3 ways to profit from borrowing to make stock market investments (and 6 ways to tell if you should)

Investors often ask us for our opinion on borrowing money to invest in stocks. We think that borrowing to make stock market investments can be a good strategy for some investors under certain circumstances. You’ll benefit most from this strategy by sticking with well-established, dividend-paying stocks, like the ones we recommend in our Canadian Wealth Advisor newsletter.

Here are 3 ways you can benefit from borrowing to invest. (We’ve also compiled a list of 6 ways to tell if your personal circumstances favour this strategy. See below.)

Today’s low interest rates …read more »

Members of Pat McKeough’s Inner Circle enjoy a double benefit when it comes to taking advantage of our investment research. They get to address investment questions directly to Pat and his research associates; AND they get to see all other members’ questions, and our answers (of course, we eliminate any personal information). Members usually ask about stocks they own or are thinking of buying. Some of these stocks are so attractive that we eventually add them to our recommendations. Others are sells. In many cases, in addition to our specific …read more »

Hidden value is one of the key factors we look for when we choose stocks to recommend in our newsletters and investment services, including Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that covers the U.S. stock market.

By hidden value, we mean valuable assets that are not getting the attention they deserve from investors. When a company’s assets are wholly or partially hidden, the stock trades for less than it’s really worth, so you get to buy at a bargain price.

High research spending could mean big gains lie ahead for technology stocks …read more »

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are one of the more benign financial innovations to come along in the past few years.

ETFs are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or sub-index. They hold a more-or-less fixed selection of securities that represent the holdings that go into the calculation of the index or sub-index.

ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Investors can buy them on margin or sell them short. The best ETFs offer well diversified, tax-efficient portfolios with exceptionally low management fees.

Exchange-traded funds have certain drawbacks

It’s important …read more »

Even though today’s house prices are high, mortgage interest costs are near historic lows. And owning your own home has a number of advantages.

For example, owning your house is a great tax shelter. That’s because gains on your principal residence are exempt from capital-gains taxes. However, this tax benefit only applies to your principal residence. You must still pay tax on gains on the sale of a recreational property, such as a cottage or a ski chalet. But these properties generally appreciate at a much slower rate than, say, …read more »

In a recent TSI Network poll, we asked site visitors whether if trust the advice they get from their stock broker. Aside from a yes or no option, we gave visitors a third choice: “I trade online through a discount broker.” Seventy-five percent of the poll’s respondents selected this answer.

You can see the full results of this poll, and a full archive of previous polls, on TSI Network. Just click the “Poll Archive” button below the main banner on the site’s home page.

Discounters’ lower commissions are a plus — …read more »