Retirement: This One Thing Will Make It Truly Fulfilling

Fees are important to investors. In most cases, lower fees increase the likelihood of a positive long-term investment outcome. Index funds globally have seen enormous growth in the past decade. That growth (and the competition to capture it) have resulted in fees literally going to zero on some index funds.

This is episode 15 of the Rational Reminder podcast, with Cameron Passmore, Benjamin Felix and special guest PWL President, Brenda Bartlett.

Here’s are two trick questions: Are you normal? Am I normal? Common sense tells us it’s impossible to answer either without also asking: Compared to what? For example, check out this image of the Passmore & Felix team on our newly updated website.

As I covered in my last “No Dumb Question,” many couples find they can operate most efficiently when one serves as the family’s go-to, “Chief Financial Officer.” This can make sense in a busy household … to a point. But neither of you wants to be blindsided if you end up having to go it alone for a while.

This is Episode 14 of the Rational Reminder Podcast, with special guest Martin Parizeau.

One of the biggest myths about passive investing is that ETFs and indexing will cause stock market bubbles. The thinking is simplistic: since index funds have to buy all companies in the stock market, they have to blindly buy stocks whose prices have gone up, right? This makes stock market bubbles worse, right?

In my previous blog post, I talked about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing, why investors are interested and the different ways to implement it in your portfolio. This naturally raises the next question: how rigorous is the ESG research and does it actually differentiate and reward good from bad behavior?

What’s the worst month for stock market returns? If you said October, you would be wrong, but no one would blame you. Many people associate October with stock market misery because of three infamous crashes that occurred during the month—the Great Crash of 1929, the Black Monday crash of 1987 and the financial crisis crash of 2008.

My first niece was born a couple of months ago and it got me thinking about her education savings. There are a number of savings options my sister can employ for my niece in the 18 years before she starts post-secondary school. I outline the various sources, and the pros and cons of each option below.

This is Episode 13 of the Rational Reminder Podcast, with Cameron Passmore and Benjamin Felix