[bdub]

There's a ton of empirical evidence that mutual fund managers underperform their respective benchmark after fees, research and trading costs are factored in. Buying the top ten holdings in whatever mutual fund suits your fancy is going to outperform the fund more times than not. And most investors would be better served using a simple, low cost index fund in whatever asset class you are wanting to invest in, rather than wasting your money and time buying a mutual fund from any bank. All the various asset classes can be covered by low cost ETF's that are 99.9% going to outperform any mutual fund after fees over time.

You are also probably better off spending money on advice on asset allocation and tax planning rather than on which stocks or mutual funds to own. That where most people screw up imo. They think they are well diversified yet their portfolios are holding nothing but CDN stocks, or US stocks for example, or even worse nothing but stocks in a certain industry. Or they are so risk adverse that they only hold GIC's or bonds. And/or they don't bother taking advantage of the tax shelters, options available.

Put some effort into educating yourself and you can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees and taxes over a lifetime. Spend less than you make, invest wisely, watch the fees, your taxes and trading costs and don't loose your head when volatility hits markets and you should do well over time. And pray that the governments don't screw us all over with their stupidity.

Good luck.