‘What? Me worry?’ would be MAD magazine cover boy Alfred E. Neuman’s attitude about the stock market. But The MoneyLetter’s behavioural finance analyst, Ken Norquay, has his own take on   Read More

These days you hear a lot about “enhancing shareholder value”. That is, managements of many firms want their shares to perform well. Management, of course, has a fair bit of   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

Economist Paul Samuelson quipped: “The stock market has forecast nine of the last five recessions.” So, advises Toronto-based portfolio manager John Stephenson, dial down the noise about continuing market gyrations   Read More

Since the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 1913 creation, gold has retained its purchasing power while the U.S. dollar is worth 98.2 per cent less. Nick Barisheff, president and CEO of Markham,   Read More

Barrie, Ont.-based ValueTrend portfolio manager Keith Richards thinks so and he offers nine indicators as the evidence that convinced him to adopt a bearish market outlook and a defensive investment   Read More

Recurring seasonal effects can and do occur even in so-called efficient markets that are supposed to reflect all relevant news and information. (For example, the cost of heating your home   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

You must turn your RRSP into a RRIF or an annuity by the end of the year you turn 71. Otherwise you’ll receive all your RRSP money and have it   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

Mark Halpern, a Markham, Ont.-based certified financial planner and trust and estate practitioner, is a regular contributor to The TaxLetter. He says investment and tax planning strategies like the immediate   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

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant,   Read More

You should choose a systematic withdrawal plan carefully so your money doesn’t run out before you do. A 1997 book, Die Broke, advocated planning your finances so that “The last   Read More

The financial sector’s exposure to the energy sector is driving banking stocks down world-wide. John Stephenson is portfolio manager and President and CEO of Stephenson & Company Capital Management Inc.   Read More

Your best long term strategic investment plan is to balance your portfolio across the five main sectors of the economy: finance, utilities, consumer products and services, manufacturing and resources. Each   Read More

If you believe a continued market downtrend for the intermediate term is likely, then shorting the market with exchange traded funds, stocks, currencies and gold might be of interest to   Read More

Markham, Ont.-based Mark Halpern is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) with special expertise in tax planning for high net worth individuals and their families.   Read More

The Bank of Canada was right to hold off on cutting the prime interest rate but sunny government inflation statistics and industry forecasts are deceptive. Edward Gardiner, an Ottawa-based market   Read More

Ken Norquay is a Chartered Market Technician, author of the behavioural finance book Beyond the Bull and a regular contributor to The MoneyLetter. He is currently on a European reconnaissance   Read More

The crafters of the legislation creating the Tax-Free Savings Account obviously weren’t moved by Juliet’s lament to Romeo: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any   Read More

Index funds effectively own the same stocks in the same proportions as a market index. This means an index fund’s performance will always come fairly close to that of the   Read More

The U.S. federal government has over $19 trillion in funded debt, at least $6 trillion in off-balance sheet obligations, and staggering unfunded liabilities for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, etc., which   Read More

The financial sector’s exposure to the energy sector is driving banking stocks down world-wide. John Stephenson is portfolio manager and President and CEO of Stephenson & Company Capital Management Inc.   Read More

Syvia Poon is a financial analyst and an avid market observer with a particular interest in stock options trading. She explains that beyond their use as speculative trading vehicles, stock   Read More

The market outlook suggests that U.S. markets are about to test their 2015 summer lows. If they don’t bounce back, the next level of support seems to be around the   Read More

Make rebalancing your portfolio a resolution for 2016. Consider your circumstances, set targets . . . and stick to them.
Rebalancing your portfolio is critical to successful investing. We advise you   Read More

Gold as an alternative investment provides important portfolio diversification because its price is least tied to traditional financial assets. Nick Barisheff, president and CEO of Bullion Management Group Inc., a   Read More

Canadian stocks are now in bear market territory. This setback gives you a chance to buy fine companies on the cheap. Follow our advice to invest both safely and profitably.   Read More

You regularly receive cash as fixed-income investments mature, takeovers occur, and you earn interest, dividends and capital gains. Rebalance your portfolio as you do your ordinary investing.
Studies show that your   Read More

A rational market strategy: Participate in uptrends, reduce exposure to downtrends. Right now, the signals are saying: ‘Sell’. They’re not as simple as ‘Buy Low; Sell High’, but they are   Read More

‘Melt and cascade’ describes what happens to a solid ice jam on a hot summer’s day: a fixed form becomes a fluid, more dynamic element. Mark Halpern, a Markham, Ont.-based   Read More

Rebalancing an investment portfolio makes intuitive sense. And it serves to take emotion out of the picture. But it also takes judgment out of the picture. And its benefits are   Read More

When you have a new lump sum of cash to invest, such as a bonus or an inheritance, it can be tempting to look for new mutual funds rather than   Read More

In theory, you own the companies in which you hold shares. The presidents, chief executive officers, chief financial officers and other top managers are your employees. But the reality is   Read More

Giving to others can benefit you, too. Toronto-based Kim Inglis is an investment advisor and portfolio manager with the Reynolds Inglis Group within Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management. Here she shows   Read More

It pays to buy companies with hidden assets and stay away from those with hidden liabilities. Hidden assets and liabilities, of course, are those that don’t show up on a   Read More

DRIPs (Dividend Re-Investment Plans) and cash option plans let individual investors build their wealth. That’s thanks to the dozen benefits that we outline below.
Dividend Re-Investment Plans (DRIPs) can build   Read More

Are you concerned about rising interest rates effect on stocks in the U.S.? Keith Richards, portfolio manager at Barrie, Ont.-based ValueTrend Wealth Management and a frequent contributor to The MoneyLetter,   Read More

When we give strategic investment advice on securities, we often qualify it by saying that some securities are suitable for conservative investors while others are better suited to aggressive investors,   Read More

Keith Richards, portfolio manager of Barrie, Ont.-based ValueTrend Wealth Management says his favorite market indicators are flashing ‘buy’ signals in five market sectors. He names his favorite stock picks in   Read More

A study shows that from 1900 to 2005, dividends produced 90 per cent of the returns of investors worldwide. So focus as much on high dividend paying stocks as on   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

To maximize your risk-adjusted returns, don’t mix investments and emotions. Toronto-based Craig Jerusalim, a portfolio manager at CIBC Global Asset Management, identifies five desirable traits of high-quality companies including defendable   Read More

Usually, the higher a company’s cash flow, the better. But in the case of growing companies, lower cash flow from total operating activities is better. Sometimes strategic investing requires using   Read More

Most individual investors tend to be ‘homers’ or ‘chauvinists’. As a result, they overweight their portfolios from their home stock market. It’s known as the equity ‘home bias’ puzzle. Buying   Read More

Keith Richards, portfolio manager at Barrie, Ont.-based Value Trend/Wealth Management has spotted a long legged doji, or rickshaw man, on his candlestick charts. This rickshaw man pattern indicates indecision and   Read More

Dividend paying stocks add stability and investment quality to your portfolio. And dividends account for a lot–maybe as much as a third to a half–of your total returns.
Many investors are   Read More

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada! Celebrating with your extended family on all your favorite foodstuffs and libations? Conversation inevitably evolving from elucidating insights to more passionate opinions? Given that The Great White   Read More

Warrants are alternative investments to the stocks they give you the right to buy. And they cost a lot less than those stocks you have a right to buy. Also,   Read More

Recent escalated market volatility was a signal to sell—now. In nautical terms, that spike in volatility was a ‘shot across the bow’. Ken Norquay, a regular contributor to The MoneyLetter   Read More

This choppy, sideways market is no place for a buy-and-hold investment strategy. The best approach is one of constant sector rotation. So says Keith Richards, a portfolio manager at Barrie,   Read More