investments and following a broad market index at low cost.Last reviewed August 2026Why active investing falls behind after feesSimple market arithmetic explains why active investors, as a group, earn less than index investors after fees.Last reviewed August 2026The real cost of a 1% investment feeSee why a 1% active fund fee can consume a much larger share of the return a manager adds above the market.Last reviewed August 2026How to choose an asset allocationSee how stocks, bonds, time horizon, and comfort with losses work together to shape your portfolio.Last reviewed August 2026
FIRE
FIRE
The boring middle is where FIRE gets strangeFinancial independence, retire early (FIRE) eventually becomes repetitive deposits and long waits. See why that quiet middle can tempt investors to overcomplicate a plan that works.Last reviewed August 2026A sabbatical is a better FIRE calculatorA temporary break can test the assumptions in a financial independence, retire early (FIRE) projection that a calculator cannot see.Last reviewed August 2026Financial independence is more useful before retirementBuild a walk-away fund for the months between leaving on your terms and making a better next move.Last reviewed August 2026Why FIRE needs so many prefixesFinancial independence, retire early (FIRE) has Lean, Fat, Coast, and Barista variants. Most labels describe the same basic plan with one input changed: spending, future contributions, or employment income.Last reviewed August 2026A paid-off house does not pay for retirementIf the house is counted as retirement money, name the transaction that turns it into cash. Otherwise, count the lower housing costs and leave the equity alone.Last reviewed August 2026
Investing tasks
Investing tasks
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