Beat the Bank

Beat the Bank

The Canadian Guide to Simply Successful Investing

Larry Bates

Make the big banks work for you, not against you!

You work hard. You sacrifice to save. You risk your money in the market over your working lifetime and you trust your bank to treat you fairly. But your bank strips away half of your lifetime investment returns in fees. Without realizing it, millions of Canadians are in precisely this position.

How does the industry pull this off? The big Canadian banks—and by extension our entire financial industry—occupy a position of paternalistic authority that too many individual investors respect unquestioningly. The industry brilliantly capitalizes on the combination of poor understanding of fees, deep loyalty, and misplaced trust by charging Canadians the highest investment fees in the world. There is a better way!


The Wealthy Barber taught Canadians the importance of saving. Beat the Bank will teach Canadians the importance of investing well.”

“Larry Bates offers a detailed look at everything that’s wrong with our ‘traditional’ investment model and even more importantly, shows readers just how easy it is to invest their money simply—and successfully. A must-read.”

“… enlightening, horrifying, entertaining, and enormously useful.”


“If you wonder why your bank-sold mutual funds are going nowhere, Larry Bates has the answers.”

“Millions of Canadian mutual fund investors unknowingly pay fees that erode their returns by as much as 50% over time! Industry insider Larry Bates clearly explains how, why, and what you can do about it.”

“Larry shares some powerful stories over his thirty-five years as an investment banker. It’s like you’re a fly on the wall in his office. Beat the Bank should be required reading in Ontario’s new financial literacy course in high school.”


LARRY BATES spent thirty years in the investment banking business in both Canada and the United Kingdom. He recently shifted his focus to investor advocacy with the launch of his website,, which is focused on providing Canadians with a better understanding of investment basics. A graduate of Dalhousie University, Larry currently serves as a member of the Investor Advisory Panel of the Ontario Securities Commission and is a member of the Transparency Task Force which advocates for greater transparency in the global financial services industry.

ISBN 978-1775343707
$24.95 CAD Published September 16, 2018
6 × 9 208 Pages
Paperback, ebook