Why read investment blogs? For the same reasons you read any blog - to be informed, to be entertained, to be provoked. But like any other kind of blog, it's reader-beware. You have to get to know a blog to understand its strengths, weaknesses and biases. But when you find a blog you like, it can be magic.
Here are five great blogs to get you started.
Canadian Capitalist
http://www.canadiancapitalist.com
Who writes it: The blog itself is anonymous but its author is Ram Balakrishnan, an Ottawa-based software developer.
Who it's aimed at: Individual investors.
Philosophy: When Mr. Balakrishnan started the blog in 2004, he was an active investor but says he has since "evolved" into a passive one. "I'm not really stuck up about it though," he insists. Instead, he chooses to concentrate on two major challenges for investors - pay attention to costs and keep your emotions in check.
Why read it: Because everyone else is. Canadian Capitalist invariably makes everyone's top-blog lists. It's smart, accessible and informative on a variety of personal finance and investments topics. It's also Canadian, which means you don't have to fret about whether the information applies to you. Most useful is the weekly "This and That" postings that link you with Mr. Balakrishnan's picks of great financial journalism and blogs out there.
Feedback: While he says the most innocuous topics will sometimes get readers riled up, Mr. Balakrishnan points to several topics that are perennial favourites: anything to do with real-estate agents, group RESP plans and questionable rules for charity giving.
Abnormal Returns
http://www.abnormalreturns.com
Who writes it: Tadas Viskanta, an American private investor. The blog was sold at the beginning of the year and Mr. Viskanta works on it full-time.
Who it's aimed at: Professional investors and sophisticated individual investors.
Philosophy: If there is one, it isn't apparent. Says Mr. Viskanta: "I try to avoid injecting a whole lot of my own opinion."
Why read it: Because Mr. Viskanta is a lot smarter than you are. This site is primarily what he calls "a linkfest" - links to all kind of U.S. bloggers and financial publications and journals. "I tend to focus on bloggers and individuals who are more willing to provide some sort of quantitative evidence for their viewpoint," Mr. Viskanta says. " 'Gold is going to $5,000 because the world is going to hell in a handbasket' is of no interest to me." The site links to impressive, if somewhat hard-core investing and macro-economic material, but it's very easy to pick and choose what you're interested in.
