Preserve Capital

Rule Of Price

Foreign Markets

Lower Fees

The Plan
Be Independent!

I cannot stress this enough, following the crowd is a sure-fire route to disaster. Study after study shows that the crowd gets it wrong at major market turning points.

Ten years ago, all the business shows and reporting was focused on technology stocks. A couple of years later these stocks were down over 90%, and some stocks, like Nortel, all but disappeared. Fast forward to two years ago, and what were the pundits looking at? Resource stocks, especially oil. Again, these stocks have declined well over 50% from their peak in 2008, with many down 90%.

A better approach is to look independently at every asset class. I am very fortunate to work with Manulife Securities Incorporated, a firm that fully recognizes the value of independent, impartial advice. I receive no recommendations from Head Office, no demands to push one investment product over another.

Diversify

This is non-negotiable with me, for the only way to truly lose your capital on a permanent basis is to be concentrated in just one investment area. I don't care how good it looks, I don't like to get over-concentrated in one area. To preserve capital, we need the exact opposite approach: diversify into several asset classes.

Someone once said that 'diversification is the only free lunch on Wall Street', and it's true. Any asset can lose value in inflation-adjusted terms at some point in the economic cycle, and that includes cash. So it is important to combine equities, bonds, cash, inflation-proofed bonds, insurance products, and other assets to ensure that all potential economic circumstances are protected against.

Numerous studies have shown that the asset allocation decision has a greater effect on investment performance than anything else. Furthermore, it is useful to diversify within an asset class. Being licensed to deal in stocks, bonds, GICs, mutual funds, and insurance products ensures that my clients have a wide variety of choices.