Beat the Pros At Their Own Game?

Many Canadians now effortlessly perform functions online - such as banking and foreign travel reservations - that used to be the preserve of specialists. Yet they can feel intimidated by the prospect of using easily navigable online platforms to manage their own investments. As a result, they either delegate this to a "wealth" manager that charges high fees, or they buy mutual funds through their bank that also charges high fees. 

True, there was a time when investing was too complex and inaccessible for most people, but those days are long gone. The introduction of simple, transparent, and  broad-based Exchange Traded Funds (known as index funds or ETFs) has unlocked the keys to successful investing by providing diversification and asset allocation tools at incredibly low cost.  

Paying high fees and getting high returns is one thing, but what many people don't realize is that they're often delegating control over their investments and paying high fees without getting the returns that justify the cost.  Academic studies - as well as the industry's own evidence - clearly demonstrate that low-cost and broad-based ETFs consistently outperform the vast majority of active fund managers. Even Warren Buffett, commonly regarded as the world's greatest investor, had enough confidence in the broad index (and distrust of professional money managers) to bet $1 million dollars in 2008 that a simple S&P 500 index fund would outperform a basket of professionally managed active hedge funds over 10 years. He won the bet, and you too can literally beat the pros at their own game by developing a properly diversified portfolio of low-cost index funds. 

I'm Brian Pagan, a CPA and financial literacy and investing coach, and President of Capital Perspectives. I can help you take control of your financial goals and investing path through tailored guidance that is based on: 

• an understanding of your saving and investment knowledge, challenges and goals;
• objective, evidence-based information and education; and, 
• helping you unlock the power of low-cost index funds.