Market Research

In the first installment in my “Understanding ETFs” series, we toured the Canadian equity ETF landscape, covering solutions you can use for your investment portfolio’s domestic stock allocation. Today, I want to switch gears and head south of the border, to explore some of the U.S. equity ETFs you can add in, to diversify your Canadian-heavy portfolio.

Shock and awe! In 2018, Vanguard Canada, a fervent advocate of passive management, launched traditional, actively managed mutual funds. Actively managed mutual fund companies also successively launched their own array of exchange traded funds (ETFs). As a result, the great majority of the Canadian market’s 33 suppliers now offer mainly active management. Are we looking at the end of passive ETFs?

We consider whether an equal weight index ETF outperforms a comparable market cap weighted ETF by any measures of value to investors.

Another year under the belt. 2018 seemed to mirror 2017 in the news headlines. Trump, Bitcoin, and marijuana stocks were top of mind for much of the year, with the addition of trade agreements (or a lack thereof), and a dash of market volatility that had been missing in 2017.

Global markets show considerable local variation and investors can expect higher risk adjusted returns from international diversification (with one exception).

In this bonus episode of the Rational Reminder Podcast, Benjamin Felix and special guest Robert Little briefly discuss the Yield Curve.

Almost 10 years after the 2009 stock market low, many investors are wondering whether another bear market is around the corner. Unfortunately, no one can predict the exact timing of a bear market. This being said, if you’re an investor with long-term goals, it’s in your best interest to adopt a strategic framework to guide your investment choices.

PWL Capital has been producing its own projections of future stock and bond returns for the last five years. These projections are a key input in preparing financial plans for our clients. The bedrock of these projections is the estimated rate of inflation.

Controversy continues to swirl around the Ontario government’s decision to torpedo a proposed ban on deferred sales charges (DSC) on mutual funds. A few weeks ago, Ontario Finance Minister Vic Fedeli shocked regulators and investor advocates alike by coming out against the ban. Not surprisingly, some big names in the mutual fund industry have cheered the decision.

The current trend in the world of investment funds is “smart beta.” The approach meets investors’ growing demand for funds that generate returns above the benchmark indices, without the exorbitant fees generally associated with traditional management involving the analysis of individual securities. In short, smart beta suggests that it can add value even after deduction of costs.