How To Invest

A summary of my articles on How to Invest. Click here to view the complete posts…

Asset Allocation –Part 1:
Risk Assessment

February 7th, 2011

For mutual fund dealers and investment advisors meeting with new clients, it all begins with the “Risk Assessment Profile” or whatever term you want to call it. Through a series of simple and multiple-choice questions, this exercise helps the mutual fund representative determine your investment profile and risk tolerance… In other words the entire asset allocation of your portfolio comes down to a 10 minute questionnaire on your investment feelings and perceptions…

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Max Out Your TFSA, and Forget the RRSP!

January 11th, 2011

The premise of this article is that everyone should max out their TFSA’s first, and then consider whether they need to contribute to an RRSP. Both investment vehicles grow tax free. The main advantage of the TFSA over the RRSP is you don’t have to pay taxes on the amounts you withdraw… Although the TFSA is well established, many people have not seriously considered the benefits of the TFSA, and still continue to contribute to their RRSP’s.

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Back to Basics
(Fed Up with Mutual Funds)

December 23rd, 2010

I received an email from a reader this afternoon. Like anyone who invested in mutual funds for years, they discovered they weren’t making money. They wrote how “Fed up with Mutual Funds” they were, but didn’t know how to get started in Dividend Investing… There are so many questions for the new Dividend Investor. If you have been investing in mutual funds, then a lot of this can seem complex and overwhelming. But once you make the start you are well on the road to keeping your own money and getting paid regular dividends, instead of paying mutual fund managers and brokers.

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Stop Loss and Limit Orders

November 9th, 2010

Finding the exact bottom or the exact top of a stock is impossible, and most investors will tell you when to sell is the most difficult decision. The key is to use charts to buy a stock near its 52-week low and then firmly decide when you are going to sell (or buy and hold). Using Stop Loss and Limit orders helps you achieve these goals, and protects you from downside risk. Whether you are an active trader, or a buy-and-hold dividend collector, Stop Losses have an important place in your investment strategy.

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Bad News Investing – Profit from Crisis

October 12th, 2010

Bad News Investing is a term I use to define stocks that get hit with bad news or suffer a sharp decline in share price, due to an unforeseen event. I think this is one of the easiest ways to pick stocks as a Value Investor. You don’t need to research the balance sheets of various stocks to find a gem – they come right to your doorstep… The business news is always looking to make headlines. All you have to do is have cash on the sidelines, do a little research, and buy in when a company gets hit with bad news.

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