Investment Strategy
The “hail mary” school of investing
Posted by admin on June 24, 2009 in Investment Strategy
I have been asked several times in the last six to nine months about investing in some down and out company (Citigroup, GM, Nortel) on the thinking of “what’s the worst thing that happens? I lose a few pennies/dollars a share. If the company turns around, I can double or triple my investment!” What scares [...]
Investing in a low interest environment
Posted by admin on May 19, 2009 in Investment Strategy
With high interest savings accounts paying below 2% and one year GIC rates at below 1.5%, one could be earning nominal or no after-tax return if your high interest savings account or GIC is held outside of a tax-deferred account. For those holding a large part of their retirement portfolios in cash or GIC, they [...]
Is it your fault or your investment advisors?
Posted by admin on May 14, 2009 in editorials, Investment Strategy
Even though the market is beginning to pick up again, a lot of investors still have recent negative experiences with their investment advisor. Some members of the investment community counter that any relationship is not a one way street and some degree of personal responsibility needs to be taken by the client themselves. Who is [...]
Will inflation finally doom the principal protected note?
Posted by admin on April 14, 2009 in Investment Products, Investment Strategy
The United States Federal Reserve recently commented that it wants the amount of inflation conducive to a recovery. I would file the Fed wanting the “right” amount of inflation under the same category as bankers saying circa 2002 that a little bit of above normal leveraging is acceptable (open Pandora’s box…now!). If, indeed, inflation is [...]
The end of buy and hold?
Posted by admin on March 4, 2009 in Investment Strategy
I received a cold call last Thursday from an investment advisor that went along the lines of the following (please speak slowly if you are cold calling me!): Hi I am Todd from XYZ brokerage house and I represent Mr. Big Time Trader. We are holding a seminar on March 16 on trading strategies now. [...]
A roadmap to turning around your personal finances
Posted by admin on January 26, 2009 in entrepreneur, Investment Strategy
A “turnaround expert”, embodied in the C-level position of Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO), is a relatively new concept in the business work. As the title indicates, this person’s role is to basically turn around businesses which have inherent value but need to be saved. Is there anything that you and I could learn from a [...]
Friday odds and ends
Posted by admin on January 16, 2009 in Investment Strategy
I am subject to the dreaded 6 degrees of sickness this week. My business partner’s toddler got sick then he got sick and then I got sick which makes me the 3rd degree of sickness (then our office manager got sick which makes it 4 degrees so far- the office has been wiped out this [...]
Waiting is an action but ignorance is not
Posted by admin on December 8, 2008 in Investment Strategy
My Dad just recently retired and, with that, he’s educating himself on personal finance as his new hobby. My Dad has been very good on reading up on things, asking me for back-issues of Moneysense magazine, picking people’s brains etc. I most likely got my love of bank stocks from my Dad; his advice to [...]
The role of cash in your portfolio
Posted by admin on October 27, 2008 in Investment Strategy
There’s been a recent flight to cash given the relative safety that cash affords to an investor in down-times. But, what is the proper role of cash in one’s portfolio in good or bad times? Cash is like chocolate. Its great but having too much can be a bad thing. The downside of an over-allocation [...]
Personal finance priorities in down-times
Posted by admin on October 21, 2008 in Investment Strategy
There’s been a lot of talk recently about how the recent dramatic drop in the stock market has presented buying opportunities. Why I do not disagree with that analysis, we must ever be mindful of walking before we run. On the other hand, you have a segment of the public in a sheer panic, liquidating [...]
