Advancers & Decliners - Week Ending March 27, 2020

Check out the top advancers and decliners for the TSX for the week ending March 27, 2020.

Advancers & Decliners - Week Ending March 13, 2020

Check out this week’s best and worst performers by sector - take a guess as to which company was the only one to end up in the green?

The Importance of Perspective

We’ve all been taken for a ride during this stock market downturn, and the truth is that nobody really knows when it’s going to end. It will end, eventually, but you may be more than a bit saddened when it’s all said and done. For me, I’m trying to look for the silver lining in all of this, and with that have found a new appreciation for dividend investors. Come check it out!

Advancers & Decliners - Week Ending March 6, 2020

Click here to see the top TSX advancers and decliners by sector for the week ending March 6, 2020!

Decliners and Even Bigger Decliners - Week Ending February 28, 2020

With one of the most brutal weeks on record, the TSX fell 8.86% on coronavirus fears, specifically that our governments are ill-prepared to deal with a potential crisis. Only 2 out of the 230+ issuers ended up in the green for the week - click to find out who!

Advancers & Decliners - Week Ending February 21, 2020

The TSX was poised for another solid gain this week and then all of a sudden, it gave back all its gains on a disappointing end to the week, closing down about 5 points at 17,843.53. Check out the major advancers and decliners by sector by continuing your read here!

Advancers & Decliners - Week Ending February 14, 2020

The TSX continued to hit record highs this week, gaining 192 points, or 1.1% to close at 17,848. Click here to continue reading about the biggest advancers and decliners by sector for this week!

Advancers & Decliners - Week Ending February 7, 2020

The TSX gained 337 points, or 1.95% this week to close at 17,655.49 as the cap-heavy Financials sector was the biggest winner. All 27 stocks ended in the green with the big 5 banks (BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC, Royal, TD) averaging a 2.50% gain. Click to see the best and worst performing stocks on the TSX this week!

To Rebalance Or Not To Rebalance Your Stock Portfolio

Should we be rebalancing our portfolio or just let the winners run? In this analytical piece, I take a look back at the top ten Canadian stocks each year from 2005-2010. What would have happened if we invested in these in equal weight and held for 5 years. For 10 years. For just one year? Were there benefits to rebalancing, or would we be better off just buying the Index ETF? Read on to find out!

Canadian Dividend Report - February, 2020 Update

Dividend investing is a great way to add an income component to your portfolio. Many investors eye a stock and then when the dividend yield is above a certain value - say, in the 75th percentile of its historical yield - they buy. It’s kind of an indirect value play, as yields and share prices move inversely with each other, all else being equal. As long as the fundamentals of the company remain strong and you aren’t going to get burned on the other end by taking a large capital loss, it’s a solid strategy. Click here for the full report!

2020 Canadian Equity Portfolio - January Report

With the exception of a rough January 31, the TSX had a fairly strong start to the year with the S&P/TSX Composite Total Return Index and my chosen benchmark, the iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF (Symbol: XIC) returning 1.81%. My 2020 Canadian Equity Portfolio returned 3.99%, for a total outperformance of 2.19%. Continue reading to see the breakdown of how it happened!

Advancers & Decliners - Week Ending January 31, 2020

The TSX dropped 247 points this week, or 1.41%, to end at 17,318.49. The decline was mostly felt on Friday as the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a global health emergency and North American airlines canceling flights to China, including Air Canada which was the worst performing Industrials sector on the week. Most other sectors experienced above-normal volatilities, with only about 28% of TSX Composite Index stocks ending positive for the week. Continue reading to check out the biggest advancers and decliners by sector. Have a great week!

Three Ways To Think About Risk

Investors typically think of risk in terms of liquidity, currency, country, political, interest rate, foreign exchange, and others. But it's helpful instead to think of risk in terms of known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. This different perspective on risk can help you spot weaknesses in your portfolio, and give you time to mitigate them before it's too late.

Advancers & Decliners: Week Ending January 24, 2020

As the TSX continued to hit record highs, unfortunately it gave the gains back on a down day on Friday. Still, each sector had its biggest winners and losers. Air Canada stock was the worst performing Industrials stock due to travel concerns from the coronavirus spreading globally, while Bombardier reversed course and was the best performing stock in the Industrials this week. Read on to see the full list!

The Problem With Market Capitalization-Weighted Index ETF's

The majority of ETF investors in Canada are choosing low MER ETF’s which track broad indexes such as the S&P/TSX Composite Index or the TSX 60 Large Cap Index. While low fees are an attractive selling point, there are fundamental flaws when investing in market capitalization-weighted indexes. A solution exists, called fundamental indexing, and has proven to better protect investors during recessionary periods. Read on to learn more and invest better!

Advancers & Decliners: Week Ending January 17, 2020

It was another great week for the TSX, with the average stock gaining 1.49%, and with that came some major volatility. Aurora Cannabis did a complete 180 from last week and was the top gainer, up 28.84%. Bombardier dropped 38.12%, making it the biggest decliner for the week. Continue reading to see the full list by sector!

Tracking My 2020 Canadian Equity Portfolio

This year, in an effort to be as transparent as possible, I will be posting short weekly progress updates on how my 2020 Canadian Equity Portfolio is performing against its benchmark, the iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF (Symbol: XIC). You can also read more about the portfolio by clicking on 2020 on my website’s navigation menu and download an Excel version for yourself. My goal is to encourage more people to move away from passive ETF’s or expensive mutual funds and create a greater sense of ownership by building their own diversified, defensive equity portfolios.

Advancers & Decliners: Week Ending January 10, 2020

It was a bit of a wild start to the first full trading week of 2020 with some big names moving higher such as Aritzia on the back of a strong quarterly report. Aurora Cannabis, on the other hand, was the biggest loser of the week falling 17.31% as analysts warned the company would be unlikely to meet its debt covenants. Check out the biggest advancers and decliners by sector by reading on!

Covered Calls To Boost Yield? Watch Out

Some investors are being encouraged to implement covered call strategies to boost their dividend yields. While this does work for some, an investor implementing this strategy should be aware of the substantial risks this strategy comes with - namely, virtually unlimited potential losses and limited potential gains. Read on to see how this strategy works and why you may want to take a pass on it in the future.

The Case For Defensive Stocks

Are you looking to reduce the risk of your Canadian equity portfolio? You may want to consider adding some defensive stocks from sectors such as the Consumer Staples industry. These stocks have historically lower standard deviations and betas, but still have impressive return metrics. Read on as I make the case for investing in defensive stocks!