Trying to understand financial markets by tracking the daily media headlines is like trying to tell the time by tracking the second hand of a watch. By focusing on the minutiae, you risk missing the big picture.
In this low interest rate environment, as tempting as it may be to abandon bonds in search of higher-yielding securities, disciplined investors should stay committed to their asset allocation as per their Investment Policy Statement.
With the steady stream of bad news about the global economy, many investors have contemplated selling their equity positions in advance of further anticipated losses. This brief explains some of the trade-offs and corresponding risks of such an action and provides a quick reminder about the way markets work.
At times like these, when markets are volatile and unpredictable, the patience of even the most disciplined investors can be tested. The good news is there is a better way. 8 points to remember during these volatile times.
Each year, Mercer (Canada), Limited conducts what they have dubbed their "fearless Forecast," I assume the fear they have overcome is not the forecast itself, but in making the results public.
Fortunately, the analogy between today’s economic woes and those of the early 1930’s has been overplayed by many self-interested scaremongers. There is one fundamental similarity – in both cases, extremely severe economic contractions were triggered by credit crises when excessive asset prices, inflated by too much leverage and speculation, collapsed.
Danielson doesn’t see too much old money within his client base of Vancouver entrepreneurs and professionals. “When I think of old money, I think of places like Montreal where you’ve got 20 or 30 families where the wealth has transcended five generations, and they still have some money left,” he says. Old-money clients tend to be more private than their showier new-money counterparts.
