Justin Dallaire on making the right money decisions for you (not your bank) + MORE Nov 29th

Justin Dallaire joined the MoneySense team three years ago, bringing with him a wealth of business reporting knowledge. He oversees some of our most popular features, including the annual Where to Buy Real Estate list, first-time home buyer guide, credit card rankings and a wide range of mortgage and insurance articles and features. Dallaire, who studied journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University, has also been published in Strategy, The Walrus, Toronto Life, TVO.org and Broadview. 

Below, the busy dad of one (two, if you count the dog) shares his thoughts on money advice, his definition of financial success, and more. 

Who are your money heroes? 

I admire people who work for organizations like Credit Canada and the Credit Counselling Society. If you’re able to help someone get out of a stressful money situation or avoid getting into one in the first place, you’re a hero in my books. For the same reason, my money “anti-heroes” tend to be billionaire tech founders whose wealth was built on creating new sources of stress in our lives…

Exchange-traded funds have long been a solid pick for investors looking to passively track an index like the S&P 500, while mutual funds were a good bet for active management of portfolios. 

But active ETFs—ones where portfolio managers are trying to beat an index with their stock picks—have combined some of the best traits of both options to become a fast-growing preference for Canadians. 

The industry is rushing to meet growing demand.

So far this year, 71% of new ETFs launched have been active, the highest share ever, and 30% of total industry flows have gone into the category, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. 

The interest has also drawn some new players to the space. In October, Capital Group’s first active ETFs launched in Canada and J.P. Morgan made its first ever foray into investment options for retail investors in Canada with two active ETFs.

“The industry is at an inflection point,” said Travis Hughes, head of Canada at J.P. Morgan Asset Management…