Learning where to invest money in Canada successfully will lead you to diversify between sectors while focusing on high-quality stocks
The answer to the question of where to invest money in Canada starts with this piece of advice: As we’ve often said, one key element in succeeding as an investor is that you have to stay alert for conflicts of interest in the information and advice you receive. These risks may be large or small; some may seem insignificant. The problem is with frequency.
Conflict-of-interest risks come at you constantly, from all directions. That’s why we say these conflicts are the greatest risk you face as an investor.
Conflicts of interest can show up in the form of bad reasons to buy or to sell, and can come from a variety of sources. For instance, conflicts of interest can spur economists to offer bad advice on selling some or all of your stocks. That’s because economists have an interest in discovering and popularizing what they see as inevitable economic problems.
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Discover where to invest money in Canada while avoiding conflicts of interest
The investment business is riddled with conflicts of interest. These conflicts have a way of tainting investment predictions so that they agree with and support sales pitches. Your best defence against this arrangement is to maintain a healthy sense of skepticism.
You should feel free to examine and question the basis of any prediction. You need to keep in mind that many predictions make superficial sense. They go wrong by misinterpreting facts, or leaving them out of the discussion altogether.
In particular, and as mentioned, you should treat economic predictions with a larger-than average dose of skepticism. Economic forecasts attract far more media and investor attention than they deserve—way out of proportion to their value in guiding your investment decisions. That’s true at all times, but especially today.
Use diversification as a big part of figuring out where to invest money in Canada
We recommend you spread your money out across most, if not all, of the five main economic sectors: Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; and Utilities.
When it comes to a diversified stock portfolio, stocks in the Resources and Manufacturing & Industry sectors expose you to above-average share price volatility.
Stocks in the Utilities and Canadian Finance sectors entail below-average volatility.
Consumer stocks fall in the middle, between volatile Resources and Manufacturing companies, and the more stable Canadian Finance and Utilities companies.
Most investors should have investments in most, if not all, of these five sectors. The proper proportions for you depend on your investment temperament and circumstances.
Conservative or income-seeking investors may want to emphasize utilities and Canadian banks for their high and generally secure dividends.
More aggressive investors might want to increase their portfolio weightings in Resources or Manufacturing stocks. However, at the same time, you’ll want to spread your holdings out within a sector. For instance, spread your Resources holdings out among oil and gas, metals and other Resources stocks for diversification within the sector, and for exposure to a number of areas.
Where to invest money in Canada: For the safest portfolio, focus on conservative investing
Conservative investing is an investment strategy that involves a focus on lower-risk, predictable and stable businesses. This strategy typically involves the purchase of blue-chip stocks and other lower-risk investments.
In our view, your goal as an investor, particularly if you follow a conservative investing strategy, like the one we recommend, is to make an attractive return on your investments over a period of years or decades. Failure means making bad investments that leave you with meagre profits or even losses.
Conservative investors know to look for investment quality first. Long-term gains are not made by worrying about current stock price fluctuations.
A conservative Successful Investor approach also means building a well-balanced portfolio gradually, over time, if necessary.
Where to invest money in Canada: Fewer trades and high-quality companies are two keys to successful Canadian stock market investing
The best way to approach investing is to build your investment portfolio gradually, but systematically, with a firm goal in mind. Be patient, be informed about the investments you are considering and keep everything in perspective. Take a conservative approach to risk and an optimistic approach to high-quality stocks. That way you won’t be pushed off course by turbulent markets. Keep in mind that stock prices generally reach successively higher levels over time.
Meanwhile, in the long run, the best way to find success in the stock market is by sticking to high-quality investments and making fewer transactions. This cuts commissions, and it improves your tax deferral.
For instance, suppose you buy an investment at $10 and it goes to $20. As long as you hold on, you defer taxes — the entire $20 keeps on producing dividends and capital gains for you. If you sell, you’ll have only $18 or so to reinvest, after capital-gains taxes and commissions. The lost 10% of your capital can take an enormous bite out of your returns.
Our three-part Successful Investor approach is key to determining where to invest money in Canada for maximum portfolio returns.
Hold mostly high-quality, dividend-paying stocks.
Spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors: Manufacturing & Industry, Resources & Commodities, Consumer, Finance and Utilities.
Downplay or stay out of stocks in the broker/media limelight.
What is your best advice to Canadian investors looking to profit in the stock market?
Comments
Ronald
I agree. You have to do it slowly because in the beginning you don’t have that much money so the best way is to accumulate stocks gradually and soon you have a substantive amount. The more you get the more dividends you get so soon you have more money to buy more stocks. Thirty years hence you will look at your portfolio and see how large it has grown and has put you on a solid financial footing for retirement but even then these habits are hard to break so just keep on saving and you won’t have any money worries.
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X No, I don’t want to make big money in the stock market.
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I agree. You have to do it slowly because in the beginning you don’t have that much money so the best way is to accumulate stocks gradually and soon you have a substantive amount. The more you get the more dividends you get so soon you have more money to buy more stocks. Thirty years hence you will look at your portfolio and see how large it has grown and has put you on a solid financial footing for retirement but even then these habits are hard to break so just keep on saving and you won’t have any money worries.