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Even though today’s house prices are high, mortgage interest costs are near historic lows. And owning your own home has a number of advantages.

For example, owning your house is a great tax shelter. That’s because gains on your principal residence are exempt from capital-gains taxes. However, this tax benefit only applies to your principal residence. You must still pay …read more »

Here are four common mistakes to avoid when investing in the stock market. All can seriously hinder your portfolio’s long-term results.

1. Focusing too heavily on cutting costs: Cutting the costs of investing has an immediate, obvious benefit: it leaves you with more money. But some cost-cutting investment techniques can wind up costing you money in the long run.

For example, some …read more »

A subscriber to Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing, recently asked us how much importance we give to a company’s name when we’re selecting growth stock picks to recommend in our newsletters and investment services. He felt that a poorly thought-out company name may reflect a poorly thought-out business plan and a low chance of success.

He specifically …read more »

Investors sometimes ask us how to select the best investments for young children. If children are under the age of 18, they cannot yet invest as adults. However, there are a couple of savings and investment options available.

The first option is for you (or the child) to open a bank account in the child’s name. Interest paid on small balances …read more »

Online stock investing can look like a great way to build wealth, but it has many hidden dangers.

Trading too frequently: The main risk is that the lower costs and higher speeds of online stock investing can quickly lead otherwise conservative investors to trade too frequently. That can lead you to sell your best picks when they are just getting started. …read more »

Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) are a great way for investors to cut their tax bills and make more money from their retirement investing.

RRSPs are a form of tax-deferred savings plan. RRSP contributions are tax deductible, and the investments grow tax-free. (Note that you can contribute up to 18% of your earned income from the previous year, to a …read more »

In our new report, Mutual Funds Canada: Inside the Top 10 Canadian Mutual Funds, we spotlight the top 10 Canadian mutual funds for your portfolio.

But that’s not all. We also show you how we selected these funds, and strategies you can use to find funds that are capable of weathering a market slump, and profiting anew when the market …read more »

When you join my Inner Circle service, you get to ask me your own personal investment questions, plus you get to see what other Inner Circle members have asked, along with our answers.

Recently, we received a member question about Cobra Oil & Gas Co. (the company has since changed its name to Viper Resources Inc., symbol VPRS on the …read more »

One way to cut your tax bill in retirement is for you and your spouse to arrange the family finances so that you each have equal retirement income.

That’s because, if one spouse earns more than the other, the higher-income spouse would, of course, be in a higher tax bracket. That means that any extra money the higher-income spouse earns …read more »

When you analyze a stock, it’s important to have an idea of how likely it is to survive a business slump and go on to prosper when economic growth resumes.

A number of factors can help you to do that. These include the interest rate on the company’s debt, how sensitive it is to economic cycles, its advantages and disadvantages …read more »