Fund Library

Taking profits as record-breaking performance crests The performance of the Big Six Canadian chartered banks in the past 12 months to mid-August has been truly record breaking. All the banks are up at least 55% (National Bank), and the best performers (CIBC and TD) are up 68% and 67%, respectively, all before taking into account dividends of 3%-4%. This massive surge cannot be attributed to a sharp drop in interest rates.

Questions sur les répartitions géographiques, l’or, Brookfield et Fairfax Il est temps d’ouvrir la boîte aux lettres pour répondre aux questions soumises par les lecteurs. QUESTION – Je me demandais quelle répartition géographique entre les États-Unis, le Canada et l’international vous recommanderiez actuellement pour un portefeuille de croissance 100 % en actions. – Arcady B. RÉPONSE – Un portefeuille entièrement en actions suggère que votre objectif est un haut risque/haut rendement.

The unsettling friction between US monetary and fiscal policies A simmering tension between monetary and fiscal policy is emerging as a key issue to watch for financial investors. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made waves with his recent announcement that the Treasury would at least double the size of its buybacks of long-term debt in the coming months.

Buy-and-hold strategy delivers 12.5% annualized return over 14 years Managing an investment portfolio can be time-consuming and frustrating for many people. That’s why many seek professional help in choosing their securities and asset allocation. The Buy and Hold Portfolio I created for readers of my Internet Wealth Builder newsletter was designed for those investors who prefer to do it themselves and save advisor fees.

A month of reassessment, repositioning, and recalibration is rarely smooth September is persistently a month when financial markets underperform. Some believe it to be more than market folklore. While other seasonal patterns such as the January effect, the Santa Claus rally, “sell in May and go away,” are not consistently supported by historical data, the so-called September Effect has consistently delivered weaker returns, higher volatility, and more abrupt sentiment shifts than any other month.

But bond markets are sending out warning signals One phrase that I feel is true more often than not is, “Markets will do what makes the most people wrong.” This August seems to have captured that phrase perfectly. During what is normally one of the quietest and most volatile parts of the calendar, anyone who stepped to the sidelines missed one of the better months of the year. 2026 has not gone anywhere close to expectations.

Focusing on high yield alone can be misleading Covered call ETFs have become a popular solution for investors seeking cash flow, particularly in today’s uncertain market environment. With distribution yields that are often meaningfully higher than traditional equity ETFs, they can appear attractive at first glance. But focusing on yield alone can be misleading.

A history of market frenzies shows why volatility is not the risk Fifty years in the markets have taught me to distinguish the fever from the disease. A little over 50 years ago, I was starting out as a young economist specializing in energy. I thought I understood market cycles. The markets soon taught me humility. I have watched the same story play out ever since. Capital rushes toward whatever sector is meant to define the decade.

Investment implications of the dividend cut at TELUS The bad news just keeps coming for Canadian telecom companies. This time it was TELUS Corp. (TSX: T) that delivered the painful blow to investors. On July 31, the company announced in its second-quarter report that it is slashing its dividend by 55%. Analysts had been expecting a cut, but not of this magnitude. The new rate will be $0.1875 per quarter ($0.75 per year) compared with $0.4175 ($1.67 per year) previously.

Learning from the first half of a tumultuous year The new economic regime we’ve long described has been on full display in 2026. As the summer ends, we focus on three lessons to take into the rest of the year. First, we think the global reset in interest rates has further to run. Second, look beyond the AI model race for more opportunities as capital gets more expensive. Third, markets have weathered geopolitical shocks so far – but investors should not mistake resilience for the absence of risks.