Templeton Global Smaller Companies Fund
When investing globally, most people tend to focus solely on large-capitalization companies, which tend to make great core holdings for most investors. However, an often overlooked area of the markets is the global small-capitalization sector. Instead of being a large multinational company with offices worldwide, a small-cap company is often a small- to medium-sized company with operations in one or two markets. These companies are usually growing at a much faster rate than the large-cap companies. It is this growth rate that can provide investors with the potential for higher returns over the long term.
Read MoreShedding the light on mortgage investment corporations
With GICs paying next to nothing, bond values expected to decline, and income trusts pretty much extinct, income investors are left with very few options to generate a meaningful yield. One product that has been gaining a lot of interest from investors and advisors alike recently is the Mortgage Investment Corporation (MIC).
Read MoreAlways take a second look at mutual fund rankings
The search for reliable risk ratings goes on. In the most recent effort, fund companies must now provide investors with a “Risk Rating,” which can be found in the fund’s prospectus and on the new point of sale documents (basically fact sheets funds must provide clients). Fund managers will rate the risk of their funds in five fairly general categories: Low; Low to Medium; Medium; Medium to High; or High. The goal of these ratings is very laudable – to give investors an idea of how much risk they will be accepting by investing in a particular product. But how reliable are they?
Read MoreHedge Funds: Are they for you?
With the latest bull market having just turned two, it certainly appears as though investors’ risk appetite is back. In the past few weeks, I have had a number of calls from advisors who are interested in bringing hedge funds into their client portfolios. The most common question I get asked is, “What is the best hedge fund for my clients?” If only it were that easy.
Read MoreWhen to sell a fund: Timing is everything
One of the more difficult decisions facing investors is figuring out the right time to sell a mutual fund. There are countless resources for those looking to buy mutual funds. Several times a year, most of the national papers have a panel of experts provide a list of their best fund ideas for the months and years ahead. There are countless articles highlighting specific managers or funds, providing detailed information on the manager, their performance, investment process and the like. Yet when you’re looking for the right time to get out of a fund, it seems that those resources just aren’t there. Here are some suggestions.
Read MoreTD’s Wilson on the lookout for Bond Market Volatilty
To learn more about the current fixed income environment, we recently sat down with Geoff Wilson, a Managing Director with TD Asset Management and a portfolio manager with manager or co manager responsibilities for many TD fixed-income funds including the TD Canadian Bond Fund and the TD Real Return Bond Fund, both of which are on our Recommended List of Funds
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