Long Weekend Reading: Family Day Edition

Welcome to another edition of weekend reading. Monday is Family Day here in Alberta so we’re enjoying a long weekend and looking forward to some fun and affordable family entertainment. With that in mind, I don’t want to spend my entire Sunday morning writing, so let’s get on with the links.

This long weekend reading edition features a critical look at teaching financial literacy in schools, plus why Canadians continue to put their money into high-priced active mutual funds, despite the overwhelming evidence that low-cost passive solutions lead to better investor outcomes.

This Week’s Recap:

On Monday I looked at the pros and cons of getting an RRSP loan.

On Wednesday Marie offered a potential solution to the seemingly inequitable CPP survivor benefit.

And on Friday I shared some tax tips for eager tax-filers like me.

Join our growing Facebook community – now 3,300 members strong – for more money discussions and interesting links.

Weekend Reading:

Financial literacy advocates have long fought for better and more practical ways to teach personal finance skills in high school. Ontario schools have answered the call and will roll out a pilot learning module on financial literacy aimed at 15-16 year-olds.

Beware of letting the fox in the henhouse. Teachers’ unions in Quebec say high school finance courses were concocted by the banks.

Why do we need to protect Canadian consumers from the banking and investment industry? Nest Wealth’s Randy Cass explains that Canadians don’t have a saving problem, we have a fee problem:

Investment advisors and fund managers in the U.S. charge less than their Canadian counterparts, but still, Warren Buffett says money managers charge too much.

Yet despite the high fees charge by actively managed mutual funds, Canadians have been surprisingly slow to adopt low-cost index investing.

Surprisingly slow might even be a stretch. A new report revealed that Canadians are pouring more money into active mutual funds and ETFs than into passive solutions. Passive market share actually dipped below 10% in 2016. This is contrary to what’s happening south of the border, where there has been a demonstrable shift into low-cost passive investments, which make up 35% market share.

What is going on? The real answer is “who knows,” but the Morningstar Canadian crew has an answer: Big banks, incentives, and backward self-regulation are to blame.

So how much should you pay in investment fees? MoneySense’s Jason Heath answers this complicated question.

While the investment industry (slowly) reforms and a light has shone on previously hidden fees, there are no such regulations in place for the insurance industry. Rob Carrick with a shocking look at how much commission you’re paying to your insurance broker.

Useful tips from Tom Drake and Stephen Weyman on how to make little changes that can save big bucks.

How to supersize your RESP? Use it as a TFSA, plus other tips from Aaron Hector.

It’s common for one spouse to look after the finances in a relationship, but what happens when the household CFO dies first? Michael James takes a look at money skills and spouses.

How much do you need to retire? Million Dollar Journey found five useful retirement calculators.

Des Odjick at Half Banked shares four ways to be good at money that don’t suck.

Should you take out an expensive insurance policy for your pet? Barry Choi explains why a pet emergency fund is probably a better solution.

Financial Uproar with a gritty tale of how he leveraged 10 seconds of work into $200,000 of future earnings.

Finally, The Blunt Bean Counter with an updated look at the salary vs. dividend dilemma – what small business owners need to know.

Have a great weekend, everyone!