Financial markets always face risks. Low-risk investments such as government bonds pay so little that you lose money to inflation. So it’s important to invest in stocks despite the risks   Read More

Nature is springing back to life. But the markets are likely to correct significantly. Rebalance to emphasize cash and low-beta stocks. Keith Richards, portfolio manager at Barrie, Ont.-based ValueTrend suggests   Read More

The Money Reporter regularly publishes tables of recommended government bonds, corporate bonds and preferred shares suitable for income-oriented investors. The monthly Fact and Advice Sheet also gives guidance for current   Read More

While the United States is entering an extended period of monetary tightening, Europe is beginning its experiment of unbridled and unrestrained monetary stimulus. One thing that investors know from the   Read More

Look to iShares CDN S&P/TSX Capped Financials Index Fund for a signal that Canadian stocks are due for a correction. When trying to gauge market outlook, financial stocks are a   Read More

Limit the risk of your holdings. Adopt an investment strategy that will let you profit from—rather than be victimized by—bear market conditions.   Read More

The European Central Bank, or ECB, ushered in a new era by launching an aggressive bond-buying program in January. The euro zone is one of the global economy’s biggest trouble   Read More

 “As a technical analyst, I tend to avoid making longer-term predictions about markets, sectors or commodity prices. I find that forecasting market movements or events out beyond a few months   Read More

 What to do about bonds

Canadian bonds have produced strong total returns so far this year. The FTSE Universe Bond Index, which covers over 1,300 Canadian bonds, has returned 3.5 per   Read More

“The good times are over.” So says Bill Gross, a co-founder of the world’s largest bond company, Pacific Investment Management Co., which is better known by its diminutive, “PIMCO.” Mr.   Read More

Forecasting market performance is notoriously tricky. That would be true even if you were handed information about significant economic factors predestined to play out in the year ahead. Writing in   Read More

Emerging markets have taken it on the chin lately. But this doesn’t mean it’s time to jump ship. For value-oriented folks, these markets are still good places in which to   Read More

Where should you put new money now?

Continue to add to stock funds, emphasizing diversified, conservative offerings. Longer-term, risk-tolerant investors may want to be more aggressive with specialized funds.

We think the   Read More

We regularly point out that it pays to buy the big five Canadian banks. They remain buys for long-term price gains as well as high and rising dividends.

All five earned   Read More

Hamilton, Ont.-based Ken Norquay is a CMT (Chartered Market Technician) and the author of the behavioural finance book Beyond the Bull which discusses the impact of your personality on your   Read More

Today the world’s 2 billion+ Christians pause to celebrate the birth of a nice little Jewish boy who was born to a virgin mother who, together with her husband, had   Read More

Wall Street strategists have started to issue their 2015 forecasts. And if a report by Goldman Sachs is any indication of the forecasts to follow, you might want to forget   Read More

Gold may stay low. We still see more factors working against it than for it. Though you might hold a little gold for diversification purposes, remember its drawbacks.

In November, gold   Read More

Key market indicators are back in a ‘buy’ mode and it’s time to buy says Keith Richards, a portfolio manager at ValueTrend Wealth Management in Barrie, Ontario.

“It’s no secret that   Read More

 “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,” wrote William Shakespeare. In the investment arena, well-known investors such as Sir John Templeton have echoed the same sentiment over the years. But   Read More

To avoid risk, think like a trader, says Ken Norquay, a Hamilton, Ontario-based Chartered Market Technician (CMT) and author of Beyond the Bull, a book about behavioral finance and the   Read More

“In the stock market — or in any widely traded market — there’s an inevitable fact of life: bear markets happen. It’s a topic I’d just as soon avoid. After   Read More

Asia-Pacific stock markets have performed reasonably well this year, and that might continue over the near term. But we think the real investment lure in this region is its long-term   Read More

Charles Ellis, author of Winning the Loser’s Game, believes that you should build your portfolio as you would a house. Your house should be suitable to the climate, not last   Read More

There’s been little market action in either gold or silver over the past few months, says John Embry, chief investment strategist for Toronto-based Sprott Asset Management.

For one thing, both July   Read More

Sometimes things just go on and on and on. Take, for example, the loonie’s duel with the greenback.

So observes Keith Richards, Barrie, Ontario-based portfolio manager of Value Trend/Wealth Management, who   Read More

When stock markets are undervalued, it’s usually a good time to invest aggressively in the index offerings that track them. When market valuations rise, however, a more circumspect approach is   Read More

State Street Corp. provides big institutional investors with investment research, investment management, investment servicing and trading services. It recently reported on the cash holdings of individual investors. In Canada, individual   Read More

“This year’s Annual General Meeting could not have mirrored today’s real-life world and stock markets better. What a template! Talk about proven – and inspirational – value investing.”

So enthused Michael   Read More

Speculating can be fraught with danger. Hold too long in a bull market and you can quickly lose all your gains. Famed American investor of the 1920s, Bernard Baruch, reportedly   Read More

Quick, now: can you name the new whipping boy in the investment world? If you said bonds, you’d be right. After last year’s “taper tantrum” — i.e., the sell-off in   Read More

THE MARKET THIS MONTH: June is in the weakest six-month period for stock prices. Ongoing rising stocks and a long time with no stock market setback are risks. If a   Read More

Equity markets are fairly valued and bonds are expensive.

If you want your investments to outperform the overall markets, you’ll have to buy some of your securities when prices are low.   Read More

This overly bullish market may be expecting a pullback this summer. Time to.. Get Defensive!

There has been a noticeable rotation lately out of higher-risk securities such as biotech, U.S. Small   Read More

Just in case you haven’t yet noticed, we’ve been getting mixed signals on interest rates of late.

True, yields on corporate bonds have been creeping up to around 4.5 per cent.

And   Read More

Continue to add to existing funds, especially those in your portfolio with weak short-term records. They’ll be back.

Our thinking: As long as you have your time horizons properly thought out,   Read More

World markets currently less desirable than developed markets, where some of the best opportunities lie in the oil patch..

March was a volatile month for the markets, with worries over global   Read More

Building an investment portfolio is a particularly difficult task at potential turning points in the market.

At market lows, investors not only have to be aware of additional downside risk, but   Read More

Five spring times ago, the doomsayers were running roughshod. This spring, the principal worries are of how much longer a bull run for the ages can last, how big the   Read More

In view of our previous recommendation to ETF investors that they buy unhedged ETFs when investing in the U.S., we now recommend such an ETF for investors seeking exposure to   Read More

Correction will coincide with six-month seasonal downswing

We’re still tiptoeing through queasy stock markets. So, don’t rest easy just yet.

A correction of some sort is under way — one that neatly   Read More

Worries over emerging markets continue, but North America looks poised for a recovery

The stock market has been in quite a funk these last few weeks.

Expectations of a reduction in stimulus   Read More

Continue to pursue a dollar-cost averaging program, emphasizing conservative, diversified, large-cap funds. Emerging markets hold appeal for aggressive investors.

OUR CURRENT THINKING: Notwithstanding the possibility of a sharp market correction   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 goods   Read More

Some of my research involves sentiment indicators, which measure the level of bullish or bearish behavior by two distinct groups of investors.

One group, sometimes referred to as the “smart   Read More

It’s best to diversify across the five main sectors of the economy: finance, utilities, consumer products and services, manufacturing and resources. Each of these broad sectors is made up of   Read More

As 2014 continues to unfold, both gold and silver are starting to perform impressively.

Both metals appear to have made major bottoms following gold’s plunge to US$1,180 an ounce at the   Read More

Where to put new money now

Continue to add new money to existing positions. Emphasize those positions that have suffered relative short-term weakness. 

OUR CURRENT THINKING: Stock markets in North America and   Read More

THE MARKET THIS MONTH: April is the last month in the best six-month period for stocks. The U.S. and global economies are expected to grow faster in 2014 and raise   Read More

Just when folks are told to steer clear of certain investments, the trend changes. But that’s typical, is it not?

At the start of this year, the market mavens told investors   Read More

On this page, we outline what we expect the economy and stocks to do over the next 180 days. This assists us in listing 25 stocks that we expect to   Read More

THE MARKET THIS MONTH: March is in the best six-month period for stocks (from November through April). Also, the U.S. and global economics  are expected to grow in 2014 and   Read More