And other vexing questions ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ November 28, 2025 INVESTOR INSIGHTS View Online INVESTOR INSIGHTS How to benefit from gold, direct indexing, and a whole new approach to investing Hi there, Last month, we had one of our biggest events of the year, where we launched a ton of new products designed to give you advantages as investors. We already sent out about 37,000 emails about it, so I promise this will not be yet another — especially since this newsletter focuses on teaching you about investing, rather than selling you on our products. But a lot of you have called in with questions about the underlying investment principles behind the new stuff, and offering that kind of clarity is exactly what this newsletter is meant to do. Here are answers to three of the biggest questions we’ve gotten from clients over the past few weeks. How much gold exposure should you have in your portfolio? Gold is pretty different from most typical portfolio assets. It doesn’t provide any sort of cash flow, for one thing. Also, it can’t pay dividends like some stocks or bonds, and it doesn’t earn rent like real estate. That’s why gold should be thought of more like a safety net: it is completely disconnected from stocks and other riskier assets, so when they falter, it tends to do well. In the right circumstances, gold can even protect your portfolio from over-concentration and inflation. So, how much gold should you hold? Not too much. While gold has been on a tear the last couple of years (it’s up more than 100% in that time), it’s not always going to outperform like that, which means too much exposure can lower your expected returns. For most investors, allocating anywhere from 2% to 10% of your portfolio to gold can be enough. What kind of investor gets the most advantage from direct indexing? This is a pretty new concept to a lot of people, so we want to take a second to explain what direct indexing is. You probably already know what an ETF is: it’s a single fund made up of a bunch of different investments. When you buy into it, you gain exposure to all of the underlying assets with a single purchase, giving you built-in diversification and low fees. Direct indexing is kind of like that, in that it gets you broad, diversifying exposure to the market. But instead of buying a fund that owns other assets, you buy all of the underlying assets, basically creating your own index. Why would anyone want to do that? Three main reasons: More control. You can focus on or avoid the sectors you want to, rather than buying into whatever the fund manager chooses. Low fees. By buying the stocks directly you don’t have to pay the ETF’s management fees. Lower taxes. Direct indexing opens you up to a concept called tax-loss harvesting: when one stock is down, we sell it and replace it with a similar stock, locking in a loss that can be used to offset other taxable gains while keeping the same general exposure to the market. This strategy could increase your after-tax returns by up to 0.5% each year. That means for every $50,000 you have invested, you could be looking at an extra $8,000 in after-tax returns over ten years. Just remember that direct indexing is not right for everyone. If you’re earning less than $110,000 a year, or are investing through a registered account like an RRSP, you won’t see any meaningful tax benefits. How does the math work on borrowing to invest more in your RRSP? First things first: make sure you’re better off investing in an RRSP over a TFSA. Depending on certain factors, an RRSP might not be right for you. If that’s the case, the RRSP loans we’ll start offering early next year would not be right for you either. (Here’s an easy flow chart we put together to help you decide.) If an RRSP is right for you, it gives you a tax-deferred place to save for retirement. The RRSP loan comes into play because it helps you get your money into the market earlier, and that gives your money more time to grow. Plus, since RRSP contributions reduce your taxes the year you make them, a percentage of the loan can be paid off with your eventual tax refund. That said, RRSP loans are not right for everyone. Here are two keys to making the math work out. You need to earn a minimum of $65,000 a year. Otherwise, the tax savings won’t be enough to make a sizable dent in your loan balance when you get your refund. Be smart about how much you borrow. One rule of thumb is to borrow only what you’re able to pay back over the year, including your eventual tax refund. For example, if you make $100K, have a marginal tax rate of 30%, and normally contribute $10,000 to your RRSP at the end of the year, you could borrow up to $14,285 and invest it right away. That would lead to a $4,285 tax refund, which, when combined with the $10K you would have invested, would pay off the loan. As with any of our products, we want you to invest only in the ones that are right for you. If you have other questions about the new stuff that we didn’t address above, or any financial questions at all, please let us know. All the best, Daniel Tersigni, CFA Director, Digital Advice Did you like this newsletter? Your feedback (even if it's just to complain) helps us get better. If you're feeling chatty, after you rate us below you'll get the opportunity to share more detailed feedback — including topics you wish we'd cover. Yes No Wealthsimple, 80 Spadina Ave Suite 400 Toronto, ON, M5V 2J4 Refer a Friend Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Replies to this email address are not monitored. Have questions? Contact us. Self-directed Investing is offered by Wealthsimple Investments Inc. (“WSII”). All investments involve risk. To get more info on our products, investment decisions, fee schedules, user testimonials, promos & more visit wsim.co/disclaimers Direct Indexing Tax Saving potential: Based on hypothetical tax-loss harvesting model projections. Actual after-tax returns may vary. All investments involve risk. To get more information on our products, investment decisions, fee schedules, user testimonials, promotions & more visit wsim.co/legal Some features shown are concept features and may not be available at this time. Actual features when made available may differ than shown. 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