Author Topic: Canadian Investing advice needed  (Read 1833 times)

dess1313

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Canadian Investing advice needed
« on: July 25, 2016, 09:37:04 PM »
Newly minted Canadian investor here.  Been slightly burned in the past so i've been taking it slow getting back into the game again

I've been following the Canadian couch potato guidelines for investors with small amounts which uses the tangerine investment funds
http://canadiancouchpotato.com/recommended-funds/

I started off with the INI220 which is 40bonds, 20cad stocks, 20 us stocks, 20 international stocks
I am feeling more comfortable with the ideas.  Yes the Management expenses are 1.07% but i have no other fees involved in doing this.  I would face trading fees to be able to do vanguard in canada, and in the small amounts a month i am investing it is not worth it yet.  (we're talking $200-300 a month here.  peanuts to some here, but solid amounts for me)

I am thinking about moving towards the INI230 which is 25bonds, 25cad stocks, 25us stocks, 25international stocks or the INI240 which is 0bonds, 50cad stocks, 25us stocks, 25international stocks

I am 31 yrs old, with about 20 years left until pension retirement date (i don't plan on working full time till the end after finding this site)  I have a whopping $2k invested so far total in the INI220. I know its not earth shattering, but its a start. 

Because the different funds are so similar with their bases, would me splitting some new income to the INI230 or INI240 sound useless?  or should i move all of my deposits to the higher stock funds?  I would like to move towards more growth, and the future of bonds seems like it has a meager at best for a few years.  I am working on filling my TFSA, and making small contributions to my RRSP.  I would rather focus on my TFSA and have a lot of room.  My RRSP will be harder to use in future years due to tax implications.  Thanks for reading.

Heckler

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Re: Canadian Investing advice needed
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2016, 09:54:08 PM »
At $2k total value, and a few hunderd per contribution, I agree - stick with the low cost index mutual funds.  ETFs are not for you yet in a fee/trade brokerage, unless you went with a Questrade account that give you free ETF purchases, but will cost you to sell.

Your plan to max TFSA first sounds like a good one, making assumptions your income levels are in a lower of the tax brackets.  Just remember - any funds you take out, cannot be put back in above your limit until the next year.  It's not a savings account with limitless in/out/in/out tax free access - watch out for overcontributions if you use the cash!    http://www.finiki.org/wiki/Tax-Free_Savings_Account#Withdrawals

As for your level of risk tolerance (% of bonds) -  that's up to you.  You only get burned if you sell when stocks crash and you can't handle the account value fluctuations in your head.  Mixing the funds will achieve nothing, other than to confuse your % bonds allocation.  Best to stick with one of the funds IMO.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2016, 10:04:38 PM by Heckler »

Heckler

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Re: Canadian Investing advice needed
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2016, 10:00:25 PM »
Keep reading CCP.  he's got some great stuff.

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/2014/10/20/three-reasons-to-ignore-market-downturns/

Bogleheads is another great resource, as is finiki

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started

http://www.finiki.org/

The concepts are all similar.