Focusing on what's Relevant: Canadian Investing

There is an incredible amount of information out there on investing, so much in fact that it is hard to narrow down what is relevant.  The other day I went to my local Chapters to get a glimpse of the resources that were out there, and I was reminded of something I had thought about once before.  A lot, and I mean the majority, of the resources I found were based on American investing.  This probably isn’t a problem for the more seasoned investors out there who can probably take the most important messages of the books and apply them to the equivalent opportunities available on Canada.  However, for someone just starting out it can be difficult to distinguish between what is relevant for Canadian investing, and what is only available in the United States.

For example, in the Bogleheads Guide to Investing they often suggest maxing out Roth IRA funds.  I was beginning to wrap my head around the concept of IRA’s when I realized these plans are specific to the United States.  Of course this is just a retirement plan so I am guessing that a Canadian RRSP is similar, but what if there are minute differences that make all the difference when making investing decisions?  Should I follow the advice about IRAs and just apply them to RRSPs? What concerns me is that I don’t know, and I’m sure this isn’t the only case.

So while the best and most reputable books are on American investing, I feel that I should supplement them with some Canadian resources.  I purchased one of the only Canadian-specific guides available at chapters (a whopping 90 pages long), and I am hoping it will give me some perspective on what is relevant to me.

I have also decided that if I find any good Canadian resources, I will post them with a unique tag or title so they are easy to find.  I’m sure I’m not the only one with this problem, so I think a solid list of Canadian references would be beneficial for everyone.