One wonders what Samuel Johnson would say today. Without receiving any real monetary reward, thousands of people now spend hours of their retirement or leisure time toiling away at a computer, writing down their thoughts (and/or compiling links to items of interest) in online personal journals called Web logs (or 'blogs'). Mr. Johnson might observe that our era has more than its share of blockheads.

Some blogs make money if they have large followings like The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century and can collect advertising revenues. Other blogs exist to promote a commercial service such as a newsletter or consulting practice. But many blogs, it would appear, toil on in obscurity and penury.

Blogs now cover just about every subject imaginable. The topic of financial markets is no exception — plenty of blogs have emerged in this category and it is a pleasant surprise to note that the bloggers tend to be of high caliber. It turns out they have advanced university degrees and/or extensive experience in the investment industry, as can be seen from the following guide to the best of Canadian investment blogs. Although a blog is technically a web application that contains time-stamped posts on a webpage, I'm using a looser definition to encompass regularly updated investing commentary on the web.

The Big Picture Speculator
Capsule comments on resource stocks provided by Jim Letourneau, a consulting petroleum geologist based in Calgary, Alta. Good references to background studies on the energy sector. This blog is used to advertise Letourneau's subscription investment service.

Bill Cara: Capital Markets and Social Equity
Three to four observations a day, a weekly wrap-up and recommendations on financial markets from Bill Cara, a retiree from the Canadian investment industry (where he developed the electronic quote service Star Data and set up regional branches for two Canadian brokerage firms). This Web site is for students of the markets, traders and technical analysts.
(note: my emphasis, just for maximum effect ) ;-) (also, (i) one brokerage firm I started was from day one a national firm; (ii) the Star Data firm was founded by Michael Grenier who came to me to get it off the ground, and we were fortunate to make it a huge success)

Dividend Based Investing
Don't let the spartan design of this Web site put you off because it is a great place to learn about investing in dividend stocks as well and get ideas for your portfolio. It is run by 55-year-old Michael Higgs, who quit his job as a vice president in the operations department of a mutual fund to "go cruising full time" in a sailboat with his family for several years. He now lives in Peterborough.

Dividend Growth
This is another blog where the layout may put a reader off at first. But that would be a shame because it is also a good place to learn (and get ideas) about dividend investing. The author is Thomas P. Connolly, publisher of The Connolly Report (deals with dividend-paying common stocks) since 1981.

Connolly has a great one-sentence summary of his approach: "When they are value priced, I buy common stocks of companies which have a good record of increasing dividend payments and hold them for the rising income." Take the example of Terasen. He bought its stock in 1995 when the dividend was $0.45 a share. Since then, the dividend has been raised to $0.84, which now provides a yield of 12.3% on his money.

Canadian stocks rated by Iain Fraser
This blog is published by Iain Fraser, another retiree from the Canadian investment industry, where he was the founder of an advisory service (Fraser Research Ltd.) and "the lead analyst" in the 1980s and 1990s with investment dealer Midland Walwyn. His site provides interesting stock commentary and recommendations, based on a screening system (called quantitative analysis) that rates stocks by several fundamental and technical criteria.

Value Investigator
This blog is a true gem and a must read. It is written by the dean of the value investing school in Canada: Irwin Michael, portfolio manager of the ABC Group of funds (have one of the best long-term records in Canada). On his site, Michael highlights the principles of value investing and provides a running commentary on a portfolio of stocks in which he has invested.
Read Irwin Michael's column on MoneySense.ca.

Stingy Investor
Founded in 1995 by financial consultant Norm Rothery (he has a doctorate in high-precision atom physics and his Chartered Financial Analyst designation), this Web site is the granddaddy of Canadian investment blogs. It is also one of the most visited: since 1999, the number of hits has surpassed 15.6 million. Attractively designed, its main feature is regularly updated links to articles about value investing and low-cost investing via index funds and exchange traded funds.
Read Norm Rothery's column on MoneySense.ca.

I'll extend the list of best Canadian investment blogs in my next column.