If the Canada Pension Plan were a mutual fund, would you still buy it? 🤔

Greg and Colin dig into the real costs behind Canada’s national pension, how it stacks up against low-fee investing, and what it teaches us about simplicity, transparency, and discipline in your own portfolio.

It sounds cheap at 0.26%, but that’s just the tip of a $7 billion iceberg once you factor in performance fees, transaction costs, and operating expenses.

What are smart investors doing right now?

According to Greg and Colin on this week of the Free Lunch Podcast they are: staying diversified, staying disciplined, and staying calm.

They unpack how to think about:

💰 Bonds & cash in your portfolio.

🏠 Mortgage renewals & rate holds.

🧾 End-of-year tax moves.

😴 Retirement “sleep-at-night” planning.

Jonathan’s style was to blend practical financial advice with human behaviour and life lessons.

This week, Colin and Greg reflect on the life and legacy of Jonathan Clements, the longtime Wall Street Journal columnist whose insights helped redefine how we think about money, happiness, and simplicity.

Jonathan’s approach really aligns with what we try to do here, cutting through the noise, finding clarity in uncertainty, and reminding people that even if the market’s at an all-time high… so is milk production. 🥛

AI was everywhere at Future Proof Festival.

From Google searches to client service, every conversation circled back to how artificial intelligence is reshaping the industry.

On this week’s episode of the Free Lunch Podcast, Colin and Greg reflect on Colin’s time at Future Proof, and why, despite AI’s power, nothing can replace human trust and behavioural coaching.

🎧 A must-listen for anyone curious about what AI means for the future of advice.

🎓💰 Sending kids off to college or university? The sticker shock is real.

Tuition, books, housing, can quickly add up to $20,000+ per year.

In this week’s episode, Colin and Greg break down the real costs of post-secondary education and explore smart ways to fund it, including:

✅ Student loans, grants & bursaries

✅ RESPs (and how to make the most of government grants)

✅ What happens if your child doesn’t go to school

✅ Why TFSAs can be a hidden funding tool

True or False:

❓ Diversification increases expected stock returns.

❓ Owning Canadian banks, pipelines, and utilities is enough diversification.

❓ Most active fund managers outperform their benchmarks over time.

If you hesitated on any of these, this week’s episode is for you. Colin and Greg break down why diversification is really about protecting against risk, how home bias trips Canadians up, and why global exposure makes all the difference.

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Tariffs go up. Inflation lingers. Politics heat up.

And the cost of everyday life feels it.

On this episode of the Free Lunch Podcast, Colin and Greg explore how U.S. policy shifts ripple through interest rates, inflation, and portfolios around the world. They discuss... 🌎💼

✔️ The hidden inflation driver no one talks about.

✔️ Why Fed decisions matter beyond the U.S.

✔️ How to position portfolios when volatility returns.

🎧 A must-listen for anyone trying to make sense of today’s economic headlines.