Asset allocation

Bond funds come out on top in May

It was another good month to be a bond investor in May, as fixed income mutual funds excelled against equity mandates, according to preliminary performance data from Morningstar Canada. Among the 44 fund indexes tracked by Morningstar Canada, 28 had positive returns in May. These were led by the small Health Care Equity index (+4.4%) […]

By Staff |June 2, 2011

2 min read

Market Insights

Global bonds reduce risk: Russell

The Bank of Canada may have held the line on monetary policy on Tuesday, but the spectre of rising interest rates continues to hang over Canadian bond investors. Eventually, the Bank will make its move, wiping out billions in capital value. Fixed income investors should look further afield to protect their portfolios, as global bonds […]

By Staff |May 31, 2011

2 min read

Industry

Inflation pummels bond market

Inflation expectations are on the rise in Canada. It seems its time for investors to ditch the bond market and dive into an equity market primed for plum pickings. “As the result of the inflation expectation rising, we will at some point in time see bond yields rise,” says Paul Taylor, chief investment officer, BMO […]

By Vikram Barhat |May 30, 2011

3 min read

Market Insights

Commodity slump calls for rebalancing

Commodities markets have been plagued with volatility over the past few months. A tactical move, say experts, would be to peel off commodity exposure and reallocate funds to high yield bonds. “It makes sense to pare back some exposure to commodities,” says Alfred Lee, vice-president and investment strategist, BMO Asset Management. “Over the course of […]

By Vikram Barhat |May 20, 2011

4 min read

Home bias strong in affluent investors

There is a general assumption in the financial industry that investor sophistication increases along with net worth. But a recent survey by Brandes Investment Partners finds affluent investors fall into same home bias trap as everyone else. The firm’s Global Investing Study, found that Canadians with more than $250,000 in investable assets hold, on average, […]

By Staff |May 19, 2011

2 min read

Advisors bullish on stocks, metals

Canadian financial advisors appear to be bracing for inflation, expressing bullish sentiment toward precious metals and the broad stock markets. But there is one notable exception to the inflation-fighting mood. The outlook for gold stocks has improved, with 51% now bullish on the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index, up from just 38% in the Q1 Survey. […]

By Staff |April 14, 2011

2 min read

Time to diversify beyond Canada’s resources

The past few trading sessions have demonstrated the dangers of being too concentrated in the commodity-heavy TSX. While global growth is expected to continue, demand for metals and energy has a tendency to fall off when there’s a whiff of inflation. The commodity play has been extremely lucrative for Canadian investors for the better part […]

By Staff |April 13, 2011

3 min read

Global portfolio seen mitigating risk

Despite the explosion of high profile global risks, the appetite for global markets remains strong. In fact, a survey by Franklin Templeton found that demand for global investments will only increase over the coming decade, as investors seek to minimize their exposure to any single economy. At the time of the survey, only 34% of […]

By Staff |March 29, 2011

2 min read

Volatile times call for long-term view

As the world stumbles from one crisis to another, turbulence is fast becoming the new normal in financial markets. From the great recession of 2008 and the European sovereign debt crisis to the geo-political turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East, the world has experienced tremendous upheaval. And while investors waited for a respite, […]

2 min read