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Beat the Bank: The Canadian Guide to Simply Successful Investing
Make the big banks work for you, not against you!
You work hard. You sacrifice to save. You risk your money in the market over your working lifetime and you trust your bank to treat you fairly. But your bank strips away half of your lifetime investment returns in fees. Without realizing it, millions of Canadians are in precisely this position.
How does the industry pull this off? The big Canadian banks - and by extension our entire financial industry - occupy a position of paternalistic authority that too many individual investors respect unquestioningly. The industry brilliantly capitalizes on the combination of poor understanding of fees, deep loyalty, and misplaced trust by charging Canadians the highest investment fees in the world. There is a better way!
"The Wealthy Barber taught Canadians the importance of saving. Beat the Bank will teach Canadians the importance of investing well." Wanda Morris VP of Advocacy, CARP
"Larry Bates offers a detailed look at everything that's wrong with our "traditional" investment model and even more importantly, shows readers just how easy it is to invest their money simply - and successfully. A must read." Robert R. Brown, Author of Wealthing Like Rabbits, An Original and Occasionally Hilarious Introduction to the World of Personal Finance
"...enlightening, horrifying, entertaining and enormously useful" Neil Gross, former Executive Director, FAIR Canada
"If you wonder why your bank-sold mutual funds are going nowhere, Larry Bates has the answers." Ellen Roseman, Toronto Star consumer columnist and investing instructor at University of Toronto school of continuing education.
"Millions of Canadian mutual fund investors unknowingly pay fees that erode their returns by as much as 50% over time! Industry insider Larry Bates clearly explains how, why, and what you can do about it." Robb Engen, Boomer & Echo
"Larry shares some powerful stories over his 35 years as an investment banker. It's like you're a fly on the wall in his office. Beat the Bank should be required reading in Ontario's new financial literacy course in high school." Sean Cooper, Bestselling Author of Burn Your Mortgage and Mortgage Agent
You work hard. You sacrifice to save. You risk your money in the market over your working lifetime and you trust your bank to treat you fairly. But your bank strips away half of your lifetime investment returns in fees. Without realizing it, millions of Canadians are in precisely this position.
How does the industry pull this off? The big Canadian banks - and by extension our entire financial industry - occupy a position of paternalistic authority that too many individual investors respect unquestioningly. The industry brilliantly capitalizes on the combination of poor understanding of fees, deep loyalty, and misplaced trust by charging Canadians the highest investment fees in the world. There is a better way!
"The Wealthy Barber taught Canadians the importance of saving. Beat the Bank will teach Canadians the importance of investing well." Wanda Morris VP of Advocacy, CARP
"Larry Bates offers a detailed look at everything that's wrong with our "traditional" investment model and even more importantly, shows readers just how easy it is to invest their money simply - and successfully. A must read." Robert R. Brown, Author of Wealthing Like Rabbits, An Original and Occasionally Hilarious Introduction to the World of Personal Finance
"...enlightening, horrifying, entertaining and enormously useful" Neil Gross, former Executive Director, FAIR Canada
"If you wonder why your bank-sold mutual funds are going nowhere, Larry Bates has the answers." Ellen Roseman, Toronto Star consumer columnist and investing instructor at University of Toronto school of continuing education.
"Millions of Canadian mutual fund investors unknowingly pay fees that erode their returns by as much as 50% over time! Industry insider Larry Bates clearly explains how, why, and what you can do about it." Robb Engen, Boomer & Echo
"Larry shares some powerful stories over his 35 years as an investment banker. It's like you're a fly on the wall in his office. Beat the Bank should be required reading in Ontario's new financial literacy course in high school." Sean Cooper, Bestselling Author of Burn Your Mortgage and Mortgage Agent
239 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 11, 2018
219 people are currently reading
1718 people want to read
About the author
Larry Bates
20 books9 followersLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
May 22, 2019
I've known for several years that if I did my own investing it would be a lot cheaper. Years ago I'd heard of 'couch potato' investing and it was always on my 'to do' list of things to get around to. Then ETFs came on the scene. I wanted a cheaper alternative and since my advisor wasn't offering it, I tried another route.
Unfortunately the bank advisors weren't much better.
"I'd like to try Index Funds and ETFs so I can reduce my fees."
"Those type of funds can only purchased through the online brokerage account. Do you have one?"
"No."
"Well let me show you this fund, modelled on the Canadian Index."
It wasn't until I took an investment course this past fall that it finally sunk in that front-office bank staff and mutual fund 'financial advisors' aren't licensed to sell anything else but mutual funds. What I wound up with from the bank retail discussions were mutual funds that were modelled on index funds and even labelled as such. They referred to them as 'funds' so I wasn't really catching on. Misleading!
Yes, buyer beware, but I feel like my long-time advisor and my trusted financial institutions have taken me for a sucker.
The course I signed up for was a college night course, thirty hours over ten weeks, with an introduction to bonds, the stock market, options, trading etc. Now, while I'm certainly no expert, I am less intimidated by all the lingo and finally got around to setting up that online account.
I am still a couch potato at heart. By the end of the course it was confirmed.
When I saw the title of this book by Larry Bates, Beat the Bank, it became a handbook for me to help with assembling my own online portfolio.
The book reinforced that Canadians are a loyal bunch, trusting in our banks and among the highest per capita to hold mutual funds. We are also charged the highest management expense ratios (MERs) anywhere on the planet. Percentages of 2.0 - 2.5 percent don't sound too bad until you start adding it all up. Over the long-term, those fees can eat up as much as half of your investment return! Infuriating! The author's website has a useful tool to help illustrate how much of your investment return your actually get to keep.
What's that saying? "Better late than never?" Or, "it's only too late if you don't start now"?
Unfortunately the bank advisors weren't much better.
"I'd like to try Index Funds and ETFs so I can reduce my fees."
"Those type of funds can only purchased through the online brokerage account. Do you have one?"
"No."
"Well let me show you this fund, modelled on the Canadian Index."
It wasn't until I took an investment course this past fall that it finally sunk in that front-office bank staff and mutual fund 'financial advisors' aren't licensed to sell anything else but mutual funds. What I wound up with from the bank retail discussions were mutual funds that were modelled on index funds and even labelled as such. They referred to them as 'funds' so I wasn't really catching on. Misleading!
Yes, buyer beware, but I feel like my long-time advisor and my trusted financial institutions have taken me for a sucker.
The course I signed up for was a college night course, thirty hours over ten weeks, with an introduction to bonds, the stock market, options, trading etc. Now, while I'm certainly no expert, I am less intimidated by all the lingo and finally got around to setting up that online account.
I am still a couch potato at heart. By the end of the course it was confirmed.
When I saw the title of this book by Larry Bates, Beat the Bank, it became a handbook for me to help with assembling my own online portfolio.
The book reinforced that Canadians are a loyal bunch, trusting in our banks and among the highest per capita to hold mutual funds. We are also charged the highest management expense ratios (MERs) anywhere on the planet. Percentages of 2.0 - 2.5 percent don't sound too bad until you start adding it all up. Over the long-term, those fees can eat up as much as half of your investment return! Infuriating! The author's website has a useful tool to help illustrate how much of your investment return your actually get to keep.
What's that saying? "Better late than never?" Or, "it's only too late if you don't start now"?
March 9, 2024
Don’t buy mutual funds
July 28, 2022
This is a must read! Before reading, I had about as little investment knowledge as humanly possible. Now, I believe Bates has given me the basic knowledge required to begin directing my own investments to avoid high fees from big banks and ultimately realize greater long term gains.
December 27, 2018
Good ideas for Canadians for budgets, investing etc. It has been done before but this one is specifically for the Canadian public, no conversion needed.
July 14, 2019
Super useful guide for big dumb idiots like me who don’t know anything about investing. Feeling a lot more confident now and able to do it myself and soon I’ll be a millionaire...🤷🏼♀️
January 26, 2020
Excellent and accessible book directed towards those who are new to or interested in learning more about investing from a Canadian perspective. I was worried when I started looking for simple and informative introductions to investing (because, really, I'm getting to an age where I should seriously consider these things), that finding something from the Canadian context would be difficult. I was wrong and really happy to come across Larry Bates book. Also, reading this book after reading Millionaire Teacher was a good combination, particularly surrounding the agreement between them with the addition of a better explanation of the Canadian market in this book. In any case, this short book was definitely worth reading for an investing newbie like me.
March 10, 2019
This book was well written and easy to understand with some compelling examples on just how much those MER fees eat away at your investments. I have already transferred my mutual funds into ETFs and I’m trying to convince everyone I know to do the same.
December 30, 2024
A great introduction to “couch potato” investing. However, if you’re financially literate, this might not be the book for you. Beat The Bank focuses on the Canadian market, and setting up a low-fee long term portfolio for those that may have relied on banks to invest for them.
Simply put, Larry Bates (former senior banker), pushes you to ditch your mutual funds and seek ETFs or pick singular stocks yourself. The reasoning: mutual fund fees steal upwards of 50% of your earnings. Full stop.
As a financially literate person (ie. MBA in finance) the above wasn’t breaking news. However, movement in markets is largely psychology based - it pays to see what books and info the public has access to. These books also have a great way of explaining these concepts easily - I sometimes struggle with these explanations (engineer mind gets the best of me…). Me aside, if you’re from Canada and new to this whole stock market and investing thing, this is a great resource.
Old Bay Street (or Canadian Wall Street), as Bates refers to it as, has a business model of fees fees fees. And the public is set up for failure through tough financial jargon. They’re forced to listen to these bankers. New Bay Street consists of low fees (ie. Wealthsimple, Questtrade, etc) and simple investment tools. Our goal is to lower fees as much as possible - focus on New Bay Street.
The talks of TREX scores long term was interesting (essentially how much $ the bank steals from you with fees). It’s clear fees suck, but this explanation really put it into perspective.
In all, great book, great reminder to play the long game, don’t buy mutual funds.
For what it’s worth, my current long term portfolio is (as of Dec 2024):
VEQT and/or VGRO 75% (Global markets)
QQQ 5-10% (Tech)
SCHD 10% (Dividends)
Cash 5-10% (~2.5% interest account)
Simply put, Larry Bates (former senior banker), pushes you to ditch your mutual funds and seek ETFs or pick singular stocks yourself. The reasoning: mutual fund fees steal upwards of 50% of your earnings. Full stop.
As a financially literate person (ie. MBA in finance) the above wasn’t breaking news. However, movement in markets is largely psychology based - it pays to see what books and info the public has access to. These books also have a great way of explaining these concepts easily - I sometimes struggle with these explanations (engineer mind gets the best of me…). Me aside, if you’re from Canada and new to this whole stock market and investing thing, this is a great resource.
Old Bay Street (or Canadian Wall Street), as Bates refers to it as, has a business model of fees fees fees. And the public is set up for failure through tough financial jargon. They’re forced to listen to these bankers. New Bay Street consists of low fees (ie. Wealthsimple, Questtrade, etc) and simple investment tools. Our goal is to lower fees as much as possible - focus on New Bay Street.
The talks of TREX scores long term was interesting (essentially how much $ the bank steals from you with fees). It’s clear fees suck, but this explanation really put it into perspective.
In all, great book, great reminder to play the long game, don’t buy mutual funds.
For what it’s worth, my current long term portfolio is (as of Dec 2024):
VEQT and/or VGRO 75% (Global markets)
QQQ 5-10% (Tech)
SCHD 10% (Dividends)
Cash 5-10% (~2.5% interest account)
September 28, 2024
4.5*
Certainly one of the essential books about investing every Canadian should read, as soon as possible.
I read The Millionaire Teacher a few years back. This is the same type of book - makes understanding the basics of the stock market and investing in a very digestible and easy to understand way. I didn't learn much personally, having been interested in the Financial Independence community since I read The Millionaire Teacher, but I won't hesitate to recommend Beat the Bank to interested friends.
The only disadvantage of this book today is that it's not perfectly up to date given its age. This is to be expected - between 2018 and 2024, concepts such as balanced low-cost ETFs (although they do get a cute excited footnote in this book!) and FHSAs have evolved and would now have to be included in an updated version of a book like this. An appendix on strategies to optimize investing in non-registered accounts as well would be a great addition.
Certainly one of the essential books about investing every Canadian should read, as soon as possible.
I read The Millionaire Teacher a few years back. This is the same type of book - makes understanding the basics of the stock market and investing in a very digestible and easy to understand way. I didn't learn much personally, having been interested in the Financial Independence community since I read The Millionaire Teacher, but I won't hesitate to recommend Beat the Bank to interested friends.
The only disadvantage of this book today is that it's not perfectly up to date given its age. This is to be expected - between 2018 and 2024, concepts such as balanced low-cost ETFs (although they do get a cute excited footnote in this book!) and FHSAs have evolved and would now have to be included in an updated version of a book like this. An appendix on strategies to optimize investing in non-registered accounts as well would be a great addition.
March 17, 2025
Very helpful and clear overview of investing basics. These topics should really be covered in high school math but grateful I came across this book - better late than never.
September 16, 2018
If you’re a Canadian and have begun investing for the future, you need to read this book. Larry highlights 3 wealth builders and 3 wealth killers that can dramatically effect your investments. If you implement the practical advice from this book, you won’t be contributing to the “buy-a-brick” campaign for Bay Streets next skyscraper - and that’s a good thing.
May 24, 2020
This book is a game changer filled with practical and down to earth advice. I've read many investment and financial books before this one. Most of the time, I'm left thinking ok, great stuff, but where do I start?
This book provides clear simple direction that doesn't take much at all to understand or take action on. I'll be following the steps suggested very soon!
This book provides clear simple direction that doesn't take much at all to understand or take action on. I'll be following the steps suggested very soon!
September 18, 2018
If you are Canadian and want to know where to begin investing for retirement, read this book.
May 2, 2020
I am feeling highly motivated to reorganize my investments 💰
April 26, 2023
If you are a Canadian interested in investing, read this book!
Like many people, the world of finance has felt overly complex and out of reach to a layman like myself. As such, I've followed a path I'm sure many have as well:
Open a bank account. Find out I don't make any interest on my bank account. Start to invest with the bank through GICs and mutual funds. Find out I'm barely making enough return to cover inflation. Work with a financial advisor. Find out I'm getting fleeced on fees and the fact that over a long-enough period of time, NO Advisor will do better than an index fund.
This book has given me the confidence to invest on my own, following a simplified plan aimed at reducing costs, being as tax efficient as possible and keeping a long-term approach in mind.
Larry Bates wealth formula focused on wealth builders (Amount, Time, Rate) and wealth killers (Fees, Taxes, Inflation) is an easy to follow framework to then apply personal preferences around risk tolerance, timelines, life circumstances, etc. to any financial plan.
I really can't say enough good things about this book. Read it!
Like many people, the world of finance has felt overly complex and out of reach to a layman like myself. As such, I've followed a path I'm sure many have as well:
Open a bank account. Find out I don't make any interest on my bank account. Start to invest with the bank through GICs and mutual funds. Find out I'm barely making enough return to cover inflation. Work with a financial advisor. Find out I'm getting fleeced on fees and the fact that over a long-enough period of time, NO Advisor will do better than an index fund.
This book has given me the confidence to invest on my own, following a simplified plan aimed at reducing costs, being as tax efficient as possible and keeping a long-term approach in mind.
Larry Bates wealth formula focused on wealth builders (Amount, Time, Rate) and wealth killers (Fees, Taxes, Inflation) is an easy to follow framework to then apply personal preferences around risk tolerance, timelines, life circumstances, etc. to any financial plan.
I really can't say enough good things about this book. Read it!
December 13, 2025
I've read a good number of personal finance books lately, but not many are geared towards Canadian readers. This is one of the few. Most concepts I am already familiar with, but 5 stars purely for introducing the idea of a T-Rex Score to understand how much of your investment returns are swallowed by fees.
T-Rex score calculator can be found at https://larrybates.ca/t-rex-score/
Some other reminders I found useful:
- In general, total after-tax value of gains in order of highest to lowest: (1) Capital gains, (2) Dividends, (3) Interest
- If you are committed to weather a potential short-term 50% market meltdown in order to capture 100% of the ultimate long-term growth of the stock market, you may choose to be 100% invested in stocks.
- Several retirement calculators: (1) Globe and Mail Retirement Readiness Calculator, (2) federal Canadian Retirement Income Calculator, (3) calculators on Larry Bates's website
- The most rewarding relationship you can have with a bank is to be an owner (note that this does not imply cutting all ties with your bank, but that owning their stock is better)
T-Rex score calculator can be found at https://larrybates.ca/t-rex-score/
Some other reminders I found useful:
- In general, total after-tax value of gains in order of highest to lowest: (1) Capital gains, (2) Dividends, (3) Interest
- If you are committed to weather a potential short-term 50% market meltdown in order to capture 100% of the ultimate long-term growth of the stock market, you may choose to be 100% invested in stocks.
- Several retirement calculators: (1) Globe and Mail Retirement Readiness Calculator, (2) federal Canadian Retirement Income Calculator, (3) calculators on Larry Bates's website
- The most rewarding relationship you can have with a bank is to be an owner (note that this does not imply cutting all ties with your bank, but that owning their stock is better)
September 19, 2022
Certainly an eye-opener! While I was somewhat aware, this book clearly presents the substantial, cumulative impact of fees (that are often subtle or somewhat hidden) on investment returns over time and it offers some seemingly simple, step-by-step options to guide you in investing more successfully such that more of your investment money ends up back in your pocket. The book has definitely prompted me to want to explore my own investments more closely and has given me the confidence to consider one of his options for “simply successful investing”. The book does offer scenarios for different stages of life and confirms that it’s never too late!
December 31, 2022
This book was fantastic. It covers every aspect of the Canadian investing scene. A good non biased view of all the options out then. I loved how he actually describes how banks and other financial institutions will attempt to deceive you with tricky wordplay and unrealistic returns on investments. Definitely recommend this one to anyone looking to build their financial knowledge up!
August 29, 2025
Wow. There are so many golden nuggets in this book. A must read for anyone living in Canada and my first pick for building up financial literacy. If you are even remotely curious about how to invest, or you’re already investing, you will get so much value out of reading this. I can’t stop recommending this!!!!
January 23, 2022
Great introduction to investment basics and why to never make investments in expensive mutual funds with big banks. It goes over the basics as well as gives practical advice as to how to build a low cost, diversified portfolio for a long term investment horizon.
It's geared towards a Canadian audience which I appreciated very much.
It's geared towards a Canadian audience which I appreciated very much.
February 7, 2024
Knowledge is power! I would recommend everyone reads this book for a deeper understanding of investing and reality check of what really goes on with Old Bay Street investing.
February 4, 2025
Conveniently Canadian advice, perfect for a beginner trying to wrap their minds around investing. Good, practical, common sense advice, though potentially a bit dated.
June 8, 2025
This is a very easy to understand book about investing in Canada, and how banks are working against you. I wish this type of book (and ETF's) existed 20 years ago, but there's no better time to stop paying fees then now - unless of course you want to give up to half of your money to the bank in exchange for their "expertise".
I would recommend this book to literally anybody. In fact, it should be required reading for high school students.
I would recommend this book to literally anybody. In fact, it should be required reading for high school students.
February 14, 2023
Alternative title could be ‘Investing for Canadian Dummies’- super informative, clear and practical!
June 11, 2021
I have a degree in finance and I still learned things from this book. Must-read for every Canadian!
November 22, 2023
C'est un livre très complet sur les finances et il englobe beaucoup de points. Je recommande ce livre pour quelqu'un qui a déjà une base en finance parce que les concepts ne sont pas forcément vulgarisés de la façon la plus compréhensible. J'aime le fait que l'auteur catégorise les types d'investisseurs possibles à la bourse (AIY, DIY, robo), qu'il fait la distinction entre l'investissement à la bourse et le trading et qu'il utilise à plusieurs reprises son concept de T-REX score. Ce sont tous des concepts qui ne sont pas toujours présents dans d'autres livre sur les finances et j'ai bien aimé. Le livre est plein de ressources très utiles.
April 21, 2022
C'est beaucoup de texte pour 3 ou 4 "take home messages ". L'essence de l'ouvrage est noble et bien vulgarisé, mais beaucoup de repetitions.
April 14, 2025
Brilliant advice in simple, laymen’s terms!
January 8, 2023
I am so happy I decided to read this book. Some concepts were a bit hard to understand but I think this is a must if you’re interested in investing. The book holds a lot of theory, but practical tools as well. Recommend 100%, especially if you’re Canadian.
December 7, 2018
Very imformative. Great juxtapositions between what Canadians currently do and should do! This book should be right beside The Wealthy Barber on every millenial and xennial's shelf - they compliment each other completely!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews