There’s never been a better time to invest your conscience + MORE Oct 2nd

Q. I can find a lot of detailed data about the performance of the U.S. stock market in every part of the market, but I struggle to find the same quality and depth of data on Canadian companies. Can you tell me where I can find good stock data on the Canadian stock market? I’m hoping this data will help me finalize my asset allocation.
—Bhaskar B.
A. Whenever I watch a baseball game, I’m amazed by the exotic statistics. Someone is counting the percentage of curveballs thrown by every pitcher, and measuring how each batter performs when his team is down three or more runs in the seventh inning or later.
When it comes to rich data sets, the U.S. stock market isn’t far behind Major League Baseball. Not only can you obtain historical returns for stocks and bonds going back to 1926, but the data have been parsed into subcategories according to company size and style (that is, value and growth stocks). A lot of these data are freely available online.
Unfortunately for Canadians, homegrown data are more limited: historical returns for the broad market are generally unavailable before the 1950s, and narrower indexes such as those covering large-cap value stocks typically start later than that…

Most investors have heard of sustainable investing, many even say it’s important to them, but few Canadians actively incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when building their portfolios. 
Sustainable investing has come a long way. It wasn’t all that long ago that it was considered to be an obscure, fringe investing approach. Today, there are numerous ETFs and mutual funds for investors to consider (see for yourself) and investors don’t have to sacrifice performance to invest their conscience.
The iShares Jantzi Social Index Fund (XEN), one of the better known ESG ETFs in Canada, has outperformed the S&P/TSX Composite over virtually any compatible period. Over the past five years, the iShares ETF has returned 41% whereas the main Canadian index climbed 27%. Still, according to a recent study by Schroders only about one-third are actually invested in the sector. Why? Advisors say it’s a matter of educating clients as to what’s out there and matching their investment needs with the right product…

Up until six years ago Mary was in full command of her financial health. She contributed regularly to her RRSP and TFSA. She picked stocks. She even cut her advisor loose because he only sold her high-fee funds. But a freak skiing accident changed everything.
The accident forced Mary to give up her well-pay sales rep position and go on disability. Her recovery has been slow. Physically she looks fine, but she struggles do anything that requires concentration. “I had a head injury and have a hard time managing my money,” says Mary W. Mary, who is 54, is now on permanent disability and living in a small town on British Columbia’s west coast. She’s had to relearn almost everything about taking care of herself and rely on the help of friends.
While she has improved since the accident, life still isn’t the same. “I have a lot of vertigo,” she says. “And even though I look good on the outside, I have a lot of headaches.”
Despite ignoring her finances for the past five years Mary financial health hasn’t suffered…

Spanish government borrowing costs surge