The Globe and Mail's Smart Money

The Globe and Mail's Smart Money section is dedicated to giving you what you need to manage your personal finances successfully. Smart Money appears every Saturday in The Globe and Mail and on globeinvestor.com.

Size does matter

Despite some fee issues, the biggest funds in Canada, on the whole, have delivered in the last three years. 11 of 25 were index-beaters

By ROB CARRICK

rcarrick@globeandmail.comBig funds, big results.In the investing world, there's a never-ending argument over whether mutual funds charge too much in fees and whether index-tracking exchange-traded funds are a smarter choice. But in the past three years, the biggest funds in Canada have delivered good returns on the whole.

Technology and health stocks rebound strongly

By SHIRLEY WON

swon@globeandmail.com WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?It's Halloween so let's see which funds are handing out the best technology treats. With signs of a global economic recovery, this cyclical sector should benefit from increased capital spending.

Like investing, teaching it is best done early, often

Given young people's insatiable online habits, education makes sense - and the more parents are involved the better, experts say

By MARLENE HABIB

Adults aren't the only ones taking stock of online-investment opportunities. Cyber investing and planning for it have become child's play, too.While the piggy bank and first bank account remain staples in starting young consumers on the savings road, the Internet has become key in getting them interested in piling up interest.

Only a group effort can prevent investor fraud

Financial institutions have ramped up Internet security measures, but responsibility still rests mainly with the individual

By MARLENE HABIB

It cuts deep into your soul - and pocketbook.Investment fraud leaves victims financially, mentally and spiritually violated, and often feeling foolish they were taken by the likes of U.S. financier Bernard Madoff and Norbourg former chief Vincent Lacroix.

Think twice: So easy to say, so difficult to do

In certain situations your mind will naturally pull you in one direction, warns author and market strategist Michael Mauboussin. The trick for investors, he tells Brian Milner, is to prepare oneself and he explains how

By BRIAN MILNER

Just after handing in the manuscript of his latest book, Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition, Michael Mauboussin and his family had a single bad experience with the service at an otherwise fine Manhattan restaurant. His wife, Michelle, vowed never to return. It was a reaction based on instinct and the typical belief that the future would unfold like the past. For her husband, one of the more cerebral of market strategists, it was a personal example of why smart people keep making bad decisions, the very subject of his book. In reality, that restaurant will probably do better next time, while the eatery that had a good day is more likely to have a bad one at some point.

The rapid rise of an indie brokerage

Questrade's business plan is based on battling the banks on technology, service, pricing and innovation

By THERESA EBDEN

When stock markets crashed during the 2008 credit crisis, causing panic across North America, Questrade CEO Edward Kholodenko had reason to remain calm.Experience had taught him that an opportunity to build his business was waiting.

This retirement plan keeps on giving

By DIANNE MALEY

Now that they're financially comfortable, Monica and Victor like nothing better than to help out their three married children.They've been lucky enough to retire early - he's 59 and she's 60 - they have a nice home with no mortgage in London, Ont., and more than enough pension and other income to meet their needs.

Faceoff coming over Syncrude stake?

By ANDREW WILLIS

awillis@globeandmail.comOn the face of it, it should be relatively simple for ConocoPhillips to dump its 9-per-cent stake in the Syncrude oil sands project.The U.S. energy company is a motivated seller - management has promised to shed $10-billion in assets - and across the table sits an obvious buyer.

Rise of the kitchen table traders

The recent surge in equities has lured do-it-yourselfers back to their keyboards, but this time they have high-tech help

By THERESA EBDEN

The meteoric rise of stocks so far this year has summoned the decade-old spirit of a past rally: the day trader.A 57 per cent gain in the SandP 500 Index since March has made it more tempting to flip equities from the home computer. But it was the big rout that preceded this rally that sparked the interest, said Ben Bittrolff, 30, a seasoned day trader who says he is up 373 per cent on the year.

tepid / WAITING FOR ECONOMIC PROOF

Top companies have surprised the Street with their strong earnings reports, but that is being undermined by weak economic news. This see-saw effect is expected to limit the rise in the markets

By SIMON AVERY AND ALLAN ROBINSON

During last week's intense round of third-quarter reporting, big companies delivered. At the same time, the central banks of the U.S. and Canada stayed focused on their messages of vigilance and restraint. Together, these events seemed to dispel much of the anxiety that had been building in recent days.

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