April Showers Bring May Flowers
A comparison between how flowers grow and investing, writes Peter Watson. Today we are going to look at investing through the eyes of Mother Nature. Humans often rate the weather as good or bad. Sun is good. Rain is bad. The same rating system can be applied to investing. Stock market increases are good but […]
Stock Markets are Shrinking
There are significantly less publicly traded shares available to individual investors, writes Peter Watson. Investors can purchase publicly traded shares of companies they wish to invest. This can be via a direct purchase or by owning a mutual fund that has acquired shares. Most portfolios have a strong allocation to stocks and therefore the declining […]
News can be confusing for investors
News can be very confusing, writes Peter Watson. We live in the modern age of 24 seven news streaming at us from our smart devices. That can cause a problem. The psychology of news or more importantly how people interpret news is based on our desire to hear the bad things of life. News that […]
How a Flock of Birds Can be Similar to a Group of Investors
The instant changing pattern of a flock of birds can resemble the behaviour of investors, writes Peter Watson. This column is going to call on mother nature to help us understand how investors can react when making investment decisions. Have you ever noticed a flock of birds suddenly change course and amazingly all the birds […]
The Shock of Higher Mortgage Payments Could be Just Around the Corner
Most homeowners face higher mortgage payments in the next two years, writes Peter Watson. Last year many homeowners escaped the burden of rising interest rates pushing their mortgage payments higher. That will soon change. Interest rate increases do not immediately affect all existing mortgages. For example, if you have a five-year mortgage at three per […]
2024 Stock Market Could be Volatile
US political uncertainty plus two wars could result in a volatile stock market this year, writes Peter Watson. There are many reasons why 2024 could have a very volatile stock market. Stock market volatility can be caused because investors are nervous. And there are several things this year that can make us nervous. The wildcard […]
The Worst Financial Event of 2023
It’s time to consider how the Bank of Canada (BOC) accomplishes its mandate, writes Peter Watson. According to its website, its main role is “to promote the economic and financial welfare of Canada.” That is a very important task and I strongly agree with its mandate. The problem is the way this policy is implemented. […]
Fewer Investors Use a Financial Advisor
Investors purchasing mutual funds use an investment advisor almost two thirds of the time. When purchasing ETFs, only one third use an investment advisor, writes Peter Watson. This information is from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada’s annual investor survey that was recently released. Why are so few investors using the services of a […]
Avoid Investing in Stocks Based on Short Term Success
Beware of the “shiny object” syndrome, writes Peter Watson. One of the most difficult challenges of investors is to ignore the “noise” that often surrounds investing. Much of that noise is based on short-term results. Investing is done for long periods of time. Short term approaches to investing in my opinion are just speculation. Guessing […]
Financial procrastination affects how we manage our personal finances
Today, let’s talk about financial procrastination, writes Peter Watson. It is not a matter of scolding yourself when human characteristics interfere with the way you operate. Accept the fact that people do things a certain way. If you choose, try and develop personal strategies that can lead to better results. As you read this article, […]
