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We advise against a so-called “sector rotation” approach to investing; this is when you try to hop from sector to sector. We also advise against practicing a top-down sector rotation style; underweighting or overweighting sectors of the stock market depending on a forecast of the stage of the economic cycle, or other factors.
Few sector rotation strategies succeed over long periods, …read more »
Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs, don’t load you up with heavy management fees, nor do they tie you down with heavy redemption charges if you decide to get out before six years have passed. Instead, they give you a lower-cost and more flexible and convenient alternative to mutual funds.
The problem is that ETFs are just as helpful for facilitating smart …read more »
Aggressive investing is an investing strategy that can yield high returns – but also entails taking on a lot of risk. An investment strategy that involves aggressive investing is only suitable for investors who can accept substantial risk, and the chance of losses.
The most common form of aggressive investing is to put a large part of your portfolio in …read more »
Trading stocks online can look like a great way to build wealth. But it’s fraught with risks, and only really works when stock prices are rising steadily. Investors who see early success in a bull market can face devastating losses when markets retreat.
Today, you often see references to trading stocks online in the media, as if there’s something magical about …read more »
Ottawa’s new Tax-Free Savings Accounts (or TFSAs) let you earn investment income — including interest, dividends and capital gains — tax free.
A tax-free savings account can generally hold the same investments as an RRSP. This includes cash, mutual funds, publicly traded stocks, GICs and bonds.
However, you are best to hold lower-risk investments in your TFSA. That’s because you don’t want …read more »
Part-time real estate investing can be very profitable. However, the best returns are mainly a result of three key factors that are easy to overlook when investing in real estate: leverage, sweat equity and higher risk.
It’s easier to get financing to buy real estate than stocks, because real estate tends to be less volatile and easier to appraise, and it …read more »
Bombardier makes most of its money from its airplane operations. This is a highly cyclical industry, and the recession has hurt demand for new planes. That’s mainly why Bombardier’s shares are down over 50% from last June’s peak of around $9.
However, Bombardier’s passenger-railcar business, while not as profitable, adds stability. The long-term outlook for this division remains bright, particularly as …read more »
BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $3.78 and BBD.B $3.65, Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $6.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; SI Rating: Extra Risk) is the world’s third-largest maker of commercial aircraft, after Boeing and Airbus. Bombardier’s aerospace division supplies about half of its revenue and two-thirds of its profits.
The remaining revenue and …read more »
Investor response to bad economic news often seems like an allergic reaction to a bee sting. Many investors take each new tidbit of economic news as the sure sign of an ominous new trend. But in fact, there’s a large random element in the economic news.
Economic statistics vary between one reporting period and the next, due to a variety of …read more »
TRANSALTA CORP. $20 (Toronto symbol TA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 197.8 million; Market cap: $4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; SI Rating: Average) operates over 50 electrical-power plants in Canada, the United States and Australia.
TransAlta uses coal to generate 60% of its electricity, and owns three coal mines (two in Alberta and one in Washington State). This helps …read more »
