How to Bake a Potato (Ninja Style)

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If you found this post because you don’t know how long to put a potato in the microwave for, then you are definitely on the wrong blog! I’m talking about the Couch Potato investment strategy, or basically “Passive Index Investing”, made popular by the Canadian Couch Potato. Why Bother Baking a Potato? Recently, Andrew Hallam (a well respected investment blogger) made a large scale move in his portfolio, selling some 700K of winning stocks to reinvest into Index ETF’s. Why? Good question. Basically he feels he cannot continue to beat the market year after year with an “Active” stock picking …

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From Natural Gas to Big Macs

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A lot of interesting developments occurred last week on some stocks I have been watching and/or holding.  I have noticed a significant increase in my holdings: Encana, Rogers, Royal Bank, and Shaw Communications etc. are all advancing.  I was hoping to have published this post over the weekend, since it was last week’s news. So here goes better late than never! Bank of Montreal (BMO) BMO is on the move! Back on December 20th BMO share prices had slumped down from approx $59 to $56.60 per share following missed earnings expectations and Moody’s Downgrade after BMO purchased Marshall & Ilsley …

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Max Out Your TFSA, and Forget the RRSP!

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With RRSP season approaching, and the chaotic frenzy that ensues in January and February, I thought I would jump to the front of the queue and get the RRSP ball rolling for 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.   Conventional Wisdom Conventional wisdom says to make the maximum contribution you are able to …

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My Stock Picks for 2011

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Happy New Year! What would the beginning of 2011 be without a list of great stocks to invest in? I wanted to find solid blue-chips that had either been trading at their lows, were punished for lower than expected earnings, and were poised for a rally. I also wanted to look at sectors I think will do well in the coming years. Oil, technology, and big consumer food and entertainment companies could be the winners. You will notice I haven’t included any Income Trusts in my list. I certainly think there are some great buys for trusts converting to corporations, …

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