Super Bowl Reflections

Good Afternoon, You probably noticed during the commercial breaks two common themes: Jon Hamm from Skip the Dishes and Questrade. Despite spending a lot of money to air during the Super Bowl, Questrade’s investment track record leaves a lot to be desired. Every Questrade portfolio has consistently underperformed their fund category. And thanks to their ads, We found it a little difficult to sit back and enjoy the game without being offended by the question: “You’re not still investing with Mom and Dad’s guy, are you?” “The lower fees are making a big difference.” Are you sure? Over the years, Questrade has focused on shifting the entire investment conversation to costs (which I suppose is no surprise given their relatively poor investment returns). As such, their misguided basis is a simple calculation of who paid the least amount in fees. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve always said that costs are important. It’s one of the reasons we deliver industry-leading fees to our clients. But don’t the actual investment results matter? With that we have put together some charts (see below) based on data last year from Dalbar. This survey indicates that investors have an increasing level of trust and confidence in their financial advisor. The same survey also showed that investors are placing increasing value on financial advice.

Attached is a client-friendly Questrade comparison.

qestrade-investment-outcome.pdf

We take a fact-based approach in comparing the RBC Select Portfolios with that of Questrade We hope that this is helpful. Thank you, Val Your RBC Global Asset Management Team