Course content

    1. Presentation

    2. Recording Part #1

    3. Recording Part #2

    4. Recording Part #3

About this course

  • $198.00
  • 3.5 CPD hours

Course description

If you are like most people, you probably have one or two different types of accounts. Maybe you use a full-service human broker. Or you trust a bank branch to invest in mutual funds. Or perhaps you’ve tried doing it on your own with a discount broker. But are you satisfied with the results? Ever wondered if perhaps there are other ways to invest that would yield much better returns?

This new course will show you all the different options you have when it comes to investing your money. It will cover 10 different types of accounts with a whole range of different investment strategies.

They are all actual investment accounts that I have opened with my own money.

We’ll look at a full-service broker (Manulife Financial), a robo-advisor (Wealthsimple), five discount brokerages (Questrade, Qtrade, CIBC Investor’s Edge, RBC Direct Investing and TD Direct Investing), a deposit broker (Fiscal Agents), a bank branch mutual fund account (TD bank branch) and even a cryptocurrency account (Wealthsimple Bitcoin).

In each case we’ll look at the asset allocation and holdings of the portfolio, the fees involved, and the returns each portfolio has generated since the account was opened. You will also see a demonstration of each account’s website and the reports that are available so you can easily choose which ones are best for you.

We’ll cover all the different types of portfolios that you can have from ultra-conservative to ultra-aggressive. This will include balanced accounts at a full-service broker and a discount broker. An auto-balanced exchange traded fund (ETF). An aggressive portfolio run by a robo-advisor. An account consisting only of an equal weight banks index ETF. The safest account you can have which is a laddered GIC strategy that has zero exposure to the stock market. An account consisting solely of a bond ETF. An account consisting of one bank mutual fund recommended by a bank branch advisor. We’ll even look at a stock portfolio picked by random dart throws! And a cryptocurrency account consisting of 100% in bitcoin.

At the end of the course, we’ll have a contest that will rank each of the 10 portfolios’ average annualized returns for the past 5 ½ years from best return to worst. It’s likely you’ll find the results surprising. I sure did!

In a nutshell it will show you all the different options you can choose from so you can optimize your investing strategy.

Learning Objectives

  • Learn what it’s like to invest with 10 different platforms
  • Discover a simple rule of thumb to determine your asset allocation between equities and fixed income
  • See whether a bank ETF beats the returns of simple GICs
  • Find out if self-balancing ETFs are the best way to get ahead
  • Find out why GICs may be a better option than bond funds for the fixed income portion of your portfolio
  • Find out what it’s like to have money invested in the crazy roller coaster of bitcoin
  • Find out who wins and loses in the contest of annualized returns achieved for each of the 10 portfolios

    Who Will Benefit

    Anyone interested in taking charge of their investments to maximize their savings.
  • Instructor(s)

    David Trahair

    David Trahair, CPA, CA, is a personal finance writer, trainer, speaker and eLearning developer. His books include Smoke and Mirrors: Financial Myths That Will Ruin Your Retirement Dreams, Enough Bull: How to Retire Well Without the Stock Market, Mutual Funds or Even an Investment Advisor, Crushing Debt: Why Canadians Should Drop Everything and Pay Off Debt, Cash Cows, Pigs and Jackpots: The Simplest Personal Finance Strategy Ever and his latest The Procrastinator’s Guide to Retirement: How You Can Retire in 10 Years or Less. His views are totally independent because he does not sell any financial products. He currently operates his own personal finance training and eLearning development firm and offers seminars on his books to organizations including CPA provincial bodies across Canada. His website is www.trahair.com.