Couch Potato Investing

1. iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF [TSX:XIC] – Buy $3,300
2. iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF [TSX:XUS] – Buy $3,300
3. iShare Core High Quality Canadian Bond Index ETF [TSX:XQB] – Buy $3,300

Once a year, the investor must buy and sell his ETFs (or add new money) to get portfolio back to its 30%-30%-30% split. The result is a low-cost portfolio that has 66% of money invested in a wide range of stocks in Canada and US and 33% invested in Canadian Bonds.

1. iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF [TSX:XIC] – $2,000
2. iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF [TSX:XUS] – $2,000
3. iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF [TSX:XEF] – $2,000
4. iShare Core High Quality Canadian Bond Index ETF [TSX:XQB] – $4,000

Once a year, the investor must buy and sell his ETFs (or add new money) to get portfolio back to its 20%-20%-20%-40% split. The result is a low-cost portfolio that has 60% of money invested in a wide range of Canada, US and International Stocks and 40% invested in Canadian Bonds.

High Growth Couch Potato Portfolio
This portfolio has higher exposure to stocks. It’s more volatile and hence more risky than other Couch Potato Portfolios but produces higher returns over time.
The investor wants to invest $10,000 in the High Growth Couch Potato Portfolio. The investor buys the following four mutual funds which represent 1. Canadian Stocks, 2. US Stocks, 3. International Stocks and 4. Canadian Bonds:

1. iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF [TSX:XIC] – $2,500
2. iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF [TSX:XUS] – $2,500
3. iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF [TSX:XEF] – $2,500
4. iShare Core High Quality Canadian Bond Index ETF [TSX:XQB] – $2,500

Once a year, the investor must buy and sell his ETFs (or add new money) to get portfolio back to its 25%-25%-25%-25% split.