Welcome to The Loonie Doctor!
I hope that you will come here often to learn, laugh at my jokes (someone needs to), and see that you are in good company. There is a mix of knowledge, stories, and tools here. Not only to take control of your financial health, but to inspire you to harness the power that a strong financial position gives you.
If you don’t like your colleagues, then keep The Loonie Doctor a secret. If you do, please invite them to the party.
Who am I?
Personally
My name is Mark. I am a father of teens, husband, son, friend, and colleague. Like for many of you, juggling all of those roles can be a challenge. I am still muddling my way through that while maintaining my passion for my career as a physician and educator.
I love to learn and build new things. Especially with my family. Some are cool like e-bikes, home renos, vehicle mods, and super-computers.
Others are more nerdy, like Excel financial calculators. I have had to go that one alone.
Professionally
Professionally, I am a mid-career ICU doctor at a major Canadian teaching hospital. My clinical practice has also meandered through general medicine and respirology. Non-clinically, I have shifted focus between undergrad education, postgrad education, and hospital leadership. The unifying theme driving those changes is my desire to find gaps and build something to fill them. That has ranged from developing exam-review courses to leading the formation of multiple services into a hospital department. My proudest professional achievements are not on my CV, but the CVs of the other physicians and allied health professionals that I have been privileged to work with. I have been fortunate to be a roadie for some real academic and clinical rockstars.
My most recent career shift has been to part-time clinical work to focus more energy on addressing the financial literacy gap that professionals and small business owners face.
What I am.
I am a colleague, finance nerd, and mentor.
That means that I will do my best to help you out as I am able. I can answer general questions. I have spent thousands of hours learning and thinking about finance, and am happy to tell you what I think or how I would approach a problem. That is not to be taken as specific advice. Just doctor’s lounge chatter. I do not accept payment for coaching or consultation, as that would change the nature of the relationship. The advantage is that I have a doctor’s perspective and am not trying to sell you anything. The disadvantage is that I have limited time.
What I am not.
I am not a financial advisor, accountant, or some other type of certified financial professional.
That means I am not qualified to give and won’t provide specific financial advice. You should consult qualified professionals as needed for your situation. Hopefully, the information here helps you to ask the right person the right questions. As you learn more, that may even be yourself.
My Financial Conflicts Of Interest
Paid speaking events.
I get paid to speak about personal finance by various professional staff associations, financial organizations, and conferences.
Financial Industry Partnerships
You will note that there is little or no other advertising to annoy you and distract from my mission. There are a few links in the right sidebar (at the bottom on small screens) to companies I collaborate with. I limit that to a few products or services that I do or would use.
If you do decide that DIY investing is for you, then consider using my Qtrade affiliate link to help offset the costs of running this site. I get a nominal referral fee at no cost to you. Qtrade provides all of the investing platforms and customer support. However, this relationship enables me to find answers to and write about questions that are not easily found elsewhere. I have leveraged that to build a DIY Investing Hub to link educational material and tools to help people take action (with screenshots, just-in-time explanations, and links to streamline the process).
BMO ETFs have been strong supporters of Canadian-focused education content and supported our annual Physician Financial Wellness Conference. They have some sponsored posts on the site. We collaborate on other educational opportunities or experiences, such as ringing the bell at the TSX.
As a DIY investor managing a portfolio across multiple registered and non-registered accounts, I use Sharesight to keep an eye on my overall asset allocation, benchmark, and to help with my tax planning.
DIY investing is not for everyone. For those looking for a full-service advisor, you will note that I have a link to PWL Capital. They have a solid evidence-based approach and a deep understanding of financial, investment, and tax planning. We collaborate on creating educational materials, such as the Money Scope Podcast.