US stocks are quite expensive compared with equities in other world markets. Here’s a way to take it slow and easy with your US investing.
Stocks in the US, particularly those   Read More

In the debate over the merits of investing actively or passively, it’s easy to lose track of a third option. Combining both approaches may be the better way to go.
Some   Read More

Long term buy-and-hold strategies rely on up trending markets. Long term buy-low-sell-high strategies rely on volatility. That’s why behavioural finance analyst Ken Norquay recommends incorporating selling into your investment strategy.

Previously   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

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

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

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

According to BloombergBusinessweek, the number of market indexes now exceeds the number of U.S. stocks. Many of these new benchmarks are created just so they can be tracked by an   Read More

If you’d rather not pick a fund manager, then maybe you should just simply pick the market. Exchange-traded index funds (ETFs) make ideal core holdings if you neither want to   Read More

Chartered Market Technician Don Vialoux combines technical, fundamental and seasonality analysis to predict that Canadian metals and mining companies and U.S. industrial companies are set to rise this spring. He   Read More

Chartered Market Technician Don Vialoux combines technical, fundamental and seasonality analysis to predict that Canadian metals and mining companies and U.S. industrial companies are set to rise this spring. He   Read More

The Money Reporter, written for “investors whose interest is more interest”, publishes a list of the 13 best exchange traded funds for an income-oriented portfolio. Using this list of 13   Read More

Though most investors believe that equities will, over time, outperform fixed-income investments, they still fear the stock market. They worry that they, or their mutual fund, will pick the wrong   Read More

One of the main ideas behind index exchange traded funds, or “ETFs,” is to minimize costs. After all, these funds need no special portfolio-management skills. The manager simply duplicates the   Read More

This summer is shaping up to be one where macroeconomic trends will bulk large. Elvis Picardo, vice president, research, as well as portfolio manager, at Global Securities in Vancouver, identifies   Read More

 A recent Globe and Mail story highlighted one of the market’s occasional paradoxes: investors are using exchange-traded funds (or “ETFs”) to short the consumer staples sector, but aren’t shorting the   Read More

Basing patterns are often a buy signal and Canadian banks, global agriculture stocks and U.S. junk bonds are poised to take off says Keith Richards, portfolio manager at Barrie, Ont.-based   Read More

Conventional wisdom is, well, conventional—and often inappropriate. Sunil Vidyarthi, president of Oakville, Ont.-based Value Sciences Inc., says the wisdom of putting bonds in your RRSP is flawed. In fact stocks   Read More

To ride out a correction, raise your cash limit. That’s the market outlook from Keith Richards, portfolio manager of Barrie, Ont.-based Value Trend/Wealth Management. With lots of change in your   Read More

In the past, buying all the shares that make up a stock index was a course of action available to only the largest investors. These days, however, Canadian stock-market investors   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

 “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

It’s the job of any financial writer to see through fresh eyes, to look for traps and false assumptions in the world of money. Investors who weathered the stormy bear markets of 2000 to 2003 and 2008 to 2009 know only too well what can happen to the unwary.   Read More

Recent market action indicates why it’s essential to hold Canadian equity index ETFs as part of a larger, well-diversified portfolio. Heavy concentration in just a few industry sectors makes Canadian   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

A criticism of the standard market capitalization-weighted exchange-traded fund, or ETF, is that it mimics an index that gives greater weight to stocks that are high in demand among investors,   Read More

Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, offer low-cost exposure to indexes and sub-indexes on many stock markets throughout the world. In Canada, there are 340 exchange-traded products listed on the Toronto Stock   Read More

Though balanced funds are extremely popular with Canadian investors, we see little appeal in these investment products. It’s better to create your own balanced fund by selecting stock funds and   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

The advantage of investing internationally lies mainly in broadened diversification, which cuts risk. Similarly, you can cut risk by investing in dividend-paying stocks.

Here are two complementary exchange-traded funds that together   Read More

We see little appeal in bond exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, right now. That’s because even shorter-term bond ETFs are vulnerable to the potential of rising interest rates over the next   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

It pays to keep an eye on an exchange-traded fund’s volatility as well as on its performance. That can affect your comfort level with your investments. And you may prefer   Read More

Here’s a bond exchange traded fund (ETF) that arranges its portfolio in the same way you should if you’re setting up your own fixed-income portfolio. Its yield-to-maturity is low but   Read More