Skip to main content
personal finance reader

Welcome to the Globe and Mail Personal Finance Reader. I'm Rob Carrick, personal finance columnist at The Globe, and each week I compile a list of articles, blog postings and websites that represent the best of what the online world has to offer on money-related subjects.

A hot investing product called the exchange-traded fund is the focus of this week's edition of the Personal Finance Reader. Don't get the wrong idea about ETFs. While they're hyped as a nemesis to the mutual fund industry, they're still a comparatively small player that mainstream investors are just starting to learn about.

The Reader is here to help on that count. You'll find information here on building portfolios with ETFs, reviews of some ETFs introduced just this week and more. There's also a smart, contrarian look at renting a home versus buying, the story behind the return of Gordon Gekko (remember the movie Wall Street?) and a look at how people can sometimes be responsible for their own disappointing experiences with the goods and services they buy.

Found something on the Internet that your fellow investors might enjoy? Talk to me at rcarrick@globeandmail.com



From The Globe and Mail and Globe Investor

RRSP Report 2010 Check out the new globe investor personal finance RRSP hub, launched on Wednesday, featuring everything you need to know to get through this year's season

Many couples don't share retirement dreams Home Cents blogger Chaya Cooperberg on why you need to get on the same page as your partner long before retirement

Variable or fixed? Both options have merit. With a 10-year mortgage, you're entirely insulated from the coming cycle of interest rate increases, Rob Carrick says.

Got a mortgage related question? Ask Rob Carrick, when he joins us on Friday at 1 pm (ET) for a live online web discussion on leveraging your mortgage.

Ever wonder how much your neighbours owe on their mortgage? This ROB Magazine article says it is likely more than you think

The best investing tomes, as selected by you In this week's Investor Clinic, check out what other investors, professional or otherwise, are reading

TFSA trumps RRSP, report says A C. D. Howe study says many Canadians would get more bang for their buck by investing in a TFSA instead of an RRSP. Others aren't so sure.

Must Reads From Around the Web

ETF ABCs First, some perspective on where ETFs stand in the investing marketplace.

What, exactly, is an ETF? The GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca website can help.

This blog post argues that ETFs have a lot of potential to bite deeper into mutual fund assets.

The Canadian Capitalist takes a (jaded) look at some ETFs introduced this week by Bank of Montreal.

Here's a look at some ETFs introduced this week by BlackRock's iShares family.

The new Canadian Couch Potato blog addresses the question of whether you should buy ETFs traded on U.S. stock exchanges (there are plenty listed on the TSX).

For every investing theme, an ETF

Avoid investing in China-focused exchange-traded funds that include a lot of state-owned enterprises, this column from TheStreet.com urges.

Two websites for researching ETFs: Globeinvestor.com and Morningstar.ca

More For Investors A look at how the influential U.S. money manager Jeremy Grantham said this week he believes U.S. stocks are headed into a new bear market.

Counterpoint: U.S. hedge fund guru Barton Biggs remains bullish on stocks.

Three risk areas investors need to watch out for in 2010 - corporate earnings, pricey stocks and government economic policies.

A roundup of what appears to a large group of market watchers who think gold's run is over.

Gekko Redux Gordon Gekko, the creepy, "greed is good" anti-hero of the 1987 movie Wall Street, returns in an upcoming sequel that is profiled in Vanity Fair. The story hinges on Gekko being released after 20 years in prison, keen to do good works.

Getting Real About Real Estate A hot housing market inevitably gets people torqued about homes as an investment. Here's a contrarian take from Canadian Business blogger Larry MacDonald that looks at reasons why some people are choosing to rent.

Whose Fault? To what extent might you be responsible for your own misfortune when a product or service you bought turns out disastrously? Ellen Roseman, blogger and personal finance columnist at the Toronto Star, offers her view.

The Storage Horror A tongue-in-cheek account of the dangers of paying to keep your junk in the self-storage units that are springing up all over the place. Reminds me it's time to clean the basement at home.



Editor's note: If you don't receive Rob Carrick's personal finance newsletter each week by email, you can sign up to receive it free by registering at The Globe and Mail . All you need to do is register for the site, or if you've already registered, login and go to your profile at the top of the homepage. Once you're in your profile, look under Alerts and look for the Personal Finance Reader and other newsletters. Other financial newsletters include:

- Business Ticker, a summary of the top business stories of the day

- Berman's Market Update, a summary of the markets at the open, noon and close

- Globe Investor Magazine, a biweekly collection of smart investment idea and portfolio management stories

Interact with The Globe