By Scott Ronalds

The sun is shining. Flowers are blooming. And ideas are sprouting. It's the first day of spring in Vancouver, and as our local brewery says (Granville Island), it's good to be here.

Leading thinkers, innovators and communicators have swarmed the city for the TED conference (Technology, Entertainment, Design). Bill Gates, Larry Page, Sting, Chris Hadfield, Charlie Rose, Seth Godin and many other influential people are here to spread ideas, open minds and talk about cool things.

If you're in a mood for learning, here are a few links on the behavioural side of investing you may find interesting:

Inside the Madness of the Stock Market (Wall Street Journal) - A great cartoon.

When the Smart Money Does Dumb Things (Canadian Couch Potato) - Pension funds behaving badly.

The Five Essential Elements (Steadyhand) - The crib sheet to being a better investor.

Happy spring.