Before we dive into this week’s collection of links, a few housekeeping items. With Christmas just around the corner, it is that time of the year when I slow down to spend more time with the family and my posting frequency takes a big hit. Chances are you’ll see very little new material here over the next two weeks. Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Very Happy New Year.
- The New York Times reported that a dying Wall Street insider offers some sensible investing advice for Main Streeters in a slim new book.
- We seem to hear about a new Ponzi scheme pretty much every day these days. The New York Times offers some valuable tips on how to avoid being taken in by a Ponzi scheme.
- So many Canadians still find TFSA contribution and withdrawal rules confusing. This post on Canadian Money Forum offers a humorous explanation of TFSA rules.
- If you want to move your TFSA account from one institution to another without incurring transfer fees, be sure to check out the December shuffle.
- Mike Holman explains he is going paperless by signing up for e-bills. As someone who has gone paperless for years, I can see how much it can reduce clutter. Just makes sure you backup your data preferably at an offsite location.
- The endless debate about passive versus active investing? It all stems from one side misunderstanding the other, says Michael James.
- If you invest in TD e-Series of Funds, Canadian Financial Stuff has an useful heads up: you may be required to keep investor profiles up to date. I’ve been caught up in this in the past as well. All it takes is a quick phone call to get it sorted out.
- Canadian Couch Potato finds a perfect hockey analogy for index investing in Hall-of-Famer Mike Gartner.
- Million Dollar Journey featured a guest post on a subject fraught with pitfalls — lending money to friends.
- With so many Ponzi schemes being uncovered these days Larry MacDonald asks why Canadians have to put up with a justice system that is soft on white-collar crime.
- With RRSP season just around the corner, we are about to be hit with a barrage of ads touting past performance of mutual funds. Jim Yih warns investors of the dangers of looking at a snapshot of performance.
- Most Canadians are unaware that US Estate Taxes may be applicable to them. You may have heard the news about a proposed tax deal in the works in teh US. How to Invest Online explains the implications of the tax deal on Canadians with US-located property such as real estate and securities.
- Beating the Index explains why he chose to pay down his mortgage over building an investment portfolio.
