Rarely does a personal finance book appear with as many strengths as this one. Author Kurt Rosentreter, a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young in Toronto, gives the kind of advice that usually costs a few hundred dollars an hour. In brief, clear chapters, he shows how investors should get beyond nominal returns, and instead, focus on what they have left after tax.

The content of 50 Tax-Smart Investing Strategies is broad, covering mutual funds, stocks, bonds, real estate investment trusts, family trusts, guaranteed investment certificates and more. Rosentreter discusses tax-efficient mutual funds and offers ways to find new funds with no accrued gains. He recommends investors use natural index funds that mimic markets outside of RRSPs since they generate little or no tax liabilities. He suggests that synthetic index funds be used inside RRSPs since their assets, derivatives that produce what Revenue Canada considers interest income, generate large tax liabilities. He also examines wrap accounts that may contain several investments, comments on their fees, and clarifies the tax advantages of their segregated investments.

This book is more than it seems. It is, of course, a technical discussion of tax strategies for investing in stocks and bonds. More than that, it is an antidote to the RRSP hype that grips Canadians every spring, for many people who buy tax shelters are in low enough tax brackets that they really don’t need them.

Is this the best and last book on investments most folks will ever need? Not quite. The largest shortcoming of the book is the lack of lists of mutual funds and investment pools that meet Rosentreter’s standards. Nevertheless, this book is a treasure of excellent advice. One could hardly find a better way to invest $16.95.