Are Your Investments Safe from Tariffs?
The stock market is falling in response to a step up of the trade war. Negotiations seem to have stalled as both the USA and China refuse to budge over issues that they consider essential to their national interests. We alluded to this sort of situation in our article about what happen if the trade war becomes permanent. The American dominance of the global economy is not an assured thing and neither is the dominance that China wants to achieve. But both nations are squaring off to fight for what they want. The down side for the USA is reduced […]
Dollar Cost Averaging
What is the most cost-efficient and profitable approach to long term investing? Market timing works for some folks. But recently, broad-based ETFs have outperformed many managed funds. Investing in stocks works best when the investor starts early and invests regularly. It helps to buy stocks directly in order to cut out fees and commissions so dividend reinvestment plans are a good idea as well. While there are always opportunities in the stock market, most people in their working years do not have the time, expertise, or interest required to take advantage of them. Thus, the best approach for most investors […]
Best Ways to Invest Your Money
Everyone should be saving money for retirement, a “rainy day” emergency, or for things like putting the kids through college or starting their own business. The best ways to invest your money will have to do with what you are investing for, how long you have before you need the money, and how much risk you are willing to accept. And, the best ways to invest your money have to do with how much time and energy you can personally devote to your investments. You need to know where to invest money to get good returns over the years and […]
Should You Really Sell Your Investments in May?
“Sell in May and go away” is an old investment adage that seems to be true more often than not. Should you really sell your investments in May or simply stop trading stocks? CNBC notes that the recent rally might be a concern because after the previous early year rally stocks plummeted over the summer.
Stocks have surged through April in their best start to a year in 32 years.
But, markets don’t have a good track record of following up on a rally of that size.
“There are four other years since World War II that the S&P was up at least […]
Investing in Canadian Banks
Bank stocks in the USA have been suspect ever since they led us into the financial crisis with their predatory lending practices. However, right next door in Canada, the banks have followed more conservative practices and several are ideal long term investment opportunities. A common practice, among Canadians, is investing in Canadian banks when their stock price falls, dividend percentage rises, and P/E ratio drops. The three Canadian banks we have in mind are these.
Toronto Dominion (TD)
Royal Bank of Canada (RY)
Scotiabank (BNS)
These are the three largest Canadian banks.
New banks are rare in Canada because the regulatory hurdles are so difficult […]
Can You Diversity Your Investments too Much?
It is a good idea to diversify your portfolio of investments. Doing so reduces the risk of loss by spreading out your investments over several vehicles and several sectors of the stock market. But, can you diversify too much? The answer is, yes. There comes a point where adding more stocks, for example, does not improve your risk profile but makes it harder to keep track of your individual investments. And it takes you away from investments that you understand. If you are a dedicated long term investor, you will routinely review your portfolio and assess intrinsic stock value. While […]
How to Buy Stock Directly
Long term investing works out well when you choose secure investments whose value appreciates over time. Investments like dividend stocks are a good choice because the dividends can be reinvested during the early years and taken as income during retirement. Many dividend stock investors take advantage of dividend reinvestment plans but these plans are also how to buy stock directly without ever going through a broker.
How to Buy Stock Directly with Dividend Reinvestment Plans
If you already own stock in a company that has a dividend reinvestment plan, all you need to do is sign up and the company will reinvest […]
Would “Medicare for All” Kill Your Health Care Investments?
The next U.S. presidential election is 19 months away and politicking is already in full swing. An issue that was raised by candidate and Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential campaign has come back with a bang. It is “Medicare for all.” Sanders, and now several others, are proposing that all Americans be covered by a health care program run by the U.S. government instead of private insurance under the current Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). While this may or may not be a good idea for taking care of sick people, investors need to wonder, would “Medicare for […]
Choosing Undervalued Investments
Choosing undervalued investments that the market has ignored or misunderstood can be very profitable. But, the key to this manner of investing in stocks is to find investments with hidden value and not just use a stock screener to find cheap investments. There are always reasons why the market prices a given stock as it does. Investments that are really undervalued are being ignored by the market because they are small stocks, stocks that no analysts are following, or stocks that the market in general does not understand and therefore gives them a too-low stock valuation.
Because the stock is being […]
Best Way to Find Good Stocks
The stock market has been going up for a decade ever since the depths of the Financial Crisis. During that time S&P 500 has more than tripled in value. Many investors who were hurt badly by the stock market crash of 2008 to 2009 have hesitated to reenter the market. And, many who might have invested in stocks are unsure of how to find good stocks and how to avoid losing everything should the market correct or crash again. A valid concern for investors today is not buying overpriced stocks in an aging bull market. Likewise, investors want to find […]