The grim reaper is not going to hang around and wait for you to get organized. He works on his own schedule. Trust and Estate Practitioner Mark Halpern has both   Read More

The MoneyLetter recently profiled rising Canadian technology stock Kinaxis Inc. and its flagship supply chain management software RapidResponse.
Complexity and volatility are givens when it comes to discussing supply chain management.   Read More

Great graduation gifts needn’t cost you much. Smart-as-a-whip grads may have earned straight ‘A’s, but did they learn anything about managing money? You can help them start a post-grad program   Read More

Here are two energy stocks to buy for growth and income. Both are integrated oil and gas stocks. By market cap, they are the first (Suncor) and third (Imperial) largest   Read More

A top-10 Canadian bank and a CAD-hedged ETF tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average are PI Financial portfolio manager’s current top two stock picks.
Feeling bullish? If so, Vancouver-area portfolio manager   Read More

You receive passive income through ventures that require little daily effort on your part and business activities in which you do not materially participate during the year. Mark Halpern, CFP,   Read More

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer you much lower management fees than do mutual funds. Plus, the best ETFs give you well-diversified, tax-efficient equity portfolios. And some are great for income investors   Read More

Equity mutual fund managers sense a high risk in the stock market and are increasing their cash reserves. But the amount of cash they hold is restricted by the fund’s   Read More

Toronto-based Desjardins Capital Markets analysts Doug Young and Gary Ho name their ‘top picks’ from the Canadian financial sector for 2019—an insurance company, a bank and an alternative credit services   Read More

You should have some exposure to US stocks now. We recommend the hedged versions of PH&N US Equity Fund, which is a managed offering, and TD US Index Fund-e, an   Read More

In picking our Key stocks, we pay close attention to a company’s dividend history. We prefer companies that regularly raise the dividends. This makes it easier to beat inflation and   Read More

Every month, Investor’s Digest surveys 48 income trusts covered by leading securities analysts. Two real estate investment trusts and an energy trust were highlights.
SmartCentres REIT (TSX—SRU.UN)
After a successful equity raise   Read More

This Calgary-headquartered mid-stream oil and gas stock operates over 5,000 kilometers of gathering pipelines and 15 natural gas processing plants primarily in Alberta.
Oil and gas stock Keyera Corp. (TSX—KEY) operates   Read More

The investment industry has its jargon. One of the least understood, and overly complex phrases, is ‘asset allocation’. For many advisers, it’s just an attempt to make market timing sound   Read More

We have always advised strenuously against stock-market timing. And the longer we work at investments, the more convinced we become that no one has much of an edge at timing.

It’s   Read More

A top-10 Canadian bank and a CAD-hedged exchange-traded fund tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average are PI Financial portfolio manager’s current top two stock picks.
Feeling bullish? If so, Vancouver-area portfolio   Read More

It’s tough to get analysts excited about natural resource stocks these days. Words like ‘neutral’, ‘hold’ and ‘average’ reflect the mood of the street for many Canadian natural resource companies.
Pretium   Read More

When you invest in a new industry, it’s best to use the ‘basket approach’. Spread your investment over a basket of stocks. That way you’re more likely to end up   Read More

As all fund companies will tell you, past performance is no guarantee of future results. If that’s so, then how can you pick a fund to invest in?

Picking tomorrow’s winners   Read More

Based on valuations and dividends alone, we see CIBC as the Canadian bank stock that offers the greatest total return (capital appreciation plus dividend yield) potential over the next year.   Read More

Accountant Mark Goodfield, aka The Blunt Bean Counter,

Many couples trade independently and even if they trade together, one spouse may have realized capital gains while the other spouse has unrealized   Read More

Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index Exchange-Traded Fund gives you three benefits: diversification across a number of larger marijuana stocks; regular re-balancing by a professional manager; and attractive cash distributions.

Cannabis has   Read More

The investment industry relies heavily on investors owning individual company stocks traded on stock exchanges. But behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay says we can use exchange-traded funds to invest in   Read More

Every month Investor’s Digest of Canada surveys securities analysts’ opinions and recommendations for over 1,000 Canadian stocks. Here are two of the survey’s top 10 picks that garnered the most   Read More

Probable interest rate hikes this year may be subdued but will still limit the attraction of current fixed-income investments. These rate hikes will, however, benefit our recommended floating-rate preferreds.
What to   Read More

“In a world where things are changing fast / Ain’t too many things that are made to last / Hang on to her, boy / They don’t make them like   Read More

Toronto-based Desjardins Capital Markets analysts Doug Young and Gary Ho name their ‘top picks’ from the Canadian financial sector for 2019—an insurance company, a bank and an alternative credit services   Read More

The MoneyLetter recently reviewed three analysts’ reports from the junior oil and gas stock stronghold of Calgary. These analysts clearly are not just home-town cheerleaders as their ‘hold’, ‘underperform’ and   Read More

Historically, small stocks beat big stocks. But almost all of the better gains of small stocks occurred in one unusual nine-year period. Big stocks should do well in 2019.
At first   Read More

Split shares can really boost your yield. They offer you the choice of doubling your eligible dividend income or doubling your capital gain with the potential bonus of any extra   Read More

Toronto-based Purpose Investments portfolio manager Greg Taylor says the market has rotated from its growth focus to a search for value. He picks two funds for this transitioning market as   Read More

In the world of commodity trading, gold and oil stand out as the two commodities most favoured by retail investors seeking alternative investments to stocks and bonds. Valuetrend.ca technical analyst   Read More

In 1977 rock band Fleetwood Mac’s keyboardist Christine McVie sang, “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow . . . yesterday’s gone . . . don’t you look back.” Christine was in   Read More

2018 was a poor year for most Canadian stock funds and you may have received some shocking tax reporting slips this month. But now, it’s too late to do anything   Read More

PI Financial’s Chris Thompson and Philip Ker say investors should watch for a potent reversal and widening of the gold-to-silver ratio to historic highs (roughly 86:1) which will favour accumulating   Read More

You receive passive income through ventures that require little daily effort on your part and business activities in which you do not materially participate during the year. Mark Halpern, CFP,   Read More

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer you much lower management fees than do mutual funds. Plus, the best ETFs give you well-diversified, tax-efficient equity portfolios. And some are great for income investors   Read More

Growth in revenue and earnings for the big five Canadian banks may be more difficult in 2019. The spread on interest rates between their borrowing costs and income is narrowing;   Read More

Seasonal financial analyst Don Vialoux says his ‘best buy’ for the coming months is the base metals sector, and the easiest way to play the sector is through exchange-traded funds,   Read More

If you have new money to invest, we consider the Canadian stock market a good place to put some of your money. We would take this opportunity to invest in   Read More

No one always knows where the stock market will go in the short run. But in the long run, the longer you remain invested, the more money you’ll make. And   Read More

Keith Howlett, a Toronto-based Desjardins Capital Markets analyst, took a look at what disrupters have done to Macy’s, Williams-Sonoma and Bed, Bath & Beyond. He found two Canadian consumer goods   Read More

From “Bud the spud from the bright red mud / Rolling down the highway smilin’” to “Take me home tonight, Algoma Central 69”, the inimitable Stompin’ Tom Connors celebrated the   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

You will get the most from your income portfolio by following the four guidelines below. Also, be sure to own at least one good dividend or equity income fund, and,   Read More

Equity mutual fund managers sense a high risk in the stock market and are increasing their cash reserves. But the amount of cash they hold is restricted by the fund’s   Read More

Continue with your investment program, including regular additions to your small-cap funds, if these suit your temperament and objectives. But maintain a balance between conservative funds and aggressive funds.

Our current   Read More

Royal Bank of Canada is Canada’s largest financial institution and the 24th largest bank in the world based on total assets. The bank serves 16 million clients in 36 different   Read More

Accountant, income tax and wealth management adviser Mark Goodfield (aka The Blunt Bean Counter) walks us through the process of planning for and using capital losses to offset capital gains   Read More

A friend joked that we’re overly-fixated on dividends. The thing is, many studies show that dividends can add significantly to an investor’s returns.

Consider a study by Krishna Ramaswamy and Robert   Read More

Whether you invest in equity mutual funds or directly in stocks, you need to diversify your holdings and balance them to suit your own investment circumstances and objectives. Below we   Read More

If you’ve got a case of the January credit card blues, you should first use your cash flow to repay high-interest debt. As high-interest debt melts away, you’ll have more   Read More