Market Insights

Decorative pattern

Market Insights

Talking to your clients about uncertain markets

(August 2008) Fidelity’s research shows that, proportionately, more people retire at the beginning of the summer than at any other time of year. This makes sense, since it allows retirees to combine good weather with new-found leisure activities — golf, gardening, travelling, time at the cottage— the list is endless. Here’s another activity recent retirees […]

By Peter Drake |August 11, 2008

4 min read

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Market Insights

Understanding a bond fund’s risks

Turmoil in the financial sector, stubbornly high energy and food prices and an ailing U.S. economy have sparked a lot of soul-searching in regards to risk management. Put more accurately, investors have flocked in droves to less volatile offerings like money market and bond funds. It’s true that when you’re looking over your fund account […]

By Jordan Benincasa |August 1, 2008

4 min read

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Market Insights

Ugly-looking stocks make contrarian strategy work

If you can tolerate double-digit losses like the ones we’ve seen recently, veteran fund manager Robert Tattersall suggests picking up a classic book on value investing and then just sitting tight. Tattersall is executive vice-president of Howson Tattersall Investment Counsel Ltd., where his roles include serving as lead manager since inception of the $296-million Saxon […]

By Diana Cawfield |August 1, 2008

3 min read

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Market Insights

Analyst’s Report: RBC Canadian Dividend

Following the departures of John Varao and Shane Jones in April 2007, RBC Asset Management named Stuart Kedwell and Doug Raymond as the co-managers of RBC Canadian Dividend in August 2007. While the transition of the fund to new management has been fairly smooth, we are concerned with the turnover within the firm’s Canadian equity […]

By Bhavna Hinduja |August 1, 2008

3 min read

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Market Insights

To Clients: Portfolio Rebalancing

(August 2008)Show clients that you’re proactive about their investment portfolio by sending them this customizable template letter. Dear [client name], When we first developed your investment portfolio, we determined that the following asset mix best reflected your risk tolerance and time horizon. Today, your portfolio looks like this: While equity market gains are obviously a […]

By Staff |July 31, 2008

2 min read

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Market Insights

Bond markets improve thanks to credit crisis

(August 2008) The fixed-income portion of any portfolio is supposed to provide stability, guarding capital against short-term volatility. But what happens when that volatility originates in the credit markets? That’s what happened in the summer of 2007, when America’s sub-prime mortgage problems first blew up, and quickly graduated to full-blown credit crisis. Corporate bond valuations […]

By Steven Lamb |July 31, 2008

6 min read

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Market Insights

Commodities on a bumpy, but profitable road

Canadian investors have lucked out in many ways, because the domestic stock market is heavily weighted in producers of arguably the three most sought-after commodities — energy, gold and fertilizer. Physical resource prices have reached record highs, meaning investors could get burned if they try to time the market, but investment managers still see stock […]

By Mark Noble |July 30, 2008

6 min read

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Market Insights

Cooling real estate industry still a good investment

(August 2008) Despite higher land transfer costs, property tax hikes and a shortage of homes, last year, across the nation, first-time homebuyers and real estate investors persevered. Now, halfway into 2008, the patience of would-be buyers is paying off. Riding the six-year tumultuous real estate ride (particularly in the last 36 months) — with record-setting […]

By Romana King |July 30, 2008

8 min read

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Market Insights

Asset allocation can make or break a portfolio

(August 2008) Developing the right asset mix for your client can be tricky business. Advisors have to determine their clients’ risk tolerance, closely watch the markets, and there’s the not-so-small matter of making money. So what’s an advisor to do when clients’ portfolios are more volatile than an active volcano? Nothing. “I focus on the […]

By Bryan Borzykowski |July 30, 2008

5 min read

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Market Insights

High prices make resource rebalancing risky

The general consensus from money managers seems to be that fundamental demand, particularly in emerging markets, will continue to drive the commodities market. The three major drivers of resource markets in Canada have been energy, gold and fertilizers. Investors who got in on this bull market earlier are realizing huge returns on commodity prices that […]

By Mark Noble |July 24, 2008

6 min read

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