Reminders for a New Year: Risk Tolerance Shouldn’t Change With Markets
One of the questions we’ve had from clients during the prolonged bull market is: How often should I change my risk tolerance? The answer: Not often. Risk tolerance is the personal comfort level that an investor has with financial risk in the markets. In the most basic sense, it is your ability to stomach swings […]
The End of an Era – and to New Beginnings
It is the end of an era. After 60 years at the helm, one of the world’s most closely watched investors has stepped down as CEO. Very few people stay in one role for six decades. For context, the median tenure with a single employer has dropped to 3.9 years in the United States, while […]
AI Exuberance: How Far We’ve Come
After a summer of considerable market enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), it’s worth taking a step back. Why does AI seem to be advancing so quickly? While it may feel like a recent phenomenon, its roots stretch back to the 1950s when Alan Turing proposed his now-famous “Turing Test” for machine intelligence. What’s different today […]
A Bifurcation in Sentiment
Markets rarely linger in equilibrium. The pendulum of sentiment swings between fear and greed, and this year has been no exception. After April’s lows, the S&P surged over 30 percent in just two months, one of the fastest rallies in recent history, while the TSX hit multiple all-time highs. Yet, the mood among investors remained […]
Food For Thought: A Weaker Canadian Dollar
The Canadian dollar’s (CAD) weakness has raised questions about its broader impact and the path forward: The CAD is trading below its historical average. To start 2025, it fell below 68 U.S. cents – a level not seen in two decades. The decline has been driven by factors such as diverging U.S. and Canadian monetary […]
Summer Vacation Time: Seven Reasons To Unplug From Your Smartphone
The double-edged sword of the information age is that it often feels as though the world is getting worse, even as many things have been gradually improving. While access to information has never been greater, the headlines are driven by negativity and sensationalism, rarely highlighting the progress being made. Yet, we’re living in one of […]
Why Warren Buffett’s Cash Reserve is Growing
Warren Buffett’s increasing cash reserves at Berkshire Hathaway have drawn significant attention from market watchers. In his latest annual letter – eagerly awaited each year by many investors for its sage wisdom – Buffett addressed the topic directly: “Despite what some commentators currently view as an extraordinary cash position at Berkshire, the great majority of […]
The Illusion of Speed
It has been said that “there are decades where nothing seems to happen, and there are weeks where decades happen.” The sweeping global tariffs, announced by the U.S. on April’s “Liberation Day,” caught the world off guard – disrupting long-held norms in global trade and world order. This may signal the beginning of a new […]
The Merits of Hanging In (& Why April Felt So Bad)
It’s been a wild ride this year – and we’re only halfway through. If April’s market movements felt unsettling, you weren’t mistaken. While volatility is a natural part of equity markets, the magnitude of April’s decline was unusual. A two-day drop of more than 10 percent in the S&P 500, seen over April 3 and […]
Uncertain Times: Defensive Strategies for Investors
“The desire to perform all the time is usually a barrier to doing well in the long run.”- Howard Marks With slower economic growth, an evolving tariff situation and rising geopolitical uncertainty, many investors may be looking at ways to take a more defensive stance in their portfolios. A Flight to Safety: The Increasing Attention […]