Tag Archives: diversification

Even more rookie mistakes that seasoned investors make

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By Neville Joanes

(Sponsor Content)

Even though we all “knew it was coming” the precise timing of the market correction this month caught quite a few seasoned investors by surprise. Hey, it happens. No one can predict where the stocks go all the time. But how did you respond? Did you sell along with the herd — and lock in your losses? Or did you see this as a buying opportunity? How were you prepared for it in the first place?

Even the most experienced investors can get caught short in times like these. Recognize your investing biases that can lead to bad decision-making — and learn from them. Here are a few more that we didn’t cover last time. (See 3 rookie mistakes that seasoned investors still make.)

Confusing the familiar with the safe

Disney, Coca Cola and Starbucks are big brands. But are they safe, or even good investments — by virtue of their size?

Just a few years ago, you might have gotten the same feeling of rock-solid reliability about Nortel, Blockbuster or Kodak. Or Sears. Pan Am airlines. Netscape. Pets.com Or hundreds of other companies with billions in their war chests …  that aren’t even around today. By last year, just 60 companies remained from the original Fortune 500 list.

Investors have inherited the illusion of stability and power from size, possibly from our origins in hunting wooly mammoths with wooden spears. The big guys are hard to take down (we think). So even experienced investors will throw their money at blue-chip stocks and other institutional-style investments. It’s a half-baked hedging strategy.

When you have this bias, you don’t do the proper due diligence you would with other investments. Why look too closely, when the trading megafauna like Amazon or Apple just keep bounding onward and upward? Because the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

A big-name brand is not necessarily a bad bet. This is where a strategy of diversification comes in. By planting seeds in a range of investments instead of a single big-name brand, you’re in safer territory. Continue Reading…

Rattled by the “Correction?” Diversification keeps your nest egg on the rails

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“I know not what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.”
—Homer

We are all aware that portfolio winners rotate position from time to time. Leaders have a habit of becoming laggards. “Must own” darlings become “forgotten” names. Winners vacate the “winner’s circle.” As the timeless saying preaches, don’t put all your eggs in the same basket. Hopefully, this classic advice is being followed.

“Diversification strategies are essential, time-tested tools for every nest egg.”

The main goal of investment diversification is to contain the damages of market volatility from being inflicted on the nest egg. The importance of this is fundamental and always in fashion. I highlight some key observations on portfolio diversification:

  • Investment portfolios suffer from inadequate diversification.
  • Mutual funds we own often have the same, or similar, stocks.
  • Investors are not aware that they lack diversification.

Diversification strategies are essential, time-tested tools for every nest egg. They improve your chances of achieving better consistency of long-term returns. It’s a focus for every investor to prioritize.

Basic diversification involves spreading your risks across different sectors of the economy. All within the asset allocation targets set by your investment plan of action. Make sure that you are comfortable with the approach so that you don’t have to dwell on regrets. Portfolios I review range from too concentrated to well over diversified.

Overall, diversification is a necessary safeguard. You don’t want problems arising in any asset class to ruin your well-designed portfolio. Especially the one that delivers the family’s retirement cash flow.

Develop sound habits

Diversification increases the odds of you being right more often than wrong. When some selections are suffering, others can step up and help cushion the rest of the portfolio.

Make it your habit to keep your nest egg from slipping off the rails. I summarize my top ways to achieve necessary portfolio diversification:

  • Asset Classes: Choosing different asset classes for the game plan is a sensible and prudent step. Stocks, bonds, cash, commodities and real estate are common picks.
  • Economic Regions: Portfolios may include selections from Canada and other regions around the world. Like the USA, Europe, Far East and emerging countries.
  • Time to Maturity: A portion of the portfolio could have a range of investment maturities. From as short as 30 days to as long as 30 years.
  • Foreign Currencies: Investment selections can be purchased in currencies other than Canadian funds. Such as US dollars, the Euro or hedged to our Loonie.
  • Investment Quality: High investment quality trumps reaching out for questionable yield. Trading quality for higher yields increases the potential to incur large losses.

Portfolios ought to contain a variety of investments that don’t all move in unison. However, seasoned investors know full well that is not always possible.

Broad brush

My table below is far from scientific. Look upon it as a broad brush view of portfolios that own Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and/or mutual funds as their primary investments in equities. Each investment selection is referenced as a “basket.” I divide the diversification landscape into three ballparks. Continue Reading…

The many benefits of ETFs: What’s not to love about them?

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The availability of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is one of the best things to happen to investors in the last twenty years. What’s not to love about ETFs?

Investors can get broad diversification on the cheap with just two or three funds. This simplicity is what tipped the scales for me nearly three years ago when I switched from a portfolio of 25 Canadian dividend stocks to my two-ETF solution (the four-minute portfolio).

But not all Canadian investors are as enamoured as I am with ETFs. While Canadian ETF assets climbed to a record $133.8 billion in assets under management (Canadian ETF Association – Aug 31 2017), the Canadian mutual fund industry claims a whopping $1.41 trillion in assets (Investment Funds Institute of Canada – Aug 31 3017).

That 10:1 ratio needs to change in a hurry, but there are still headwinds facing the average investor.

First of all, mutual funds have been around a lot longer than ETFs and their sales channels are more widely available. In plain language that means any Joe or Jane investor can go to an advisor and choose from a menu of in-house mutual funds, whereas if an investor wanted to build a portfolio of ETFs, his or her advisor might not have the right license to sell them, might not have access to an exchange to trade them, or might simply balk at the idea that a couple of low cost ETFs could outperform an actively managed portfolio of mutual funds.

Many investors are forced to go the do-it-yourself route like I did, learning on the fly from financial blogs, forums, and sometimes even the financial media about the benefits of investing in low cost ETFs.

 Benefits of low-cost ETFs

Despite these challenges, Pat Chiefalo, the new head of iShares Canada, sees a bright future for the ETF industry in Canada as investors seek lower price points and broader exposure to different markets.

“ETFs offer a simpler and cleaner approach to building a diversified portfolio and we see that diversification makes up the vast majority of investment returns,” said Chiefalo.

Indeed, fans of this blog and of the Canadian Couch Potato’s model portfolios will recognize products like iShares Core MSCI All Country World ex Canada Index ETF: also known as XAW. This ETF gives investors one-stop-shop access to U.S., international, and emerging markets — nearly 8,000 holdings in total — for just 22 basis points (0.22% MER).

It’s hard to believe a company can make money charging $22 for every $10,000 invested, but you won’t hear Canadian investors complain. That’s because a similar global mutual fund might cost $220 for every $10,000 invested (there’s that 10:1 ratio again).

How low will ETF costs go? Continue Reading…

Two free lunches: Diversification and Rebalancing

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“Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.” — Ralph Marston

Diversification and Rebalancing strategies are two essential, time-tested portfolio tools. They improve your chances of achieving better consistency of long-term returns. Tasty free lunches are still being served in your investing patch.

Diversification spreads your risks among a variety of investments. Rebalancing makes periodic adjustments to bring allocations back in line with targets set within your road map. I assume that your road map is in place.

Experience shows that asset mix decisions have the greatest impact on your portfolio returns than any other factor. The foundation of investing your nest egg requires patience, discipline and clear investment policies.

Diversification is one necessary safeguard. You don’t want problems arising in any asset class to ruin your well designed portfolio. Diversification increases the odds of you being right more often. If some selections are suffering, others can help cushion the rest.

Initial allocations and weights of your portfolio selections will drift over time as markets rise and retreat. When drift becomes significant, it affects your investment profile and typically requires some re-balancing.

Periodic rebalancing strategies sell some assets and buy others within your asset mix. My preferred time to rebalance is when you inject new money into the portfolio or withdraw some. Use rebalancing techniques as portfolio tweaks, not for wholesale changes.

Possible ways

I highlight 10 ways to achieve portfolio changes: Continue Reading…

Choosing ETFs: the best ones are diversified and have low MERs

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If you want to include the best ETF investments in your portfolio, then it’s important to consider a variety of components. That’s because all Exchange-Traded Funds aren’t created equal

ETFs are one of the most popular and most benign investing innovations of our time: and the best ETF investments can be great low-fee ways to hold shares in multiple companies with a single investment.

The best ETFs practice “passive” fund management

The best ETFs practice “passive” fund management, in contrast to the “active” management that conventional mutual funds or some new ETFs provide at much higher costs. Traditional ETFs stick with this passive management: they follow the lead of the sponsor of the index (for example, Standard & Poors).

Sponsors of stock indexes do from time to time change the stocks that make up the index, but generally only when the market weighting of stocks change. They don’t attempt to pick and choose which stocks they think have the best prospects.

This traditional, passive style also keeps turnover very low, and that in turn keeps trading costs for your ETF investments down.

We think you should stick with “traditional” ETFs.

The best ETF investments have lower MERs

The MERs (Management Expense Ratios) are generally much lower on ETFs than on conventional mutual funds. Continue Reading…

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