Ep 164 - How to Evaluate Investment Performance in Retirement

Wondering if your retirement portfolio is really performing well? In this episode of Your Retirement Planning Simplified, Joe Curry explains why comparing your portfolio to indexes like the TSX or S&P 500 can be misleading. Learn how to evaluate investment performance based on your personal goals, asset mix, and income needs — not on market headlines.

Key Takeaways

Stop Comparing to the TSX. Your retirement portfolio is designed for stability and income, not for competing with stock indexes built for accumulation.

Diversification Is the Real Benchmark. A well-structured retirement portfolio should include Canadian, U.S., international, and fixed-income holdings — each with its own purpose.

Asset Allocation Should Reflect You. Your mix of stocks and bonds should align with your risk tolerance, income needs, and guaranteed income sources like CPP, OAS, or pensions.

Evidence Beats Guesswork. Research like the SPIVA scorecard consistently shows that active managers rarely beat the market after fees — supporting an evidence-based approach.

Stay Focused on Purpose, Not Performance Chasing. Evaluate your portfolio by asking whether it’s helping you meet your income goals and maintain peace of mind, not whether it’s “winning” against the market.

Insights Worth Sharing

“You’re not racing other cars on the highway — you’re driving toward your own destination.”

“A retirement portfolio isn’t built to beat the market. It’s built to serve your life.”

“If your plan is on track, it doesn’t matter what the TSX did this quarter.”

“Diversification isn’t exciting, but it’s what keeps your retirement income stable.”

 “Markets work — you don’t have to outguess them to succeed.”

Resources

SPIVA® Canada Scorecard (S&P Global)

Previous Episode of YPRS: The Bond Tent Strategy

How to Evaluate Investment Performance
in Retirement

If you’ve ever looked at your retirement portfolio and wondered why it isn’t keeping up with the TSX or the S&P 500, you’re not alone. Many retirees make the mistake of comparing their results to popular market benchmarks — but that comparison often misses the point entirely.

In this episode of Your Retirement Planning Simplified, Joe Curry breaks down why those benchmarks don’t tell the full story and how to properly measure whether your investments are really doing their job.

Imagine you’re on a road trip. You’re checking your speed, your fuel, and your route — but it makes no sense to compare your progress to every other car on the road, because they’re all heading somewhere different. The same goes for your portfolio. Your goal isn’t to “win” against the market — it’s to generate steady, reliable income throughout retirement.

A well-designed retirement portfolio will almost always look different from the TSX. It’s diversified across Canadian, U.S., international, and fixed-income investments. Each piece has a role: equities provide growth, bonds and GICs add stability, and cash offers flexibility. When you mix these together, your portfolio’s performance won’t — and shouldn’t — mirror any single index.

Instead of asking, “Am I beating the market?” Joe suggests asking, “Is my portfolio doing what it’s supposed to?” That means generating income, managing risk, and keeping your long-term plan on track.

Joe also discusses how your asset allocation — the balance between stocks and bonds — should be based on your unique situation: your comfort with volatility, your guaranteed income sources (like CPP, OAS, or a pension), and your goals for spending or legacy. Once that mix is set, it should rarely change unless your life circumstances do.

Finally, Joe highlights the value of evidence-based investing. Reports like SPIVA consistently show that most active managers underperform their benchmarks over time, especially after fees. Rather than trying to pick winners or predict trends, you can build a portfolio that captures global market returns efficiently and tilts toward proven areas of higher expected return, like value and small-cap stocks.

The real measure of success isn’t whether your portfolio outperforms the TSX this quarter — it’s whether your investments continue to serve your lifestyle, your goals, and your peace of mind.

Learn more about our retirement planning process at MatthewsAndAssociates.ca.