Samples of My Writing
Client: Mawer Mutual Funds Project: Landing Page for PPC ad
Are you looking to take the confusion out of choosing mutual funds?
Then you’ve come to the right place.
We know how the world of the stock market and mutual funds can be bewildering and downright scary. You don’t want your savings to stagnate but you can’t afford to invest in anything that might collapse either.
It’s a tricky balance between wanting your money to grow at a healthy rate while not losing it all on under-performing stock. But how do you choose the right mutual funds to invest in?
Why most mutual funds are NOT for you
According to the McGraw Hill Financial Study quoted in the Huffington Post, over the last three years, as many as 61% of managed Canadian mutual funds underperformed when compared to the S&P/TSX Composite Index.
So more than six out of 10 Canadian managed mutual funds have performed worse than the general market.
And investing in these mutual funds is not cheap. According to the Morningstar Inc. report, “Global Fund Investor Experience Study,” Canada has the highest mutual funds fees in the world, on average.
You can end up paying 2% or more in management fees and the worst thing is, paying higher fees does not guarantee higher returns.
So for over 60% of mutual funds, you would be paying a company a lot of money to manage an under-performing mutual fund that brings you less than the market average.
The Mawer Difference
We do things differently here: over the last three years, all six of our Mawer Equity Funds saw a growth of between 13% and 21.4%. Over that time, all of our funds delivered considerably better results than their respective comparable indexes. Our top performing funds were our Global Small Cap Fund, with a growth of 21.4% and our U.S. Equity fund, which grew by 20.3%.
As a point of comparison, over the same period, the MSCI ACWI saw a growth of only 1.01%, the S&P 500 saw a growth of 8.74% and the S&P/TSX composite grew by 3.41%
Five star funds, five star ratings
This might be why all of our Equity Funds receive five-star ratings from Morningstar, a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, producing data on approximately 500,000 investment offerings. Five stars is Morningstar’s top rating. And our customers give us top ratings too:
“The folks at Mawer bring a different dimension. They’re on the ground. They know what’s happening. And they’ve taken our investments with them to another level.”
- Malcolm Gowie, CFO, United Way of Calgary
Lower fees
But we realize that getting great returns isn’t that great if you are getting killed with exorbitant fund management fees.
Our funds offer no-load investing; no sales or trailing commissions, no set-up fees and no purchase, transfer or redemption fees.
Our Management Expense Ratios are among the lowest in Canada. So you get to keep a lot more of your money, no matter how much your investments might grow. Which means you have more money to reinvest.
How do we do it?
As you probably know, past performance is never a guarantee of future performance.
That’s why we don’t rest on our laurels. We are consistently working to improve the performance of all of our mutual funds.
And we use a consistent philosophy for all of our investment strategies:
We don’t follow fads or try to predict the future.
We focus on things we can control and we guard against things we can’t.
We don’t strive simply for positive outcomes; we strive for positive outcomes that are a result of our logical, intelligent choices.
Because being lucky isn’t good enough - next time you might not be. You need to be right.
We do this by buying good companies, with excellent management teams, at a good price. It’s a simple formula but not an easy one; to make it work requires a lot of time and years of expertise.
Some consider this to be unglamorous, unexciting, boring, even. But since when was it boring to make money, consistently and at a good rate of return?
Who can invest in our mutual funds?
Mawer’s expertise is available to every investor with at least $5,000 to invest. There are three ways you can invest in our mutual funds:
Investing through a Discount Broker or Investment Advisor
A minimum investment of $5,000 per fund is required. This allows you to get all of the advantages of a Mawer Mutual Fund with only a small investment.
Mawer Direct Investing Ltd
A minimum investment of $50,000 is required. A team of Mawer’s experienced investment advisors will help you buy the funds that suit your goals and risk tolerance.
Private Client Investment Counselling
A minimum investment of $1 million is required. Your dedicated Investment Counsellor will develop and manage your investment, in line with your goals and preferred time frame.
Our Promise
Intelligent, long-term investing that you can trust.
We will treat your investments with as much care as if they were our own. We won’t recklessly gamble your money away.
We will work hard for you and your money - and do everything in our considerable power to bring you the same returns that we have been bringing our clients for 40 years. As you’ve seen, these returns have been good.
Our Guarantee
We are so confident that your experience with Mawer will be an amazing one that we want to give you a guarantee. Not of how much of a return you will make - you know the stock market well enough to know we can’t do that.
No, our guarantee is our service. If, for any reason, in your first year, you decide that the service we provide to you and the investments we make on your behalf fall short of your expectations, we will refund your entire management fee.
We want you to feel as confident in our expertise and service as we are; by offering to give you back our management fee if we don’t deliver is our way of making your decision a less risky one. No one has yet asked us for a refund, but we continue to offer this guarantee to our new customers to reduce your risk and make you feel completely confident that your money is in safe hands.
Let’s help you start investing today
Just fill in the contact form below or phone +1 888 983 2885. One of our experienced investment advisors will discuss your current situation and investment goals with you and provide you with your free Personal Investment Profile.
Your Profile will detail where you are now, where you want to be and will outline in detail our recommendations to get you there.
Contact us today so we can start fulfilling our promise to you, to provide you with intelligent, long-term investing you can trust.
I was not commissioned by this company to write this, but it is an example of the quality of work you will get when you hire me to write your copy.
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Client: PC Financial Project: Direct Mail Sales Letter
You don’t have to move abroad to save $359.40 in annual banking fees
In many other countries, people don’t pay fees for having a chequing account with their bank. Not a penny, not a peso, not a cent.
The idea of paying your bank to keep your money with them would be laughable to people in many countries. So why is not laughable to Canadians?
How it should be
Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to pay up to $30 every month to your bank just so you can access your own cash?
Wouldn’t you love not having to struggle every month to keep your transactions down to the limit the bank has imposed on you, just so that you get a “discount” on your banking fees?
And what if you didn’t have to keep a balance of several thousand dollars in your chequing account, just so the bank won’t charge you for keeping your money there? Thousands of your dollars that are left stagnating, making no money for you, but making plenty of money for your bank.
There is another way
There is an alternative to the big banks and their big bank fees - President’s Choice Financial.
Because President’s Choice Financial believes that you shouldn’t be charged for effectively lending your money to your bank. Your bank should be paying you.
So that’s what we do - we charge you precisely $0 every single month for your PC chequing account. It doesn’t matter how many transactions you have, it doesn’t matter how low your balance is, you still pay $0. Every month. And this isn’t an introductory offer; it’s forever.
A simple way to save money
We have worked out that this can save you as much as $359.40 every year, depending on the bank and kind of account you currently hold. That’s $359.40 that you could be spending on you and your family, instead of handing it over to your bank.
AND we pay you for keeping your money with us - you earn interest on the balance in your account.
And it’s easy to switch
You can open up an account at one of our many in-store pavilions in a matter of minutes or apply by phone or online. Our free account switch service at in-store pavilions allows you to painlessly change over to your new, free PC Financial chequing account.
And don’t forget - with PC Financial you get free access not only to every single PC Financial ATM, but also any CIBC bank machine, so you will always find it easy to withdraw your money or deposit a cheque.
Go to pcfinancial.ca to find your nearest in-store pavilion or call 1-888-872-4724 and your personal banking representative will be able to open your new account for you.
And if you apply before the end of November, you will qualify for free Overdraft Protection. Apply for an overdraft along with your chequing account and for your first twelve months with PC Financial, we will waive the overdraft protection charge of $4.97 for every month that you become overdrawn.
This will give you peace of mind if the unexpected happens and you need to draw on some extra funds, and it could save you as much as $59.64 in overdraft charges. Just apply by November 30.
We look forward to welcoming you into the PC Financial family of no-fee customers.
P.S. And don’t forget about PC Points. When you use your PC Financial Interac card at participating stores, you earn PC Points and can use them to buy free groceries, home furnishings and Joe Fresh fashions. You can get hundreds of dollars worth of free groceries every year!
I was not commissioned by this company to write this, but it is an example of the quality of work you will get when you hire me to write your copy.
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Client: American Express Essential Credit Card Project: Direct mail sales letter
You could save $725* in interest in your first year with the American Express Essential Credit Card - and that’s with a balance as low as $5,000
If you are carrying high credit card balances, why are you paying interest rates as high as 19.99%? The interest alone can add up to hundreds of dollars, every month.
Isn’t it time you slashed those interest charges, by more than 50%?
With an ongoing interest rate of only 8.99% (the lowest fixed rate credit card in Canada, according to MoneySense magazine) plus a balance transfer offer of 1.99% for the first six months, if you carry a substantial balance on your current credit cards, you stand to start saving a lot of money, right from the word go.
“Some cards charge you an annual fee for the privilege of getting a lower rate, but not the American Express Essential Credit Card. It charges 8.99% in interest, which is the lowest fixed rate in Canada.”
- MoneySense Magazine
You could use your Essential extra money to:
Reduce your credit card balance
Pay off some debts
Go on a trip or visit family
Get out more often
You could do whatever you like - because it would be your money!
Your Essential savings
Here are some examples of how much you can save in your first year with the American Express Essential Credit Card*:
Balance Savings
$3,000 $435
$5,000 $725
$10,000 $1,450
But this lowest fixed rate in Canada of 8.99% and the incredibly low balance transfer rate of 1.99% are not the only ways that the Essential Credit Card will save you money - and make your life sweeter.
Other Essential ways you can save:
Save on the annual fee - because there isn’t one! This is almost unheard of for a low rate credit card in Canada - so you get to keep even more of your money. And there is no fee for your supplementary cards either, so you can get up to nine extra cards for your loved ones as well.
Save on travel insurance - wherever you go, book with your American Express Essential Credit Card and get $100,000 worth of travel accident insurance - free. Imagine; never having to buy travel insurance.
Save on extended warranties - you get an extra year of warranty for free on all eligible purchases bought with your American Express Essential Credit Card. Never be pressured into buying an expensive warranty extension ever again.
Save on insurance for high-end items - your purchases are insured automatically against accidental physical damage and theft when you buy them with your American Express Essential Credit Card. Depending on how accident-prone you are, this could save you a small fortune.
Plus, the Essential ways you get treated like a VIP:
We don’t call this the Essential Credit Card for nothing. Not only will you save all of this money, consistently, but you also get treated like a VIP with American Express Invites:
Buy better concert tickets - with American Express you can buy presale tickets for many concerts, theatre productions and special events days before they go on sale to the general public. Never end up sitting in row ZZ ever again.
Exclusive American Express member-only access - to entrances, lounge and bars in a variety of top music and entertainment venues. Feel like a celebrity as you glide past the line-ups.
Receive special member offers throughout the year - advance screenings, getaway packages and shopping deals all come through your in-box every month.
How to apply
You can mail the enclosed application or better still, apply online at www.americanexpress.com. You can find out exactly how much you will save with our Essential Savings Calculator and get a response to your application in 60 seconds.
We look forward to welcoming you to our world of Essential savings.
P.S. Apply now and double your balance transfer
Apply by the end of January and we will increase the maximum balance you can transfer to $10,000, subject to qualifying (maximum balance transfer normally $5,000).
* These savings are based on you having a credit card with a typical interest rate of 19.99% and compared to six months’ interest at 1.99% and six months’ interest at 8.99%, which you would pay with the American Express Essential Credit Card.
I was not commissioned by this company to write this, but it is an example of the quality of work you will get when you hire me to write your copy.
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Client: Stock Advisor Canada/Motley Fool Project: Sales email
How are you supposed to grow your money, considerably, right now, when savings accounts only earn 1.8%?
And after you factor in current inflation of 1.46%, even the “best” Canadian savings accounts will only bring you a return of 0.34%.
That’s right, a return of 0.34% after inflation!!
Clearly that isn’t going to make you or anyone else rich. So how can you make your money really grow so that you can:
Enjoy financial security
Pay to send the kids to college
Retire comfortably
The private members club that is the stock market
Obviously the stock market can bring you great returns, we’ve all read about people becoming millionaires from stock investments. But you also read about others who lose their shirts.
It pays to really know what you’re doing. So for many people who know little of the world of finance, the stock market is like a private club open to the elite, financially literate few and a big, locked door to everyone else.
Are mutual funds a way in?
You could always get someone else to manage your money for you; buying mutual funds is one way to buy a company’s expertise and have them invest on your behalf.
But at what cost?
According to the McGraw Hill Financial Study quoted in the Huffington Post, as many as 70% of managed Canadian mutual funds underperformed when compared to the S&P/TSX Composite (the benchmark performance of the stock market as a whole).
AND you have to pay them for this service - often as much as 2% of your portfolio’s value, sometimes more. According to an article in MoneySense, quoting a Morningstar Inc. report, Canada has the highest mutual funds fees in the world, on average.
So you could pay someone a lot of money to manage an underperforming mutual fund that brings you less than the market average.
The key to the locked door
There is an alternative; a less expensive and more successful route into the stock market private club.
The Motley Fool, founded by brothers David and Tom Gardner, has been giving financial advice and providing stock picks for its members since 1993.
The Motley Fool’s stock pick newsletter, Stock Advisor, has delivered tremendous returns to those members who invested in many of their recommendations, including these companies:
Netflix - up 5,014% since recommended in 2004
Marvel - up 5,063% since recommended in 2002
Priceline - up 580% since recommended in 2010
Tesla - up 592% since recommended in 2012
The Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor Canada
Our uncanny talent for recommending high-flying stock is now available in Canada with our newsletter, Stock Advisor Canada.
In a short period of time we have made profitable recommendations to Canadian members, such as:
Middleby in July of 2014: members who followed our advice are already up 55.1%
A “buy” alert for Agrium in January 2014 has already brought members a return of 33%
We recommended MTY Food Group and members that followed our lead are now up
over 40%
We get you in on the ground floor, early and at great prices. So when these high-performing companies’ stocks start to rise, your gains do too. Most importantly, these are dominant businesses, now and for years to come.
Words from some happy Fools
Here’s what some of our Stock Advisor Canada subscribers have to say:
"It may sound as if I am working for Motley Fool, but this is 100% true: Motley Fool has changed my life. I have had the kind of success which I have never dreamed of.”
- Alexis Y., Ontario
"This is not the first newsletter I have subscribed to, but certainly one of the very best ones! I appreciate the candid and thorough coverage, as well as the level of humbleness that comes through in your commentaries.”
- G. Hageltorn, Ontario
“I’ve been quite delighted with the advent of Fool Canada and find the articles clear, concise, and useful”.
- W. Young, Ottawa, ON
“Canadians need independent investment advice from a trusted source, and Motley Fool is just the channel.”
- Marc V., Ontario
You have full control over your money and where you invest it
Unlike mutual funds, where managers take all the decisions about where and how to invest YOUR money, with the Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor Canada, YOU make all the decisions.
We send you our recommendations every month, but you decide if you invest and with how much. If you have any questions about our recommendations, you only have to ask us. And we reply.
As far as we are concerned, becoming a member of Stock Advisor Canada is your ticket to beating the entire Canadian market.
What you get
Each month, we bring you two fully researched stock recommendations, one Canadian, one American.
And when you sign up, you become more than just a member; you become part of the Motley Fool family.
We are always here to answer your questions about our recommendations either by email or on our members-only discussion boards.
We send out weekly updates of our recommendations and other market news we think you should know.
Full disclosure and accountability
Our Scorecard tracks performance of all of our recommendations, in plain sight. You will know if we are winning or losing.
All of this, at a fraction of the cost of managed funds
Now is a great time to sign up for Stock Advisor Canada.
The normal subscription price is $299 per year. And when you look at the returns that our members have enjoyed in the past, you can see what a bargain that has been.
Right now have two special offers on the subscription price:
Special one-year subscription rate of $99
OR even better - $179 for a three-year subscription
This works out at only $59.67 per year or 16 cents a day - less than the price of a cup of coffee for a whole week’s subscription
And we want to get you started on the right track
To help you to get you up to speed with the investment market in Canada, we will send you these three FREE reports as soon as you sign up:
Top Stocks 2016: Top Stocks for the Canadian Investors – even more great stock ideas, available as soon as you sign up.
Beyond Oil: The New Investment Opportunities in Canada – Insightful commentary on what might be the Canadian market’s most important sector.
The Two Sides to Every Investment Decision – a report that will revolutionize how you think about investing in stocks.
Our full, money-back guarantee
We offer a full refund if you’re not satisfied within the first 30 days of your membership of Stock Advisor Canada. AND we also offer a pro-rated refund of your membership fee after the 30-day period. The three free reports are yours to keep whatever you decide to do.
So you’ve got absolutely nothing to lose. Except terrible returns from your savings account or inflated management fees for underperforming mutual funds.
Sign up now and start getting the investment tips that could start you on a life of investment growth. Just fill in the form below.
P.S. The special $179 subscription rate for three years is only available until the end of December, so be sure to sign up today.
I was not commissioned by this company to write this, but it is an example of the quality of work you will get when you hire me to write your copy.
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