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General education only — not personalized investment, legal, or tax advice. No advisory relationship is formed by using this site.

A cairn marks the path. A tree represents growth.

Navigate your "DIY" investment journey with clarity and confidence.

Start with: What is a MER and other Fees

THE FULL PATH
Four stages, in the order things actually happen

CURRICULUM

Start at the top if you're new to this. Jump to a module directly if you already know what you're looking for.

Module 1   Why Look At This At All

  1. What is a MER  - The single fee that quietly shapes how much of your own money you actually keep.
  2. Where most people's money ends up  -  How the average investor ends up in a bank-managed mutual fund without ever really choosing it.
  3. What that fee costs over time  -  A dollars-and-cents look at how a MER gap compounds over 10, 20, and 30 years.
  4. How much simpler this actually is now  -  A reassurance stop before the how-to detail — self-directed investing isn't as complicated as it sounds.

Module 2   Making the Switch

  1. Opening a brokerage account  -  The general steps and documents involved in opening a self-directed account.
  2. Minimum requirements  -  What brokerages commonly ask for before an account is opened and funded.
  3. Account types: cash, margin, and registered  -  Cash, margin, and registered accounts like TFSA and RRSP, explained generally.
  4. Funding your account  -  Lump sum versus contributing over time, and the tradeoffs of each.
  5. Moving your money over, in-kind  -  What an in-kind transfer is, and why some mutual funds have to be sold to cash first.
  6. Setting up automatic contributions  -  Linking automatic, payday-timed deposits into a self-directed account.

Module 3 Investing Mechanics

  1. Starting simple: one broad-market ETF-  Why many self-directed investors start with a single broad-market ETF, and when a few more come into play.

  2. Individual stocks vs. broad-market ETFs -  The mechanics and tradeoffs of stock-picking alongside a buy-and-hold ETF core.

  3. Understanding order types and execution - Market, limit, and stop orders explained against a mock order ticket.

  4. Entering and exiting a trade  -  A walkthrough of placing and closing a trade on the mock EXFD interface.

  5. Stops, explained -  What a stop order is, and why it's mostly a short-term trading tool rather than a buy-and-hold one.

Module 4   Ongoing Portfolio Management

  1. Diversifying across accounts-  How holdings and account types interact once you hold more than one account.

  2. Asset allocation and asset location- What each term means, how they differ, and why the distinction matters at tax time.

  3. Rebalancing a portfolio  -  Using new contributions to rebalance versus actively selling and buying.

  4. Withdrawals and rebalancing on the way out-  How taking money out affects the balance of the accounts left behind.

  5. Currency and cross-border considerations-  General notes on currency conversion and US/Canada retirement account tax treaties.

02 ACCOUNTS
  • Registered vs. Non-Reg
  • Tax-Advantaged Growth
  • Contribution Rooms
  • The Multi-Account Strategy
03 PORTFOLIO
  • ETFs & Asset Allocation
  • Stock Market Mechanics
  • Risk Tolerance Assessment
  • Diversification Rules
04 EXECUTION
  • Managing your MER
  • Order Types & Trading
  • Rebalancing Tactics
  • Emotional Discipline

Where to go next

Tools

Practical calculators and spreadsheets designed to analyze your MER and long-term path.

Courses

Step-by-step guides from opening your first account to mastering complex portfolios.

Blog

Weekly insights on personal finance, market trends, and the philosophy of DIY investing.

Questions? Reach out to our guide team.

Investing is a learned skill

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