Why The Hype Around Private Investments?

You may be hearing more about Private Investments these days and wondering if they are suitable. The first question you may have is why the focus on them now?

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Recession Risk: When The Central Bank Stops Being Boring

The Bank of Canada’s monetary policy should be boring. Like a hockey or soccer referee, people shouldn’t notice it. If they do, it usually means a contentious decision has been made. Interest-rate policy and inflation figures shouldn’t be the main topic of discussion around an average family dinner table.

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2023: Building on a better base for investors

Investing money at its most basic is just delayed consumption. Putting $250 away versus buying another pair of shoes simply means you can buy those shoes at some point in the future. It makes sense then that the baseline goal of investing is to protect the purchasing power of your money.

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Keep Calm and Plan For Volatility

Keeping your nerve when you see minus signs on your portfolio statement is not easy. Throw in a global pandemic, the rising cost of living, interest rate hikes, and a news cycle of war and political division, and it’s little wonder many investors want to exit the market and hunker down until the good times return.

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Private Credit Versus Investment Grade Bonds

Most investment portfolios have three basic components. Cash that has option value for future buys, equity for growth that hopefully exceeds inflation, and income that generates cash flow. Normally, our income investments are stable - we get some capital appreciation with predictable cash distributions.  That was the case, until 2022!

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Pandemic Legacy: How Have Investors Been Affected

How the COVID-19 pandemic alters the path of history remains to be seen. Like a retiree looking back over their life, it’s only in hindsight that they can fully process the impact of euphoric highs and devastating lows. The great events of history are similar; they shape people and societies.

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Is the 60-40 strategy dead and buried?

The 60-40 portfolio strategy is a touchstone for the industry, and shorthand for the tried and trusted method of protecting capital from wild market swings. There are endless variations on this theme, largely dependant on client risk tolerance and time horizon, but the navigational starting point of a “balanced” 60% stocks and 40% bonds mix has endured.Yet, when it comes to the financial markets, investors absorb daily blow-by-blow accounts of price drops, stock bubbles, and geopolitical-induced volatility. This can influence decisions and emotions, and lead to panic selling – and often panic buying – that harms your portfolio.

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Beyond Coldplay: how emerging markets enhance your investment palette

There’s a reason the likes of Coldplay and U2 sell millions of albums - people know what they’re getting. Whether it’s The Edge’s chiming guitar or Chris Martin’s lovelorn warbling, familiarity is comforting. Less widely known, and arguably more interesting bands, like Sparks for example, who switch up genres, often endure more sporadic profits.

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Inflation … what does it mean?

Gordon Gekko hasn’t done the investment industry’s reputation any favours. Michael Douglas’ unscrupulous movie character quickly became shorthand for all that is wrong with Wall Street and financial markets with his infamous ‘greed is good’ speech. But you don’t have to look too far away from the big screen to see real-life examples of people whose actions have perpetuated the link between the wealth industry, untrustworthy characters and get-rich-quick trades.

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Volatility and Staying Invested

Imagine you’re on a long-haul flight and the pilot informs you of every hint of turbulence. It would drive every passenger crazy. Thankfully, instead, most of us watch a movie, grab some uncomfortable sleep, and wait until the plane’s wheels hit tarmac. Ignorance is bliss. Yet, when it comes to the financial markets, investors absorb daily blow-by-blow accounts of price drops, stock bubbles, and geopolitical-induced volatility. This can influence decisions and emotions, and lead to panic selling – and often panic buying – that harms your portfolio.

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