Larry explains, guides and opens a door to the world of how banks take a chunk of your investments gains. Beat the Bank: The Canadian Guide to Simply Successful Investing 1. The content re. ETFs/stocks/bonds v. Mutual Funds is spot on. I’m a Millennial and a flat fee for service financial advisor by trade, and only suggest ETFs or stocks or bonds (or a combination of all). Nearly every last mutual is a waste of dough. Kudos for all the research and the straightforward content.
2. Content about the financial services industry is a bit unfair. He makes it seem like we’re all money hungry sociopaths (don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of those types out there).
3. What drives me the most crazy about this book, and why it gets two stars, is the fact that the author contributed directly to the mass ripping of people off throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He was one of the key contributors to the problem, and now it seems like he’s using this book to atone for his past sins. It’s kind of like reading a book about how it’s wrong to murder people, when the book is written by someone on death row. Beat the Bank: The Canadian Guide to Simply Successful Investing This book is a great investment at any price. Like the author I've worked in the financial industry but after leaving, stuck mostly to funds. ETF's are a complete no brainer and this book provides ample research to allay any reservations about them. I've ridden out down markets but never realized the full extent that MER's and fees virtually nullifying my profits. When I did a retro analysis against my fund choices the comparison was shocking in both overall capital gains (vs my five funds) and fee siphoned profits. If I had made this change 15 years ago, just from the fee perspective alone I would be 3 fully paid for years closer to retirement. Beat the Bank: The Canadian Guide to Simply Successful Investing There is a great choice of investment books for Americans. Some ideas are universal and you can apply them anywhere. However, there are some differences when it comes to some tax shelters that are available. E.g. we don't have Roth IRA (TFSA is similar), 509 (we have RESP), 401(k) Some programs are similar, but when working with numbers any difference may be significant. So, we can't take full advantage of some great American investment books. Larry Bates is Canadian, writing for Canadians.
However, some ideas are universal. Start early, invest in ETFs instead of Mutual Funds, and leave your investment to grow. Plan for decades, and trust the power of North American market. Don't worry about fluctuations and crashes.
From that perspective, I believe it will be highly beneficial to Americans.
This is not a book for daily investors, but for people who prefer to spend few hours per year on management of their investments. Beat the Bank: The Canadian Guide to Simply Successful Investing Really good book. I feel like this is a must read for Canadians. I'm in my mid 30's and have been contributing to Mutual Funds through my RRSP since my 20s, but I never really fully took the time to understand my investment situation. I always felt intimidated by investing, thinking it was really complicated, and recently decided I wanted to make an effort to understand what is going on. The book hit the spot. It blew all the complexity away and gave some excellent insights into how various fees can really hurt you in the long run with your investments (especially in mutual funds with high fees.). It's an easy read, and I've come away feeling much confident and prepared to make smarter choices for retirement planning. Also, it's really great that the advice and knowledge shared in this book is very specific to Canada. Beat the Bank: The Canadian Guide to Simply Successful Investing
Felt so guilty that I forgot to write a review.
I just would like to repeat what I said to my friends or on website in another language :
If you can read English, if you know a little about investment, if you can operate the simple online banking, if you want to invest for a long term or retirement, please read the book. It is a must. Beat the Bank: The Canadian Guide to Simply Successful Investing I am a financial advisor and this book is an eyes opener. The content is great and it shows how big financial institutions are making money on the back of customers. It is not good for my job as I will most certainly be biased when I’m going to offer financial products. But for my personal finances management, it was a revelation. What a great book Beat the Bank: The Canadian Guide to Simply Successful Investing
SUMMARY ¹ TEXASBEERGUIDE.COM ¹ Larry Bates
Make the big banks work for you, not against you!
You work hard. You sacrifice to save. You risk your money in the market over your working lifetime and you trust your bank to treat you fairly. But your bank strips away half of your lifetime investment returns in fees. Without realizing it, millions of Canadians are in precisely this position.
How does the industry pull this off? The big Canadian banks and by extension our entire financial industry occupy a position of paternalistic authority that too many individual investors respect unquestioningly. The industry brilliantly capitalizes on the combination of poor understanding of fees, deep loyalty, and misplaced trust by charging Canadians the highest investment fees in the world. There is a better way!
The Wealthy Barber taught Canadians the importance of saving. Beat the Bank will teach Canadians the importance of investing well. Wanda Morris VP of Advocacy, CARP
Larry Bates offers a detailed look at everything that's wrong with our traditional investment model and even importantly, shows readers just how easy it is to invest their money simply and successfully. A must read. Robert R. Brown, Author of Wealthing Like Rabbits, An Original and Occasionally Hilarious Introduction to the World of Personal Finance
enlightening, horrifying, entertaining and enormously useful Neil Gross, former Executive Director, FAIR Canada
If you wonder why your bank sold mutual funds are going nowhere, Larry Bates has the answers. Ellen Roseman, Toronto Star consumer columnist and investing instructor at University of Toronto school of continuing education.
Millions of Canadian mutual fund investors unknowingly pay fees that erode their returns by as much as 50% over time! Industry insider Larry Bates clearly explains how, why, and what you can do about it. Robb Engen, Boomer Larry shares some powerful stories over his 35 years as an investment banker. It's like you're a fly on the wall in his office. Beat the Bank should be required reading in Ontario's new financial literacy course in high school. Sean Cooper, Bestselling Author of Burn Your Mortgage and Mortgage Agent Beat the Bank: The Canadian Guide to Simply Successful Investing
