The losers are the people that label someone an "expert". I watch BNN all the time, there are the commentators and the guests they bring in, and they are all different people commenting on different things and sometimes why they like certain stocks over others. But take it for what it is, it is their perspective from their role or job. Viewers can learn from all of these different points of view, but you certainly can't base your investment decisions on what any one person says.
Personally I apply filters to what I hear. If they talk from a "technical" point of view I mostly ignore it. Technical analysis is a bit like seeing faces on the pictures of the moon. And "deep" analysis of fundamentals is rare, and people with that level of knowledge tend to be limited to areas where they have that deep knowledge, which is great if the timing is right. But it is limited in usefulness for an investor trying to build a successful portfolio.
As far as exchange traded funds are concerned, a passive fund is passive, their book of investments is predetermined by the rules which they operate under. If the ETF is on the TSX for example, they duplicate the TSX. The only significant differences are the MER you may pay, and a few other slight differences in how they do it. But if they don't track the index they claim to track something is wrong. Or, basically if they do that then they are all the same, whether they are set up by BMO or Horizons, or whoever.
