The Globe and Mail MARY GOODERHAM Published January 19, 2021 Bookmark
The remote-working boom brought by the COVID-19 pandemic created a new investment theme in 2020: exchange-traded funds offering a portfolio of stocks expected to benefit from the work-from-home (WFH) trend.
While some feel valuations for these ETFs are too high given the big gains of 2020 and as vaccines bring people back to their office in the months ahead, others believe the continued shift in work habits and lifestyles, as well as coming technologies like 5G communications, will support the WFH trend long term.
Hans Albrecht, vice-president and portfolio manager at Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc., sees “two worlds colliding.” The first is technology, including cybersecurity that brings a “never-ending revenue stream” and cloud computing, which he likens to a utility with “massive growth potential.” The second is the productivity and efficiency benefits that technology brings users,
The Globe and Mail JOEL SCHLESINGER Published January 19, 2021 Bookmark
Gold was the bright, shiny object of 2020, attracting haven-seeking investors as the pandemic weighed on global economies and markets. While gold has pulled back from its record highs in August, many investors are hanging onto their holdings as insurance against continuing market volatility and the threat of rising inflation.
ETFs that hold physical gold and the miners that explore and produce it are considered the easiest, low-cost and most diversified way to play the commodity to help protect against adverse, unexpected economic events such as a pandemic, says David Kletz, portfolio manager at Forstrong Global Asset Management.
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The Globe and Mail Andrew Hallam Published January 12, 2021 Bookmark
When I was in elementary school in the late 1970s, many of my teachers smoked. I remember knocking on the staff room door at lunch and, as the door opened, a wall of smoke hit my face.
These days, teachers can’t smoke in schools. Even if they could, few would. It’s medically proven to shorten people’s lives. The medical community was likely among the first to butt out: They probably saw the science first.
You might think financial advisers have the same forward thinking when it comes to what’s good for them in their own industry. But if they did, why would so many still recommend actively managed funds when index funds and ETFs are healthier retirement options? They perform much better because of their lower fees.
The Globe and Mail JOEL SCHLESINGER Published January 12, 2021 Bookmark
Record low interest rates, unprecedented government stimulus and a healing global economy could be a recipe for the return of inflation.
“While inflation remains very low, conditions for an eventual uptick may well be building,” says Scott Clayton, a Toronto-based senior researcher with TSI Network, a Canadian equities research firm that publishes newsletters for retail investors.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has indicated it will likely let inflation run above its traditional 2 per cent target before hiking rates, while the Bank of Canada has hinted it’s unlikely to raise rates for a couple of years.