Investing | Crawford • Ashwood Financial

Well, here we go again. After nearly a decade of rising markets, with only a few bumps along the way, it seems we are back to more normal market fluctuations. It probably feels worse for many people because we have become used to more positive days, weeks and months. One of the guarantees in investing is that volatile markets will persist. Our job as investors is to ensure we do not act irrationally. Volatility is actually a friend to us as investors. For example, if you were to see that your favourite food at the grocery store was on sale…

2018 was one of very few time periods in investing when investors experienced a one/two hit. You likely received a year-end investment statement reflecting that you experienced some negative returns in your investments over the past year. If you have a non-registered investment account, you may also get a tax slip with a large capital gain showing, which means you may owe more taxes. So why, if your investments lost money over the year, are you having to claim and pay tax on capital gains? First, let me explain how capital gains and losses within a mutual fund work. The…

As a follow up to our last Market Update blog, we wanted to share a short & fun questionnaire from EdgePoint Wealth, testing your potential response to the next market crisis. How will you fare? Click the image below to take you to the full survey on page 2:

We recently attended our national investment conference and met with various investment & market strategists, and some of your Portfolio Managers. There was much talk around the recent market sell-off that we have seen over the past couple of weeks, so we thought this a good time to share a summary of what has been happening, and the feelings moving forward. The recent sell-offs are thought to be linked to the Federal Reserve (Fed) hiking interest rates, which in-turn negatively affected the bond market. This causes uncertainty and emotions have been running high in day-to-day stock traders who think there…

We are moving into a period of uncertainty with mounting tensions over trade wars, and continued surprises via Tweets from the U.S. President. I thought this a good time to share what the effects may be on your investments. 2017 was the year of calm, with little volatility in the markets; surprising – given the almost constant flow of tweets and government chaos south of the border. In fact, business enjoyed lower taxes and improved earnings in the U.S. throughout the year. This was reflected in their stock market. Lesson: the noise and silliness from Trump has largely been ignored…

I should probably have called this article The Trump/Clinton Non-Effect. There is plenty of discussion about what the repercussions would be on business and the markets if either of these candidates become President. I have been talking to various money managers and market analysts to get their take on what to expect. I thought you might be interested in some of their insights. First of all, I have to disclose that I prefer to place my own and my client’s money with portfolio managers who tend to have concentrated portfolios of companies that they know extremely well. Whether we own…

We are sharing this short video with you to answer some common questions about the current state of the world’s economies and markets. Myles Zyblock is the Chief Investment Strategist at Dynamic Funds. Myles has some interesting insights on the future of the Eurozone, Brexit, the U.S economy and more.

Given recent market volatility, it is worth my comments to our clients to outline what is going on and why. As usual when uncertainty rears its head in the stock & some bond markets, investors hit the exits. The question is why now and when will things calm down so that markets can go back up. Canadian market uncertainty, of course, revolves around the price of oil and other commodities. We have a glut of oil reserves. The Saudi’s continue to pump out at high rates, technology is allowing better access to North American oil, and lower consumption due to…

Our new government has kept their promise to reduce the Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) limit back down to $5,500 per year. But don’t worry; you aren’t losing any contribution room that has already accumulated. Anyone opening a brand new account today would have a limit of $41,000, and that will rise by another $5,500 on January 1st, 2016. So, new accounts or maximums for previously opened accounts will be $46,500 in the New Year. We recommend you check with your accountant or tax preparer, or log into your CRA My Account online, to ensure you don’t over contribute if…

Given the headlines of the past few days I thought I would share some comments below from a small collection of experienced money managers; and add a couple of my own. Fidelity Investments: Long-term bull markets never move in a straight line and it is normal to see short-term corrections along the way. Staying fully invested can give investors an opportunity to fully participate in the markets long-term upward trend. Waiting until the backdrop feels “safe” to make an investment in stocks, has historically not been a good method of achieving future returns. Many of the best periods to invest…

Category Archives: Investing

The Rewards of Volatile Times

Capital Gains on Investments

Investor Affirmations

Market Update

Trade Wars and the Tweet Effect

The Trump/Clinton Effect

Market Outlook

Bumpy Markets

2016 TFSA Limit

Market Shock