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Founder & Editor

Alex Francisco

I started YieldMaple after one too many evenings spent reading “best Canadian X” articles that were obviously written by someone who’d never opened the account they were recommending. Most Canadian personal finance content online is either lightly-edited US advice (where the TFSA doesn’t exist and the RRSP is treated like an IRA) or affiliate-spam disguised as a review. I wanted to write the version that’s missing.

I bought my first XEQT shares in 2020. I ran my first Norbert’s Gambit at Questrade in 2021 to fund a USD position — saved myself about $400 vs the bank rate, called the rep three times because I forgot which step came first. I switched my chequing account from TD (where I’d been since 2008) to EQ Bank in 2022 after I added up the e-Transfer fees and monthly account fees I’d been paying for fifteen years. I signed up for the FHSA in 2023 within an hour of it launching at Wealthsimple. I have made every Canadian PF mistake worth making and a few that weren’t.

When I’m not signing up for another Canadian fintech to test, I’m running SEO and content work for small businesses out of my office in Brampton. Day job pays the bills; YieldMaple is where I write the things I’d want a friend to read before opening their first investment account.

A few rules I write by:

  1. No product gets reviewed without an account. I open the account, fund it, and use it for at least 30 days before writing.
  2. The fees you pay are the fees in the review. I screenshot my own statements when the numbers are non-obvious.
  3. If I wouldn’t recommend it to my younger brother, I say so. I’d rather lose a commission than push someone into a product that isn’t right.
  4. Errors get corrected publicly. If you spot something wrong, email me. The page gets updated and the change is dated.

YieldMaple is editorially independent. I write every word myself. Drafting tools may help me research and outline, but every paragraph that ships reflects my actual experience and the products I personally use today.

If you’re new to Canadian PF, Best Canadian ETFs is where most people should start. If you’re switching from a Big 5 bank, Wealthsimple vs Questrade is the next stop. The TFSA pages are the most important reading on this site.

Thanks for being here.

— Alex