KISS is an acronym for Keep It Simple, Stupid, a design principle first promulgated by the US Navy in 1960. The KISS principle states that most systems work best if   Read More

Everyone knows that successful investing entails taking calculated risks. The trick is to minimize those risks while maximizing your potential profits. You can do this better if you understand the   Read More

Many investors repeat the same mistakes. Self-awareness may help you recognize them in your own investing and make a conscious effort to avoid them. Or else you may have to   Read More

Behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay says: “If your monthly statement shows big losses, change your mind; change your view; change your strategy. If your monthly statement shows big profits, stick   Read More

Floating-rate bonds and floating-rate bond ETFs offer you a way to protect your fixed-income portfolio from rising interest rates.
In view of rising interest rates, we’ve advised you to shorten the   Read More

RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, PPPs, critical illness insurance, long-term care insurance, high-limit disability insurance, life insurance, joint-and-last-to-die insurance, charitable donations at death—no wonder we get so tired as we get older!   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

If China starts to sell a small portion of its holdings of US bonds and bills, US interest rates could go even higher. China has a very significant ‘ace in   Read More

There are tailwinds benefiting and headwinds hindering stock markets. It’s difficult to know whether the tailwinds or the headwinds will prevail. Even if you’re pessimistic, keep your high-quality stocks, but   Read More

Shorten the average term to maturity of your bond holdings, and more importantly their duration, by trading into high coupon short term bonds. Any new money you have to invest   Read More

This market is not an easy one for investors. What worked yesterday may cause damage today. Yesterday’s dogs, on the other hand, can become tomorrow’s heroes. You need to watch   Read More

That sums up the advice of Investor’s Digest of Canada columnist T. Edward Gardiner. “If you’re holding utilities stocks, they’re probably as safe as anything else, and resource stocks may   Read More

You have gone through a major change—you’ve sold the business that took up a huge part of your life. Just as you made careful decisions while building, growing and then   Read More

The price-to-sales ratio may help you to spot potentially undervalued stocks and also excess risk in your portfolio. But remember that the p/s ratio is just one tool to spot   Read More

We’ve always thought that discipline may help you choose the best investments and increase your returns. Here are six things to remember when you buy stocks.
We’ve often stressed the point   Read More

Behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay encourages investors to create an action plan when the market is less emotional than it is now. Create a data-based program that tells you when   Read More

The strength of The Investment Reporter stock selection system lies in not attempting the near-impossible task of outsmarting all other investors consistently (which is what you have to do if   Read More

Not all money market instruments are substitutes for each other. Below we look at the various securities available for investing your cash in, and identify which ones we have preferences   Read More

If China starts to sell a small portion of its holdings of US bonds and bills, US interest rates could go even higher. China has a very significant ‘ace in   Read More

We expect interest rates to keep climbing in 2018. Higher rates have hurt the prices of high-yield stocks. They often raise their dividends, however, while bonds never pay more. And   Read More

Some investors think that small-capitalization stocks are the quickest route to riches. After all, big successful companies like Microsoft Corp. and Thomson Reuters started out as small-cap stocks.
Small-caps include all   Read More

In chemistry, ‘volatility’ refers to the ability of a substance to evaporate quickly—or, under the right conditions, to explode. In investments, it means much the same thing. Still, we don’t   Read More

“The key to investing is . . . determining the competitive advantage of any given company and, above all, the durability of that advantage. The products or services that have   Read More

You may find margin useful when you want a short-term bridging loan. Other than that, however, we advise against using margin—especially given the market’s volatility.
Stock prices rose after the US   Read More

Bond funds seem like the answer to a number of investor needs. They provide income, apparent safety in your portfolio and even speculation on interest rates. But they fail to   Read More

‘Buy high, sell low, repeat until broke’ is an emotional investment strategy best left to lemmings. The MoneyLetter’s behavioural finance columnist Ken Norquay says feeling emotions is okay: reacting to   Read More

Interest rates are climbing in 2018. Higher rates have hurt the prices of high-yield stocks. They often raise their dividends, however, while bonds never pay more. And dividends are taxed   Read More

Here’s our most recent advice on allocating your assets for the markets we expect to transpire over the next several quarters. Some investors maintain a normal asset allocation during all   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

RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, PPPs, critical illness insurance, long-term care insurance, high-limit disability insurance, life insurance, joint-and-last-to-die insurance, charitable donations at death—no wonder we get so tired as we get older!   Read More

We expect interest rates to keep climbing in 2018. Higher rates have hurt the prices of high-yield stocks. They often raise their dividends, however, while bonds never pay more. And   Read More

‘Buy high, sell low, repeat until broke’ is an emotional investment strategy best left to lemmings. The MoneyLetter’s behavioural finance columnist Ken Norquay says feeling emotions is okay: reacting to   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

The US dollar (USD) rises when stocks fall more often than not. If you believe, as The MoneyLetter columnist Keith Richards does, that there is reason for a substantial market   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 spiking a   Read More

The strength of The Investment Reporter stock selection system lies in not attempting the near-impossible task of outsmarting all other investors consistently (which is what you have to do if   Read More

Accountant Mark Goodfield (aka The Blunt Bean Counter) recently warned subscribers to The TaxLetter of some costly common investment mistakes and how to avoid them.
The duplication of investments is one   Read More

Behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay encourages investors to create an action plan when the market is less emotional than it is now. Create a data-based program that tells you when   Read More

A study shows that from 1900 to 2017, dividends produced 90 per cent of the returns of investors worldwide. So focus as much on dividends as on profits and government   Read More

Recent weakness in the Canadian market leads us to recommend Canadian equity funds for new purchases right now. Higher stock valuations in the US have made international equity funds the   Read More

Contributing TaxLetter columnist Mark Halpern, CFP, TEP, spends a lot of time with generous and fortunate people who will have accumulated a lot of money by the time they die.   Read More

We’ve always thought that discipline may help you choose the best investments and increase your returns. Here are six things to remember when you buy stocks.
We’ve often stressed the point   Read More

Not all money market instruments are substitutes for each other. Below we look at the various securities available for investing your cash in, and identify which ones we have preferences   Read More

Domestic and international demand have aligned with the historic seasonal trends for base metals. Seasonal analyst Don Vialoux recently told Investor’s Digest readers which two exchange-traded funds to buy as   Read More

A sound investment strategy involves keeping some of your portfolio in cash. But where should you put it? Below we look at some of the options available to you for   Read More

When you buy stocks in sectors and sub-sectors of the market, keep your goals in mind. If you’re a conservative, income-seeking investor, focus on utilities, financial stocks and consumer stocks.   Read More

Vancouver-based HollisWealth® portfolio manager Elvis Picardo, thinks it would be safe to assume that market volatility will be higher this year than it has been in the last couple of   Read More

Aggressive investing may pay off, or backfire horrendously. It all depends on the market environment, and on your willingness to give your aggressive investments the extra care they require.
If you   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
Bonds have begun the   Read More

The TaxLetter contributing editor Mark Halpern recalls Martin Luther King’s sagacious advice: “If we are to go forward, we must go back.” When it comes to planning your financial future,   Read More

The Dow Jones Industrial Index has gone parabolic. (Prices are increasing and the rate of increase is increasing.) This pattern usually occurs in commodities or speculative individual stocks, rarely in   Read More

Strip bonds are well suited for RRSPs, RRIFs or TFSAs. They offer many advantages, such as certainty when planning for income. Remember, however, it’s best to hold strips inside a   Read More