Canadian Couch Potato is a podcast designed to help you become a better investor with index funds and ETFs. It is hosted by veteran journalist, blogger, and portfolio manager Dan Bortolotti. Dan offers straight-up, practical advice for Canadians who want to learn more about index investing, whether they manage their own portfolios or work with an advisor. Episodes typically feature an interview with an expert on a specific investing or financial planning topic. In a segment called “Bad Inves ...
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Why does coffee taste better when you pay with cash? How did a victim of human trafficking take her knowledge of how the money flows in that world to become a law enforcement consultant? How does an economist think about Bitcoin? There's so much more to money than just investment portfolios.Mostly Money not only teaches you how to take control of your finances, it explores the full world of all things money with expert interviews conducted by Preet Banerjee (former television host for Oprah ...
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In his new book, Balance, Andrew Hallam not only explains evidence-based strategies for providing the best odds of success in the stock market, he provides a lot more than that. The book helps you answer other important questions: How can we boost longevity, wealth and happiness? When it comes to spending, what sorts of purchases really enhance hap…
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104: Robin Taub on how to teach your children about money
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Robin Taub returns to talk about her latest book, The Wisest Investment: Teaching your kids to be responsible, independent and money-smart for life. We chat about the common concerns parents bring up with Robin with respect to money and the financial decision making skills they want to empower their children with. We then dive into what parents can…
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103: Erica Alini, author of "Money Like You Mean it"
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I’m joined by Erica Alini to talk about her new book: Money Like You Mean It - Personal Finance Tactics for the REAL world. Erica is the personal finance reporter at Global News, where she writes about all things personal finance, business, and economics. She’s also the author of Money123, a popular weekly newsletter on money matters. Her writing h…
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102: Dan Bortolotti - The godfather of index investing in Canada
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Dan Bortolotti is the creator of the Canadian Couch Potato blog, and host of the (soon to be resurrected?) Canadian Couch Potato podcast. He is THE authority on index investing in Canada and has just written a new book, Reboot Your Portfolio (Amazon affiliate link). Dan joined me to explain what the book promises readers, and to discuss his journey…
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101: Using exchange-traded funds to build or improve portfolios with Kevin Prins from BMO ETFs
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This episode is sponsored by BMO ETFs #ad I speak with Kevin Prins from BMO Global Asset Management about how ETFs can be used for building and improving almost any investor's portfolio. Specific topics covered: What are asset allocation ETFs? ETF issuers have large voting rights - how do they vote at AGMs for all the companies' stocks that they ho…
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Welcome to the 100th and final episode, at least for a while, of Mostly Money. I wanted to have a special guest for this send off show, and I don’t think I can top who offered to help me out. You know when people say, our next guest needs no introduction? That is actually true in this case. He is a Canadian icon. A broadcasting legend. This guy wal…
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99: Cait Flanders on the Adventures in Opting Out
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Cait Flanders is back. Previously my guest on episode 63 in March of 2018, she is the author of Wall Street Journal bestseller, THE YEAR OF LESS. Described by Vogue magazine as “a fascinating look into a living experiment that we can all learn from,” it has been translated into 10 languages, and sold more than 190,000 copies. Her new book, ADVENTUR…
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98: Does ESG investing lead to better returns for investors?
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You’ve likely heard terms like ESG investing, sustainable investing, impact investing, socially responsible investing and others. But are they all the same? Today’s guest is the head of ESG at Research Affiliates. And we’re going to tackle some important questions: Does ESG lead to better returns for investors? If you don’t invest in ESG tilted por…
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97: Ben Rabidoux on how Housing defied the worst economic downturn in history
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What explains the meteoric rise in Canadian home prices off of a backdrop of 3 million jobs initially lost back in early 2020 with many businesses forced to be shut down and with lockdown, after lockdown? Well if there’s one person who can help answer that question, you know it’s Ben Rabidoux. He’s going to dive deep into a number of factors that, …
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96: A psychiatrist's perspective on financial decision making under acute or chronic stress
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In this episode, you’re going to hear from a psychiatrist on a number of topics directly and tangentially related to finances and financial decision making. Later in the episode we talk about some financial behaviours under acute mental distress, a number of various pathways that lead to hoarding behaviours, and more. But we also discuss the effect…
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95: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Blockchain and more, explained by economist Andreas Park
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If bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain have you feeling confused, THIS podcast episode is for you. There is a strong correlation between bitcoin cheerleading and bitcoin’s price. Whenever the cryptocurrency has seen a rapid increase in price, mainstream media coverage rises and social media goes crazy like it always does. But… how many people…
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94: Buying a car without haggling? The Future Retail Model of selling cars
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Some people love car shopping… Others dread it. But like any industry, technological advancements have changed the landscape. When trading in an old vehicle, it used to be hard to really know what a good price might be. But for years now, you could look up comparable cars on the market, controlling for trim level, mileage, condition, and more. Some…
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93: Obolx - A visual timeline of your family's life planning
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Michael Meyer is the founder of Obolx.com - an app that helps you visualize your personal goals alongside your financial and health milestones for your entire family. Powered by AI, and using a stacked timeline visualization, it promises to help you conceptualize your life and your most valuable asset: time. Website: https://www.obolx.com/ All Busi…
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92: Darin Diehl's story about getting laid off, having a heart attack, and getting cancer
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Darin Diehl has a long history of working in the financial services as an educator and marketer. But in late 2019, he was laid off from his job. Then, in early 2020, he had a heart attack. While being diagnosed and treated for that, doctors also found out that he had advanced lung cancer. Darin thought it would be helpful to share his story, not on…
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Alyssa Davies joins the show to talk about how couples can talk about money. Our wide ranging conversation covers the "breadwinner mentality" and how that can cause problems in the dynamics of a relationship, how and when to start talking seriously about money with a significant other, and much more. Alyssa is one of the most popular personal finan…
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90: We need to talk a lot more about not dying with Dr. Daren Heyland
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There is a BIG difference between End Of Life Planning and Serious Illness Planning. If you think estate planning is getting your wills and powers of attorney or healthcare directives set up for taking care of things when you die or are about to die, you might be making a big mistake. If you end up in an ER, the doctors aren't going to look at any …
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89: President of BMO InvestorLine on exploding trading activity for discount brokerages in 2021
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In this episode I speak with the president of BMO InvestorLine, Silvio Stroescu, to get his response to the long wait times for clients calling in for customer service that all discount brokerages seem to be experiencing. Silvio provides some shocking numbers showing the absolute explosion in new account openings and trading activity. Year-over-Yea…
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88: Erica Ehm on personal and professional reinvention
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Erica Ehm was one of the first MuchMusic VJs, shaping and influencing an entire generation of Canadians. Her career has seen a series of reinventions. After defining the role of music television host, she became a successful songwriter winning multiple Canadian Country Music Awards, SOCAN awards, and Juno awards. But the reinvention didn't stop the…
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87: Online Estate Planning with Willful CEO Erin Bury
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Erin Bury is the co-founder and CEO at Willful, an online estate planning platform that makes it easy for Canadians to create a will in less than 20 minutes. Topics covered: Estate planning 101: basic definitions and concepts to help educate the audience Can you leave your debt to someone in your will? The stats on who doesn’t have wills/POAs,etc. …
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86: A Multi-Level Marketing survivor tells all
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David Pride was sponsored into a multi-level marketing organization at the tender age of just 15 years old. By the time he was 16, they realized he was a naturally gifted speaker on stage. Over the next three years he would recruit over 150 people into the company. He would spend a total of 13 years dedicating all his spare time to his new family b…
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85: How a securities dealership's structure impacts financial advice
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Founding and managing partner of Aligned Capital Partners, Christopher Enright, joins the podcast to discuss a bit about how the dealership platform an advisor uses can impact advice. With consumer preferences for how they pay for advice and products ever evolving, it's possible that some dealerships are not keeping up with those changing preferenc…
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84: Human Trafficking Survivor turned Financial Crimes Consultant Timea Nagy
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Human trafficking survivor, author, speaker and social advocate, Timea Nagy, immigrated to Canada in 1998. Her nightmare unfolded in Toronto in that same year after arriving from Budapest, Hungary in the hopes of finding meaningful employment. The daughter of a Hungarian policewoman, Timea was held (For three terrifying months) at the hands of traf…
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The CEO of robo-advisor Justwealth drops by to explain their offering, the differences and similarities to other robo-advisors in Canada, and introduces me to mushroom coffee. All Business. No Boundaries. Welcome to All Business. No Boundaries, a collection of supply chain stories by DHL... Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify…
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82: Commercial Real Estate Insider Dak Molnar on Landbaron.ca
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Dak Molnar is the Managing Director of the Molnar group, a commercial real estate developer and investment company. He joined me on the show to talk about Land Baron (http://www.landbaron.ca), a prospective new way for regular investors to participate in direct commercial real estate investments through an app. He also provides an insider's perspec…
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Author, speaker, and consultant Robin Taub joins me to talk about a new report put out by CPA Canada that investigates how individual personality, as well as socio- economic factors like age, income and education, play an important role when it comes to financial habits and knowledge All Business. No Boundaries. Welcome to All Business. No Boundari…
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80: Jason Pereira and the new Financial Planning Association of Canada
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Award-winning financial advisor Jason Pereira joins me to talk about the new Financial Planning Association of Canada that launched on November 19th, 2019. You can reach out to Jason about FPAC at jason.pereira@fpassociation.ca, and you can visit https://www.fpassociation.ca for more information. On the show, Jason talks about why we need this new …
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79: Neil Pasricha on his new book "You Are Awesome"
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Neil Pasricha helps people live happy lives. He is a top-rated leadership keynote speaker, New York Times bestselling author, and positive psychology researcher focused on the relationship between happiness and leadership in business. Neil is one of the most popular TED speakers with his first TED Talk “The 3 A’s of Awesome” (2010) ranked as one of…
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78: Ben Rabidoux provides an update on real estate in Canada
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The most requested guest on Mostly Money is back to share what he's been seeing in real estate around Canada. Ben provides a quick survey from coast to coast on local real estate markets, looks beneath the headlines on the overall economy, and does a great pirate impersonation. You can follow Ben on twitter at @BenRabidoux and you can learn more ab…
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Erika Toth from BMO joins Dan for a discussion about the inner workings of ETFs and some of the misunderstandings surrounding these products. Then Dan considers whether the traditional method of building indexes according to company size is flawed. We wrap up with an answer to a listener’s question about how an ETF’s management fees are calculated.…
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77: John De Goey explains how to "Standup to the financial services industry"
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John De Goey is back to talk about his new book, "STANDUP to the financial services industry: A practical guide for Canadians". He is a portfolio manager and Certified Financial Planner professional with Wellington-Altus Private Wealth in Toronto. You can learn more about John and his book at https://standup.today/ All Business. No Boundaries. Welc…
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25 - Dr. Steve Wendel on Investor Success
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Psychologist Steve Wendel of Morningstar shares his experience on the behavioural challenges all investors face. Then Dan considers the pros and cons of using a one-fund solution compared with a portfolio built from individual ETFs. For complete show notes on Dr. Steve Wendel on Investor Success visit canadiancouchpotato.com/podcast.…
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Sol Amos is the founder of AdvisorSavvy.com, a new service for financial consumers and advisors that is designed to help people find better advisors. He joined me to talk about his experience in the industry which led him to start AdvisorSavvy and provides his thoughts on what consumers should look for. (Disclosure: Sol and I have had business deal…
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75: What your handwriting says about your money personality
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I had a good friend of mine join me on the podcast in this episode. Jamie Mason Cohen is a certified grapho-therapist and leadership strategist whose TEDx talk on how to spot a leader through their handwriting has been viewed more than 1.6 million times. He previously worked at Saturday Night Live and now is an accomplished keynote speaker and work…
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24 - Mind Your Money Gaps with Preet Banerjee
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Preet Banerjee—blogger, author, media darling, aficionado of fine whisky, and doctoral candidate—joins us to discuss his research on the financial industry in Canada and his outlook for the future of investing. Dan tries to keep it together while rebutting a “study” showing active funds outperform index funds. Finally, we consider whether REITs are…
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74: David Bach on what The Latte Factor is really about
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I speak with David Bach about his latest book, The Latte Factor. There are some people who might think that The Latte Factor is about giving up coffee, but it is not. The book is an engaging parable about the financial awakening of a young woman in New York City who learns the timeless rules about money, and priceless rules about living the life sh…
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Dan and Amanda answer questions from listeners on topics such as the risk of index funds shutting down, days you should avoid trading ETFs, and whether wealthy investors should hold more than traditional stock and bond portfolios. For complete show notes on our Ask the Spud Edition, visit www.canadiancouchpotato.com/podcast.…
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73: How to fight with your financial advisor (productively)
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In this episode, I spoke to Dr. Liane Davey about how conflict should be embraced, not avoided, as long as you do it the right way. There are myriad avenues in work and life where this can be applied, but we speak directly about productive conflict with your financial advisor (and vice versa: with your clients if you are are a financial advisor). L…
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72: The upside-down world of financial planning for low-income Canadians
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As a follow up to the episode of The Agenda with Steve Paikin talking about the upside-down world of financial planning for low-income Canadians, I had John Stapleton on the podcast to discuss it in more detail. John has been a tireless advocate for getting the word out on this complex issue and was the person who first brought it to my attention m…
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John West of Research Affiliates explains smart beta, one of the most important ETF trends. Then Dan considers whether the last few years of strong stock returns has been a “rising tide that lifted all boats.” We round things off with a tribute to the late Jack Bogle, a hero to investors everywhere. For complete show notes on How Smart is Your Beta…
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71: $5/month to keep your couch potato portfolio on target?
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The team from Passiv joined me to explain their DIY helper service for investors. They have two levels of service: 1. A free service that tells you what trades you need to execute on your own, or 2. A premium service for $5/month that will allocate new cash and rebalance your portfolio according to parameters you set. This model could eat a lot of …
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70: The Pain of Payment with Dr. Avni Shah
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The methods of payment we use can influence how much we spend and how we ultimately feel about our purchases. One of the world's leading experts in this area, Profession Avni Shah, joins me to discuss some of her research in this area. Not only do we discuss day to day implications for people, but we also chat about how the "pain of payment" is rel…
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Melissa Leong is a personal finance writer, keynote speaker, on-air personality and bestselling author. She appears on CTV’s The Social as its resident money expert and was a staff reporter at the Financial Post. She joins me on the podcast to talk about her brand new book, Happy Go Money: Spend Smart, Save Right and Enjoy Life Buy the book here: h…
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21 - Larry Swedroe on Investing in Retirement
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Larry Swedroe joins us to discuss his latest book on the challenges of investing in retirement. Then Dan warns about speculators who are held up as “success stories.” Finally, he offers advice for a reader looking to free himself from mutual funds with deferred sales charges. For complete show notes on Larry Swedroe on Investing in Retirement, visi…
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John Robertson is on a mission to help Canadians learn how to invest. He has a popular book and online course that lays out the step-by-step process of how to actually get started with a variety of investing service providers like robo-advisors, discount brokerages, and more. You can check out his site here: http://www.valueofsimple.ca/ All Busines…
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