Thinking about returns of stocks in different countries and in different currencies can get confusing. If Canadian stocks rise (in Canadian dollars) and U.S. stocks rise more (in U.S. dollars), almost everyone would agree that U.S. stocks performed better, even if the Canadian dollar rose by enough to make up the difference. This way of thinking makes no sense to me. Suppose that in a particular year, Canadian stocks rise 10% when measured the usual way in Canadian dollars. In the same year, U.S. stocks rise 15.5% when measured in U.S. dollars. But the Canadian dollar rises 5% during the year. Most would agree that U.S. stocks had superior returns. However, let’s look at this from a few points of view, starting with a Canadian investor who thinks in Canadian dollars. The Canadian stocks case is easy: a 10% gain. Now let’s consider the case of a C$10,000 investment in U.S. stocks with the Canadian dollar at 80 cents U.S. The investment is US$8000 and it rises by 15.5% to US$...

When Canadians own foreign stocks, taxes on the dividends are often withheld by the foreign country. This can apply with U.S. stocks as well. This is a complex area. The amount of taxes silently withheld and whether you can effectively recover them depends on the country and the type of account you have. Yesterday , I said I wanted to know the foreign withholding tax drag on the new Vanguard Canada ETFs. Justin Bender has done the analysis. He has a pdf with the foreign withholding tax details for RRSP and TFSA accounts , as well as an article discussing other aspects of Vanguard’s new ETFs . In a personal note, Justin goes on to explain “The withholding tax drag in a taxable account is only about 0.01% to 0.02% for the three ETFs.” Thanks, Justin.

My only post in the last two weeks was about TFSA advice: Puzzling TFSA Advice Here are some short takes and some weekend reading: Canadian Couch Potato reviews Vanguard’s new one-fund solutions. They look like excellent single ETF solutions for DIY investors. One thing I’d like to see is an analysis of foreign withholding taxes to help DIY investors make informed tradeoffs between cost and simplicity. John Robertson has an interesting message for those very nervous about the recent stock market decline. Big Cajun Man coins a new term for exploiting the elderly with slimy sales practices. Robb Engen at Boomer and Echo explains that the recent big drop in stocks may have been a record when measured in points, but is far from a record in the sense that matters. Unfortunately, it is mostly media types who hype such “record” drops, and their desperation for headlines will keep them from understanding Robb’s message. Remember the Upton Sinclair quote: “It is difficult to...

I often see advice related to TFSAs and RRSPs that is strange or just plain wrong. I hate to pick on Gail Vaz-Oxlade, but her recent article giving TFSA advice was spot-on except for one puzzling part I didn’t agree with: You can hold any investment you can buy for your RRSP inside your TFSA, including stocks, bonds, GIC, and mutual funds. But you should probably stick with interest-bearing investments. Why? Well since all the capital gains inside [a] TFSA [are] tax free, it also means any capital loss can’t be claimed [to] offset your other capital gains. To start with, your mix of investments in cash, bonds, and stocks should be based on personal factors that have nothing to do with the tax properties of various types of accounts. Because few people use up all of their RRSP and TFSA room, all of their savings outside of a chequing account should be in either RRSPs or TFSAs. If your asset mix includes $50,000 in cash, perhaps as emergency savings, and you have no savings i...

Here are my posts for the past two weeks: The Incredible Shrinking Alpha I’m Done with RRSPs Your Complete Guide to Factor-Based Investing Here are some short takes and some weekend reading: Rob Carrick reports on new ETFs from Vanguard that contain both bonds and global stocks. Big Cajun Man explains the regulations against tied selling by banks. They apply to such things as requiring you to get a chequing account with a bank in order to get a mortgage. Robb Engen at Boomer and Echo discusses using annuities to create your own pension income. He says “I perked up when I saw the payout rates were between 5 and 7 percent of the initial deposit. Now, keep in mind, those rates won’t increase with inflation each year, but it’s still a healthy (and guaranteed) amount to receive for life. … why wouldn’t a relatively healthy 70-year-old male not want to turn $250,000 into annual income of $17,669.89?” He’s downplaying the devastating effects of inflation over many years. ...