Looking for investing ideas? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies plus what investors need to know for the week ahead.
It’s time for income investors to get defensive. Here’s what they should be looking to buy
Income investors such as retirees and those approaching retirement should always take a conservative approach when it comes to portfolio building. Capital gains are nice, but they should not take precedence. Especially now. As we have witnessed in the past two months, stock markets have become highly volatile. Unfortunately, we can probably expect a lot more of the same this year. Earnings season, trade wars and interest rates all have the potential to send markets into a tailspin. Your best option in these circumstances is to go on the defensive. Here is what Gordon Pape suggests.
More from Gordon Pape: Three top REIT ETFs for Canadians - and the one I like the most
To retire better, toughen up as an investor
With the deadline for contributing to a registered retirement savings plan for the 2018 tax year coming up on March 1, Canadians will be thinking about buying investments in the weeks ahead, Rob Carrick writes. The results of a B.C. Securities Commission survey suggest that most will be too retiring in how they go about it. Just 30 per cent of the 2,915 people surveyed last month thought the term “investor” described them well. More people thought the term saver described them well, which isn’t a bad thing. But saving for retirement won’t cut it – you have to think like an investor.
More from Rob Carrick: How much your TFSA could be worth: the 2019 edition
Moderate-risk stock picks for a TFSA
The tax-free savings account (TFSA) is better than ever now that its annual maximum contribution has increased to $6,000 this year, from $5,500 in 2018. Accordingly, the lifetime contribution limit rises to $63,500. That’s a sizable chunk of capital in your portfolio. Calgary portfolio manager Patti Dolan, with Mission Wealth Advisors, Raymond James Ltd., suggests investors concerned about market unpredictability may want to take a middle-of-the-road approach, selecting investments that pay dividends but also have the potential for modest capital growth. With that in mind, here are five moderate-risk investments you could choose.
Why investing in the Canadian stock market is riskier than you think
Canada – yes, boring, stable Canada – may be riskier than you think, Ian McGugan writes. Our home and native land leads the world on some recent measures of investing hazard, according to an analysis by Aswath Damodaran, a professor of finance at New York University. Notably, Canada is now No. 1 when it comes to the percentage of money-losing companies on its public markets. Investors may want to ponder the nature of risk more closely, especially now that the global economy appears to be slowing.
Get the latest investing insights delivered right to your inbox three times a week, with the Globe Investor newsletter. Sign up here.
Where this $5-billion portfolio manager is seeing opportunities in these volatile market times
Leanne Scott doesn’t like to see people panic in a market downturn – such as the pullback in late 2018, Brenda Bouw writes. It’s why the portfolio manager at Vancouver-based Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. urges investors to stay the course, even when their portfolio values have dropped. “It’s really important to keep your investment goals and time horizon in mind, particularly during a negative return year. If you can do this, it will be easier not to overreact by selling out of fear,” says Ms. Scott, whose private clients and foundations group manages about $5-billion of the firm’s $20-billion in assets under management. The Globe and Mail recently spoke to Ms. Scott about what she’s buying and selling, and one stock she wishes she brought on board years ago.
The week ahead: Fed looks to prevent another market plunge, Canada’s GDP may turn negative, and earnings galore
Jerome Powell learned the hard way that the Fed can single-handedly derail a bull market. As the U.S. central bank prepares to make its first interest-rate announcement of 2019 on Wednesday, the Fed chairman is not about to make the same mistake twice, John Heinzl writes. It will also be a busy week for fourth-quarter earnings, with Apple scheduled to report on Tuesday, Facebook, Boeing, McDonald’s and Microsoft on deck for Wednesday, and Amazon and General Electric up on Thursday. In Canada, earnings include Canadian National Railway and Metro on Tuesday, Open Text on Thursday and Imperial Oil on Friday. On the Canadian economic calendar, Thursday’s November GDP report is expected to show a contraction of 0.1 per cent, according to Bank of Montreal.
Read more: Time for a break? World markets themes for the week ahead
Looking for more investing ideas and opinions?
A dividend stock with 30% upside forecast and a unanimous buy call
Looking for portfolio safety and value in 2019? Start with the past year’s dogs
House prices have weakened. Is now the time for first-time buyers to get into the market?
Solace for those worried about retiring at a market peak
Why stocks may still rally despite all the gloom over earnings and economic growth