Last year my partner Kurt and I watched every episode of The Sopranos. This classic series from the 1990s pulled me in, especially the lead character, Tony Soprano. Tony is a mob boss in New Jersey. He's tenacious, gutsy, cunning, and ruthless - and yet quite endearing. Despite his success as a leader, Tony is ignorant on many topics, including managing money, beyond stashing cash in odd places. As such, he's got some great lines about investing, including this one:
"Stocks? You gotta be high up on the corporate structure to make that sh*t work for you."
Well, Tony was wrong on this one*.
Investing is available to people across the wealth spectrum. You don't need to have a lot of money, pay a ton in fees, or know someone in the business. Over the past three decades, investing has become more and more accessible due to the introduction of online trading platforms, the growth of mutual funds and ETFs, and the emergence of robo-advisors.
One of the easiest ways to get invested is through all-in-one ETFs. An all-in-one exchange-traded fund (also called an asset allocation ETF) is a fund that invests in other ETFs. It can give you exposure to thousands of stocks and bonds across dozens of countries all in one product. It requires literally no work from you after you've invested, and incredibly, the fees are very low. It's truly the easiest way to get invested in the stock market.
What do you need to do to get invested?
1. Open an online brokerage account (with your bank or with another provider like Questrade or WealthSimple).
2. Determine how to best allocate your money between stocks and bonds. You can do this with a simple online questionnaire.
3. Choose an all-in-one ETF that matches your stock/bond mix.
4. Buy it.
5. Leave it be.
As Tony's wife Carmela says to him when he resists her attempts to invest their money, “There’s always some excuse.” Well, take the “complicated” excuse off the list – an all-in-one ETF makes it easy.
Take care of yourself (and your money),
Anita Bruinsma, CFA
Clarity Personal Finance
*Just as he was with one of my favourite lines, which most people would not even have noticed: "I've got my money tied up in asset allocation", demonstrating his constant need to appear smart even on topics he doesn't understand. (Asset allocation is not an investment product you have your money tied up in.)
