This curriculum is original content. The frameworks, statistics, and rules of thumb cited come from widely-accepted personal finance and investing research. Specific factual claims to attribute:
Statistics & Frameworks
"Diversification is the only free lunch in finance" — attributed to Harry Markowitz, 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for Modern Portfolio Theory.
SPIVA reports — S&P Dow Jones Indices' Persistence Scorecard, source of the statistic that ~85–90% of active fund managers underperform their benchmark over 15 years. spglobal.com/spdji/spiva
"Time in market beats timing the market" / missing-best-days statistic — based on Hartford Funds and Putnam analyses of S&P 500 returns over multi-decade periods.
Historical S&P 500 1-year/10-year/20-year loss probabilities — derived from rolling-period analysis of S&P 500 total returns since 1928.
Canadian-specific information
TFSA, RRSP, FHSA contribution limits and rules — Canada Revenue Agency. canada.ca/cra (always verify current limits, which change yearly)
Ontario marginal tax brackets in the TFSA-vs-RRSP optimizer — 2024 combined federal + provincial rates as published by the CRA. Other provinces have different rates but the relative answer is similar.
ETF MERs cited (VEQT, XEQT, VFV, etc.) — pulled from Vanguard Canada and BlackRock/iShares Canada websites. May change; always verify current MER on the provider's site before investing.
Software libraries used
Chart.js — MIT License — used for all interactive charts
canvas-confetti — ISC License — for celebration effects on lesson completion
Both libraries are loaded via CDN at runtime. No code from these libraries is bundled in this repository.
Educational frameworks referenced (no copyrighted content reproduced)
The "two-bucket" mental model for separating long-term and active investing is a common framing in personal finance writing (Money Stuff, Bogleheads forums, etc.). The phrasing here is original.
The "order of operations" for Canadian savings is a synthesis common across Canadian personal finance educators including Ben Felix (PWL Capital), the Canadian Couch Potato, and Money After Graduation.
Position-sizing guidance ("never risk more than 1–2% per trade") is a long-standing convention in trading literature, often attributed to Van Tharp.
Disclaimers
This curriculum is educational content, not financial advice.
Specific securities mentioned (XEQT, VEQT, VFV, MBI, ASTI, etc.) are illustrative examples, not recommendations to buy or sell.
Tax laws and contribution limits change. Always verify current information at canada.ca/cra or a qualified tax/financial professional.
Past returns do not guarantee future performance. The 7% long-run global equity assumption is a widely-used estimate but is not guaranteed.
Built with the teach-me skill. Last updated: 2026-04-26.