Building Wealth

For the first 30 or so years of working, saving and investing, you’ll be first in the mode of getting out of the hole (paying down debt), and then building your net worth (that’s wealth accumulation.). But don’t forget, wealth accumulation isn’t the ultimate goal. Decumulation is! (a separate category here at the Hub).

Precious Metals are the bedrock of the financial world

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By Nick Barisheff

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Precious metals are the bedrock of the financial world. They have permanent value and are the oldest form of money in the world. If you don’t own physical gold and silver, your investment portfolio lacks a sound foundation. Precious metals are often sought after as a store of permanent value, and as a method of diversifying portfolios.

While cash, bonds, stocks and real estate offer investors financial diversification, precious metals underpin all other assets, particularly during times of economic turbulence and market turmoil.

Imagine an upside-down pyramid containing successive layers of asset classes.

Exeter’s Pyramid

That’s what the late John Exter envisioned when he devised a model ranking assets based on their risk level and financial soundness. The American economist and central banker placed risk-free gold at the apex of the inverted pyramid, below Federal Reserve cash, U.S. treasury bills, notes and bonds, AAA-rated corporate bonds, paper currencies, certificates of deposit (CDs), bank deposits, commercial paper, state and municipal bonds, junk bonds, segments of the Eurodollar market, Third World debt, insolvent borrowers and thrifts. [See graphic on the left]

A monetary researcher and visionary, Exter understood how gold’s scarcity and trustworthiness made it foundational in an unstable financial world. He knew gold would endure amid expanding debt and an unlimited supply of paper currencies, which he referred to as “IOU Nothings.”

Exter’s original gold-based pyramid is a simple yet timeless way of viewing a top-heavy financial infrastructure, which today is burdened by $1 quadrillion in unregulated derivatives, $270 trillion in snowballing global debt and trillions more in unfunded liabilities. In an overleveraged and indebted world, gold is the keystone, supporting all other assets that bear greater risk and loss potential.

Consider these examples:

  • Cash deposits and government bonds lose value to inflation in a low-interest or negative-interest rate environment.
  • Corporate and municipal bonds can become worthless when companies fail and cities default due to excessive debt.
  • Stocks can decline during stock market crashes and may become worthless.
  • Even real estate investments can decline in value when financial bubbles pop and property markets collapse.

All investments ebb and flow with the economic tides. Less stable ones drift like shifting sand. Some wither and perish in the barren financial desert. Physical precious metals endure through the ages. They withstand market chaos and weather financial storms. They retain value. Physical bullion will never become worthless. That’s why gold, silver and platinum are essential in a balanced and diversified portfolio.

Paper-based precious metals investments are riskier

Not all precious metal investments are alike; however, some are riskier than others, especially paper-based products.

Trading precious metals contracts — such as futures and options — on the commodity exchanges is the most speculative, along with owning stocks of startup mining companies that explore for gold and silver deposits. Continue Reading…

Emerge ARK ETFs: 5 ways to add Innovation to portfolios

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Investors are always looking for an edge to boost their portfolio returns. Some like to scratch that itch by picking individual stocks, on the hunt for the next Apple, Amazon, or Microsoft. Others delve deeper into the realm of penny stocks, hoping to unearth a hidden gem.

There’s nothing wrong with introducing some ‘explore’ to your ‘core’ holdings of low cost, globally diversified ETFs. But a better way to spice up your couch potato portfolio is with a thematic or sector specific ETF that spreads your risk across many individual companies.

That’s exactly what Emerge ARK ETFs have done. Launched in Canada last July, Emerge ARK ETFs include five products that focus on disruptive, innovative technology. Indeed, months before technology stocks dragged the stock market out of its COVID-19 induced crash, Emerge ARK ETFs gave its investors exposure to the cutting edge in genomic healthcare, fintech, robotics, autonomous electric cars, battery storage, cloud and cyber security, and big data.

That exposure has led to some eye-popping returns:

 

Ticker ETF Name 1-Year Since Inception
EARK EMERGE ARK GLOBAL DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION ETF 115.2% 74.7%
EAGB EMERGE ARK GENOMICS & BIOTECH ETF 129.5% 83.4%
EAUT EMERGE ARK AUTONOMOUS TECH & ROBOTICS ETF 92.2% 61.2%
EAAI EMERGE ARK AI & BIG DATA ETF 127.9% 86.2%
EAFT EMERGE ARK FINTECH INNOVATION ETF 88.9% 62.1%

 

*Performance as of December 1, 2020 | Since inception annualized July 29, 2019

 

Investors are beginning to take notice. Emerge has attracted $125 million in assets under management (November 30 2020), which makes them a tiny player in a market dominated by giants like RBC iShares, BMO, and Vanguard. But $26 million of that flowed into Emerge ARK ETFs in October, giving Emerge the highest percentage gain (compared to assets under management) in the market.

A Look at Emerge ARK ETFs

I recently had the opportunity to interview Emerge CEO and founder Lisa Langley about her company and its impressive ETF line-up.

1). You launched Emerge last summer and introduced five actively managed ETFs that focus on disruptive and innovative technologies. What led you to this specific niche or sector?

We saw a gap in the market for truly actively managed ETFs particularly in the disruptive innovation space. With our affiliate company in the US, Emerge has a long relationship with ARK, so we asked them to enter the Canadian market with us and they were excited to do so.

2). The Canadian investment landscape is still dominated by mutual funds, and the much smaller ETF market includes giants like RBC iShares, Vanguard, and BMO. How do you see Emerge carving out meaningful market share in this environment?

By truly being at the forefront of innovation. Emerge ARK ETFs are sub-advised by ARK Invest and the brilliant Cathie Wood, CEO/CIO. The ARK Invest research process is unique globally and they can drive results through their deep domain expertise. ARK’s research team is like no other. We are starting to set ourselves apart from the others with our incredible performance and access to ARK Invest’s long-lens on disruptive innovations and how best to play them in the market. Emerge wants to be known for bringing differentiated talent to the Canadian investment landscape.

3). The most obvious selling point to me is the strong performance of your five Emerge ARK ETFs. To what do you attribute this exceptional performance?

The phenomenal global research team at ARK Invest and their forward-thinking global approach and their active management of each ETF.

ARK didn’t have to pivot when COVID hit, they were already there. ARK has always been solely focused on technology driven disruptive innovation. The analysts at ARK have deep domain expertise. ARK is focused on the long-term with minimum forward forecasts of 5 years, so they understand the unit economics and each stock’s potential. ARK is not looking short-term and reacting to the usual quarterly earnings, instead they focus on the long-term potential of the fastest growing general technology platforms.

The ARK investment process opens the door to exceptional performance.

4). Give us a high-level overview of the five ETFs and their portfolio manager.

Cathie Wood, CEO/CIO, ARK Invest is the Portfolio Manager/sub-advisor to all of the Emerge ARK ETFs. Cathie founded ARK Invest in 2014. Previously she completed 12 years at AllianceBernstein as CIO of Global Thematic Strategies. ARK Invest believes in truly actively managed ETFs and they are benchmark agnostic. ARK does not need a backward-looking benchmark, because their analyst team with deep domain expertise provides the reference point.

The Emerge ARK Global Impact Disruptive Innovation ETF (EARK) is the “best picks” portfolio and the umbrella ETF of the following four, which includes all main themes of disruptive innovation. Then we have four more deeper dives into particular themes:  Continue Reading…

Why choosing the right Finance App is so important

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By Emily Roberts

For the Financial Independence Hub

So many areas of our lives were impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic that it’s easier to pick one that wasn’t massively altered by locking down, staying at home and avoiding touching strange surfaces at all costs. It should come as no surprise that there has been a massive increase in the use of personal finance apps in 2020, with 59% of people in the UK using a mobile banking app.

But picking the right finance app for you will depend on what you need it for. Are you in desperate need of some guidance for managing debt repayments? Or are you looking for the perfect platform to manage your investment portfolio? Or are you simply looking for something that will help you keep track of your day to day spending?

Staying on top of your invoices

Any freelancer will tell you that getting the work is only part of the battle; the biggest challenge is getting paid. If you run your own business or you’re set up as your own limited company, you need a finance app that helps you stay on top of your invoices, manage your budgeting and accounting, and help calculate your tax returns. Software like FreeAgent, Coconut, Paymo or Fyle all offer different kinds of banking and finance support for freelancers and self-employed people so you can keep track of work going out and money coming in.

Easy access to your investment portfolio

If you have an investment portfolio set up, you’re going to want to be able to access it at all times to see how well your money is working for you, and to check if any urgent changes need to be made. Some investment apps are set up to help you get started, others are aimed more at the veteran investor who knows exactly what they’re looking for. Continue Reading…

Cautiously Pessimistic

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By John De Goey, CFP, CIM

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

If I had a nickel for every time I heard someone say they were ‘cautiously optimistic’ about one thing or another, I’d be wealthy.  This got me to thinking – why do I never hear anyone say they’re ‘cautiously pessimistic’ when invited to prognosticate about the not so distant future?

Seeing as the future is unknowable by definition… and seeing as there’s a strong consensus that caution is an appropriate stance to take when looking forward, why is there near uniformity that this caution should be tempered by optimism?  Where are the cautious pessimists?  For that matter, where are the reckless people (optimists and pessimists alike)?

The financial services industry is prone to Bullshift – where the glass is always half full and the industry will try to convince you of much no matter what the facts are and no matter how dire the circumstances may be.  Think back.  When was the last time you heard an analyst predict a year over year market decline?

Optimistic Realist?

My point here is that I don’t want to be a downer.  Rather, I want to be a realist.  Heck, some people have even called me an optimistic realist.  At any rate, it seems to me that pessimism isn’t particularly well thought of in my line of work.  Continue Reading…

The Evolution of ESG

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Franklin Templeton/iStock

By Preyesh Patel (ESG Analyst, Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited)

(Sponsor Content)

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has been around in different forms for over three decades now but has really become a key focus for the industry over the past five years. Previously, this kind of investing was considered somewhat niche and exclusionary in approach, focusing on “values” regarding tobacco, weapons and companies working with repressive regimes. Nowadays, acceptance of fiduciary duty, climate change and human rights is a common requirement among investors of all stripes. The flow of capital into ESG also makes it the fastest-growing type of investing across the global marketplace right now.

Pension Planning

The change in attitudes towards ESG was reflected in November when CEOs of Canada’s eight leading pension plan investment managers issued a joint statement on the subject. AIMCo, BCI, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, CPP Investments, HOOPP, OMERS, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and PSP Investments — representing approximately $1.6 trillion in assets under management between them — called for economic growth that was both sustainable and inclusive.

This kind of growth can only be achieved through stronger ESG disclosure standards for companies, they said, allowing investors to better assess their risk exposures. Stronger standards will mean standardization of how data is collected on issues such as diversity & inclusion, human capital and climate change. To achieve this, the pension plan leaders called for the adoption of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards, as well as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework.

Responding to the statement, Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada, expressed how making ESG a priority was the right approach on many different levels.

“A strong commitment to environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion and good governance principles will not only make our economy and financial system more resilient, it’s also the right thing to do. Leadership from Canada’s financial sector is essential as we focus on building an enduring and more equal economic recovery from the pandemic.”

Finding industry-wide consistency on how to measure ESG performance remains a challenge. The Corporate Reporting Initiative is another example of the various attempts to standardize ESG reporting, but there is still work to be done to ensure that these three letters represent much more than a branding tool.

For us at Franklin Templeton, it means seeking out material ESG insights and incorporating them into our decision-making process in a manner that best fits our investment philosophy.

For example, in its most recent update, the Templeton Global Macro (TGM) team outlined how it applied ESG criteria to its investment processes, focusing on: integration; forward-looking data points; projected “tails,” which signal major ESG shifts; a long time horizon; as well as engagement with policy makers.

Pandemic Impact

For investment teams like TGM, the past 12 months have only increased the need for sound ESG policies. Even before COVID-19, analysis by TGM revealed a decline in the number of countries that showed improving ESG momentum: the pandemic has only worsened this trend. Continue Reading…