Mutual Funds
Mutual funds are diversified portfolios of equities and investments in which small investors can take part. They are an investment product, with individual shares being called units.
Many of our recommendations have dropped sharply in the past few months, along with the overall market. Here are 10 stocks that we feel have strong rebound potential in 2009.
CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE $49 (Toronto symbol CM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 380.8 million; Market cap: $18.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; SI Rating: Above average) is down …read more »
BMO DIVIDEND FUND $34.97 (BMO Mutual Funds, 77 King Street West, Suite 4200, Royal Trust Tower, Toronto, Ont., M5K 1J5, 1-800-665-7700; Web site: www.bmo.com. No load — deal directly with the bank) (CWA Rating: Conservative) currently holds about 35.1% of its portfolio in the Financial services industry. Its next-largest holding is Energy at 21.1%.
The $3.7 billion BMO Dividend Fund’s largest …read more »
At times like this, when deciding what to do with your portfolio, you should resist the urge to dump high-quality investments just because you think they may get dragged down by a further decline in the market.
After all, when things look bleakest (as they do today), the market often turns around and begins rising. That’s especially true of high-quality stocks …read more »
Starting in 2009, Ottawa’s new Tax-Free Savings Accounts (or TFSAs) will let you earn investment income — including interest, dividends and capital gains — tax free. The new accounts are open to Canadian residents who are at least 18 years old and have filed at least one tax return.
A nice complement to RRSPs
Unlike RRSP contributions, TFSA contributions DON’T give you …read more »
ISHARES CDN LARGECAP 60 INDEX FUND $12.71 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through a broker) (units split 4-for-1 in August, 2008) is a good low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units hold a basket of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index. The index is made up of the 60 largest and most heavily …read more »
We still think high-quality mutual funds with a long-term focus will beat indexes over long periods. If funds invest as we advise — sticking with well-established companies and spreading their assets out across the five main economic sectors — they will tend to lose a lot less than the market indexes in periods when the indexes fall sharply.
That’s because big …read more »
We still advise keeping around 25% of your portfolio in U.S. stocks or mutual funds that hold U.S. stocks.
Our view is that if you stay out of the U.S. market, you miss out on major multi-national investment opportunities that just aren’t available anywhere else. As well, by spreading your investments out between the U.S. and Canada, you can get all …read more »
BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $38 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 990.0 million; Market cap: $37.6 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is Canada’s third-largest bank after Royal Bank and Toronto-Dominion Bank, with total assets of $462.4 billion. It provides a wide variety of financial services through 2,560 branches and offices in Canada and over 50 other …read more »
The worldwide credit crisis has hurt all of Canada’s big five banks. Still, we continue to have a positive view of all of them. The banks have already taken substantial writedowns, which may cover most of the damage. As well, Ottawa’s new plan to buy up to $75 billion of home mortgages from the banks, if needed, further cuts their …read more »
Bond funds are mutual funds that invest specifically in different government and corporate bond offerings.
Many bond funds built great performance records in the last decade. You can find lots of bond funds that have yielded 6% or 8% or 10% over the past five or 10 years. This, though, was a function of the trend in interest rates; …read more »
