“Irrational exuberance” is how former US Fed chairman Alan Greenspan described the stock market during the dot-com bubble of the 1990s. Investor’s Digest of Canada columnist Edward Gardiner looks at   Read More

In its monthly review of bonds and preferred shares, the Money Reporter recommends two corporate bonds that would fit well in a five-year laddered GIC portfolio.
What to do about bonds   Read More

The Bank of Canada targeted overnight rate was recently raised to 0.75 per cent. Bond prices fell, of course, so that yields would rise and keep pace with the higher   Read More

“Irrational exuberance” is how former US Fed chairman Alan Greenspan described the stock market during the dot-com bubble of the 1990s. Investor’s Digest of Canada columnist Edward Gardiner looks at   Read More

Since 1802, the US dollar has lost 95 per cent of its purchasing power. After inflation, that dollar invested in US stocks would’ve soared to $704,997 by 2012; invested in   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter, the newsletter for investors whose interest is more interest,   publishes its list of recommended bonds and preferred shares. The longer-term outlook is for yields to   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter, the newsletter for investors whose interest is more interest, publishes its list of recommended bonds and preferred shares. We currently recommend a 50-50 split between   Read More

There’s still a few weeks before it’s time to sell in May and go away. Barrie, Ont.-based ValueTrend portfolio manager Keith Richards notes their portfolios still hold plenty of U.S.   Read More

Bond funds account for about 13 per cent of the money Canadians have invested in mutual funds. But these funds do little more than enrich their managers and enslave investors.
We   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter, the newsletter for investors whose interest is more interest, publishes its list of recommended bonds and preferred shares.
What to do about bonds now
Canadian bond prices   Read More

So you’re a hands-on investor and you want to decide for yourself which investments go into your self-directed Registered Retirement Savings Plan. TaxLetter contributing editor Samantha Prasad, a tax partner   Read More

We believe that the rate of inflation will quicken. This would drive up interest rates. Higher interest rates hurt bonds. Consider investing in shorter-term interest-producing investments. Or buy stocks. Inflation   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter, the newsletter for investors whose interest is more interest, publishes its list of recommended bonds and preferred shares.
What to do about bonds now
The Canadian bond   Read More

Or “one man’s loss becomes another man’s gain”, according to 1707’s A General Treatise of Monies and Exchanges. There are so many versions of this truism that no credit can   Read More

Regular MoneyLetter columnist Ken Norquay is struggling to remain objective during the word war being waged by the U.S. media and their new president. As an investment advisor, his value   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter, the newsletter for investors whose interest is more interest, publishes its list of recommended bonds and preferred shares.
What to do about bonds now
After falling from   Read More

2016 saw no movement in administered interest rates in Canada after they fell in 2015. While the Bank of Canada remained on the sidelines in 2016, the U.S. Federal Reserve   Read More

The bond market is the largest securities market in the world. High quality bonds provide investors with low-risk income. And ‘laddering’ your portfolio lets you match maturity dates to your   Read More

Regular MoneyLetter columnist John Stephenson offers his stock market outlook for the early days of a Trump administration. Financial stocks should be among the first big winners because of the   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter, the newsletter for investors whose interest is more interest, publishes its list of recommended bonds and preferred shares. In December it recommended 38 government bonds,   Read More

Retirees are often advised to avoid risk by buying government bonds and holding them to maturity. But this exposes retirees to the risk of losing purchasing power due to inflation.   Read More

Peter Lynch is a highly successful investor. He’s enthusiastic about stocks that increase their dividends year after year. By contrast, Mr. Lynch cares little for investing in bonds. But a   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter, the newsletter for investors whose interest is more interest, publishes its list of recommended bonds and preferred shares. In October it recommended 38 government bonds,   Read More

Will the U.S. Fed raise rates sooner, rather than later, and torpedo the current bond bubble? Some investors are desperately chasing yield in riskier bonds, but that may be insufficient   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter, the newsletter for investors whose interest is more interest, publishes its list of recommended bonds and preferred shares. In September it recommended 38 government bonds,   Read More

The yields on 10-year government bonds are far lower than the dividend yields of many stocks. This is like the situation that existed until the mid-1950s. We expect government bonds   Read More

Foreign investors are buying Canadian and U.S. bonds. This is reducing bond yields to record lows. One way to generate more income and beat inflation is to buy blue chip   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter, the newsletter for investors whose interest is more interest,  publishes its list of recommended bonds and preferred shares. In July it recommended 38 government bonds,   Read More

Technical analyst and portfolio manager Keith Richards says bonds, utilities and consumer staples tend to do well in the weaker market months of May to November. He names some favourite   Read More

Since 1802 the dollar has lost 95 per cent of its purchasing power. After inflation, a dollar invested in stocks in 1802 would’ve soared to $704,997 by 2012. A dollar   Read More

Will the U.S. Fed raise rates sooner, rather than later, and torpedo the current bond bubble? Some investors are desperately chasing yield in riskier bonds, but that may be insufficient   Read More

Most bond funds are conservative, produce reliable returns and are unexciting. But most of them have trouble keeping up with the bond market. That’s why you’re better off buying a   Read More

We don’t know if portfolio manager Keith Richards gave any advice to Casey and the strawberry blonde he adored, but Mr. Richards recently warned his readers in The MoneyLetter to   Read More

Foreign investors are buying Canadian and U.S. bonds. This is reducing bond yields to record lows. One way to generate more income and beat inflation is to buy blue chip   Read More

With apologies to the “No Sex, Please—We’re British” playwrights,  The MoneyLetter’s behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay takes a look at why people make seemingly irrational decisions about investment strategy. His   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter, the newsletter for investors whose interest is more interest,  publishes its list of recommended bonds and preferred shares. In July it recommended 38 government bonds,   Read More

Since 1802 the dollar has lost 95 per cent of its purchasing power. After inflation, a dollar invested in stocks in 1802 would’ve soared to $704,997 by 2012. A dollar   Read More

Technical analyst and portfolio manager Keith Richards says bonds, utilities and consumer staples tend to do well in the weaker market months of May to November. He names some favourite   Read More

The Money Reporter currently recommends a 40-per-cent portfolio allocation to fixed income securities, and 55 per cent of that in corporates. It is worth considering using some preferred shares to   Read More

When stock markets turn volatile like they did earlier this year, many investors start looking for refuge — a place to put their money simply to preserve it and maybe   Read More

“…there are known knowns; …there are known unknowns; …there are also unknown unknowns.”–Donald Rumsfeld.  “Don’t pretend to know the unknowable.”–Ken Norquay.
Behavioural finance strategist Ken Norquay is a frequent contributor to   Read More

With our current recommendation of a 40-per-cent allocation to fixed income, and 55 per cent of that in corporates, it is worth considering using some preferred shares to boost the   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter publishes its list of recommended bonds and preferred shares. In February it recommended 38 government bonds, 13 corporate bonds and 15 preferred shares suitable for   Read More

The Federal Reserve raised U.S. interest rates for the first time in more than 10 years. This should help stocks outperform bonds. Most forecasters expect the U.S. central bank to   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter publishes a comprehensive list of the best bonds to invest in including 13 Canadian corporate bonds and 38 Canadian federal and provincial government bonds and   Read More

Our job, as conservative investors, is twofold: (i) To safeguard our money; and (ii) To get a reasonable return commensurate with our risk tolerance. Ken Norquay, author of the behavioral   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter publishes a comprehensive list of the best bonds to invest in including 13 Canadian corporate bonds and  38  Canadian federal and provincial government bonds and   Read More

Assuming the global economy gradually improves, we expect corporate bonds to outperform government bonds. Straight preferreds have performed well relative to rate-reset issues and fixed-floaters, both of which have been   Read More

Bond and mortgage funds, treasury bills, stripped bonds and coupons and mortgage-backed securities help reduce short-term volatility and risk. Also, some of their timing features come in handy when planning   Read More

Diversified, conservative equity mutual funds make good core portfolio holdings, of course. But conservative investors would also do well to include a top Canadian dividend fund or equity income fund,   Read More

Every month the Money Reporter publishes a comprehensive list of best Canadian corporate bonds, Canadian federal and provincial government bonds and Canadian preferred shares─both straight and floating rate─that it recommends   Read More

We’ve often expressed our distaste for bond funds and other income funds. That’s because you stand a good chance of beating most of them by investing in fixed-income securities directly.   Read More