To assist financial advisors, we have created a series of model portfolios that are designed to meet the investment objectives and risk tolerance of a number of different investor types. These portfolios are updated on a monthly basis. Alternatively, if you would prefer to have something more customized, contact us and we can work with you to help you build a fully optimized portfolio or series of portfolios based on your specific fund preferences and investment criteria.
February 2016 Portfolio Review
February was another tough month for investors, with most global equity indices finishing in negative territory. The S&P 500 was down 0.13% in U.S. dollar terms, while the MSCI EAFE Index was lower by nearly 2%. With both gold and oil showing some strength, the S&P/TSX Composite managed to eke out a modest 0.5% rise. Another benefactor to this strength was the Canadian dollar, which gained nearly three cents to end the month at $0.7395 U.S. While positive for Canadians, this rise created headwinds for foreign investment exposure that...
read moreNovember 2015 Portfolio Review
Global equity markets were mixed, with the S&P 500 gaining a modest 0.3% in U.S. dollar terms. However, thanks to a further rise in the U.S. dollar, the return was 2.4% in Canadian dollar terms. The MSCI EAFE Index was in the red in local currency terms, but managed to eke out a 0.4% rise in Canadian dollar terms. With China continuing to struggle, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index lost nearly 4%. Closer to home, the S&P/TSX Composite was down 0.2% on weakness in oil, and more uncertainty around former index heavyweight Valeant...
read moreOctober 2015 Portfolio Review
Equity markets bounced back nicely in October, and so too did the model portfolios. The Conservative Portfolio gained a modest 0.9%, while the Growth Portfolio gained a respectable 4.2%. The Balanced Portfolio was up by 2.2%. You can download our standard monthly portfolio report here. For those looking for even more detail, I am also providing additional reports generated from Morningstar which show even more detail regarding the portfolios. A summary report can be downloaded here, while the more detailed report can be downloaded here. While...
read moreSeptember 2015 Portfolio Review
September was another tough month for the portfolios, with each finishing in the red. You can download our standard monthly portfolio report here. For those looking for even more detail, I am also providing additional reports generated from Morningstar which show even more detail regarding the portfolios. A summary report can be downloaded here, while the more detailed report can be downloaded here. Not surprisingly, it was the Growth Portfolio that suffered the biggest loss, dropping 1.1% on continued equity market volatility. Despite this...
read moreModel Portfolio Review – May 2014
It was a positive month for the portfolios, with all finishing in positive territory, except for the Tactical Balanced Portfolio, which was down by 0.1%. You can download our Monthly Portfolio Report here. The Strategic Models handily outperformed the Tactical Models, which have been more conservatively positioned. This positioning comes from the expectation that there will be an increase in volatility over the coming weeks, and the goal of the portfolios is to minimize the severity of any drawdown. Despite the positive performance, the...
read moreModel Portfolio Review – March 2014
The Portfolios were mixed in March, with the more conservative portfolios outperforming the growth focused portfolios. You can download our Monthly Portfolio Report here. It was a poor month for the TD U.S. Blue Chip Equity Fund, which lost nearly 5% in March. It was this fund that dragged the returns for the more growth focused portfolios. I remain confident in the fund and its management, but will be watching it closely to make sure that this is not the start of a trend. I conducted a quantitative analysis of our tactical models, and based...
read moreModel Portfolio Review – March 2012
March was another good month for our portfolios, with all five finishing in positive territory, and four out of the five outpacing their benchmarks. The only laggard was our Growth Portfolio which slightly underperformed its benchmark. Our Balanced Growth Portfolio posted a 1.3% gain during the month, outpacing its benchmark by 31 basis points. The biggest contributor to our outperformance was the CI Harbour Fund, which posted a modest gain of 0.1% during the month, but outpaced the S&P/TSX Composite by 1.7%. The Renaissance Global...
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