This defensive sector has seen better days, but thanks to increased demand, the prospect of rate cuts and the surprising benefit of AI (Artificial Intelligence), the utilities sector is on fire. In the U.S., utilities is the top performing sector in 2024. And we’ll include the Canadian pipelines as quasi utilities as they often include […]
Hanging up on half of my Bell stock on the Sunday Reads.
Goodbye Bell. You can’t hurt me anymore. In my first major sell in about a decade I greatly trimmed by position in Bell (BCE). I am a buy and hold investor. I am more passive than a passive index. But when an investment thesis changes, I’ll make a change. The rules changed for Bell and […]
Checking in on your asset allocation on the Sunday Reads.
‘Diversification is the only free lunch’ is a common investing notion. We manage the sector, geographic, currency risks and volatility (to name a few). Our asset allocation decisions mostly determine our returns and our portfolio volatility. Our key decision will be our ratio of stocks (growth) vs bonds (defense). And then, where do we get […]
Canadian stocks are better than you think on the Sunday Reads
For all of the headwinds and bad press for the Canadian economy, you’d think that the stock market was in a tailspin. But surprisingly, that’s not the case. The TSX Composite and TSX 60 are threatening to make new highs, eh. That’s as U.S. stocks make new high after new high. Given that, balanced portfolios […]
Our U.S. stock portfolio performance for 2023.
2023 was the year that fooled most everyone. While analysts predicted flat or negative returns for 2023, the U.S. market had a mind of its own delivering 26% for the cap weighted S&P 500 (IVV). The growth oriented Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) posted 55%. And of course, it was technology stocks and the Magnificent 7 that […]
RRSP season and retirement in focus, on the Sunday Reads.
RRSP season is typically a period when Canadians make significant contributions to their portfolios. This year you have until February 29th to make an RRSP contribution that you can apply to reduce your taxable income for the 2023 tax year. I’ve updated the RRSP season post on Cut The Crap Investing. You’ll find a link […]