Comments on: Adventures of a DIY Investor, Part 1

By: Cogsy

Cogsy — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:41:03 +0000

Am I able to purchase both e-Series index funds and ETFs within a TD account? Or do I need to set up an account with a discount brokerage for the ETFs? I know I can’t get the e-Series Index funds from a company other than TD.

By: Adventures of a DIY Investor, Part 1

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By: Canadian Capitalist

Canadian Capitalist — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:13:03 +0000

sred: I track a couple of couch potato portfolios — for smaller portfolios, I use the TD e-Series Index Funds and for larger portfolios I use low-cost, broad-market index funds and more diversification by adding real-return bonds, REITs and emerging markets:

http://www.canadiancapitalist.com/category/investing/sleepy-portfolio

By: sred

sred — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:49:30 +0000

I’ve actually been trying out the “couch potato portfolio.” I buy a Canadian Index fund, a US index fund, and an International index fund and adjust the weights accordingly once every year. This strategy, on average, is supposed to outperform any mutual fund portfolio.

Your thoughts?

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/my_money/investing/article.jsp?content=20060405_152254_1452

By: telly

telly — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:37:11 +0000

CC: I agree about Bach but I also think that is what makes his work so motivating (for the yet inspired). When I read The Automatic Millionaire I thought, “Holy Cow, I can be rich some day!!”. Like you said, now I realize it takes a fair bit of effort and sacrifice but the 1st step is the hardest and David Bach has motivated many, many people to take that 1st step. There’s a lot to be said for that.

By: Canadian Capitalist

Canadian Capitalist — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:30:40 +0000

telly: I read The Automatic Millionaire years after I got interested in finances, so it didn’t do as much for me. The one thing I didn’t like about the book is that David Bach makes saving money to be so easy. I don’t think it is. There is a lot of sacrifice involved. But then, bitter pills are sugar coated so that they are easier to swallow.

Chris: Our smaller portfolios are have allocations similar to yours and I wouldn’t worry too much about adding more asset classes at this point. The S&P 500 is a large-cap index and when the position in US equities becomes sufficiently larger, VTI would be a good choice as it has roughly 20% in small caps. As the portfolios grow larger, you can add more asset classes. I”ll be posting on when to switch to ETFs in the near future.

By: Dave from Winnipeg

Dave from Winnipeg — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:25:02 +0000

Chris: I can only speak from my perspective, but I chose ETFs because I found them to have cheaper MERs, based onVanguard’s line. A significant portion of my portfolio will be going in the Vanguard line of funds (for US equity (small, mid and large cap), emerging markets, Pacific, European, and US REIT).

I put aside a portion of my savings each month to allocate to my portfolio, and I liked the idea of having more control in “how much” and “where” this goes (i.e., I can buy a certain amount of emerging markets ETF one month and some Pacific ETF the next month).

The debate between index funds and ETFs seems to rage on without a clear winner. I think as long as you are investing on a regular basis and sticking to your asset allocation either choice is a good one.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:36:36 +0000

I am 29 & just started into investing. Similar to Dave, I have been reading various investment books. I used have an actively managed portfolio with a major bank, but one day saw the light. Within the last year I started with the Couch potato portfolio of TD e-funds (25% each of Canadian Bond Index, U.S. Index, International Index, Canadian Index), for both my RRSP & non registered investments. Recently I added a small portion of my portfolio allocated to Emerging Markets (5%) & Precious Metals (5% – as an inflation hedge). I invest monthly.

I have feel like I have learned a lot in the past few months from reading books & blogs like this one, although I am not quite comfortable with individual stocks. My portfolio is not big enough yet for ETFs. I have also read about inflation worries & the role of REITs & Real Return Bonds. I also read the the U.S. Index does not include small caps which is an important part of a portfolio if you’re looking for more long term growth.

I guess I am wondering if I am on the right track for now. At what point should I consider the switch to ETFs?