Mutual Fund Link of the Month

It seems a lot of people are curious about whether they are keeping up with the Joneses. (Or how their portfolio is doing compared to the Dow Joneses?) doing. If you are interested in seeing how your wealth stacks up to other Canadians, please visit the statistics Canada site, which has a wealth of information. (Ok, too many puns?).

"The Wealth of Canadians: An Overview" publication, shows that the median family's net worth was $146,000 in 2005. Canadians typically had $13 in debts for every $100 in assets. Not surprisingly, younger families with children had the largest debt loads. For more information, see the complete report at:

• Statistics Canada - See how you are doing

ScotiaMcLeod Related Sites

• ScotiaMcLeod - Of course, we think you should check out ScotiaMcLeod's web site. It's got information about client services, market news and the economy, plus real time market data.
• Scotiabank - Our bank allows you to transfer funds to your non-Registered brokerage account, just select Add Payee and enter your ScotiaMcLeod account number (all 10 digits, no hypens) under Bill Payment (select ScotiaMcLeod or Scotia Discount) to register.
• Quicken - Financial news and stock quotes from Quicken.

Mutual Fund Reference

• The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) - IFIC is the national association of mutual fund companies and dealers. The site provides general information about mutual funds as well as mutual fund statistics.
• The Globe & Mail's "GLOBEfund" - Use GLOBEfund to generate reports on mutual funds, produce historical price charts, lookup mutual funds articles published in The Globe & Mail, learn about mutual fund terms and concepts, track funds you own or are interested in.
• The Fund Library - This is a great source for mutual fund investors - it offers industry news, performance numbers and even a chat group for investors.
• Morningstar - We use the commercial version of this tool to chart the performance of your mutual funds. Morningstar's site is an in-depth performance reporting site and has numerous portfolio tools and mutual fund articles.
• Fundscope - This is a "for-fee" analysis site for comparing funds. It has a good correlation tool.
• FundMonitor.com - An informative site run by our good friend Duff Young, with a unique fund correlation tool.
• Yahoo's Mutual Fund Centre

Great Stock and Investment Reference Sites

• Barra.com - A great site for learning about investment management styles.
• Big Charts Canada - Great stock charts and info
• Canada Pension Plan investment information site - Find out how the CPP is investing our 14 Billion.
• Canada Newswire - For portfolio email alerts on your stocks
• Company Sleuth - Get email alerts about publicly traded US companies.
• Investcom.com - A good general reference Canadian site - includes a "must see" comment about our site.
• Investordeliverycanada.com - To get your stock information.
• Investor Education Fund - The Ontario Securities Commission's source for objective investment advice. Lots of good information for investors.
• Ontario Securities Commission - The regulatory body for securities in Ontario. OSC publishes investment scam alerts.
• ProxyVote.com - An electronic solution for reducing paper flow and ensuring companies follow your shareholder wishes.
• Proxyvotecanada.com - The Canadian version.
• Smartmoney.com - A site with the coolest stock index map we've seen.
• Stockhouse.ca - A great site for stock information
• Toronto Stock Exchange - The TSE has a great site with information for investors on the market and how it works, member companies, listed companies, regulation, financial products.

Mutual Fund Companies

Any of these Mutual Funds can be bought through ScotiaMcLeod:

• Acuity - Including Clean Environment
• AGF - Including 20/20 & Global Strategy
• AIC
• AIM Trimark - Including GT Global
• Altamira
• BMO
• CI - Including BPI, Harbour, Signature, Spectrum United, Synergy & CI Global Advisors
• CIBC Securities Inc.
• IA Clarington
• Dynamic - Including StrategicNova
• Elliott & Page
• Ethical Funds
• Fidelity Investments

• Franklin Templeton - Including Bissett
• Guardian
• Mackenzie Financial - Including Cundill, Industrial, Ivy, STAR and Universal
• Northwest Funds
• Renaissance - Formerly Atlas
• Royal Mutual Funds
• Saxon
• Sceptre
• Scotia Excelsior
• Talvest
• TD Green Line

Tax Sites

ScotiaMcLeod does not provide tax or accounting advice. Please refer to these sites or your tax professional for tax information.

• Canada Revenue Agency - Find your RRSP room and refund status on the CCRA TIPS page
• CGA Ontario Publications These resources include ABCs of Accounting: Accounting Definitions, Get Your Tax Together: Bringing Key Records to Your CGA and the annual Personal Tax Planning Guide, which is a valuable booklet for those who wish to reduce taxes payable.
• Ernst & Young's Personal Tax Calculator
• H&R Block's Tax Changes
• KPMG
• Quicken tax site

Tax Software

• Quicktax
• Cantax
• Hometax

Miscellaneous

• Find out your home's assessed value (From OPAC)
• Get your credit history from Equifax

Missing some money? Check out:

• The Bank of Canada Canadian Unclaimed Balances Website
• Found Money website
• Or invest in a web scam if you want to lose money: The SEC Prepared this Phony Website

Got some old stock certificates? Be careful, but check out:

• http://www.stocksearchintl.com/
• http://www.unclaimedassets.com/
• http://www.rm-smythe.com/research.htm
• http://www.researcholdstocks.com/
• http://www.oldstockresearch.com/