Opinion

Recapping our 2024 forecast, we were cautious on equities along with The Street. Expectations from Wall Street were for virtually no market growth. The S&P 500 started the year at 4770. We all got it wrong.

We had not seen yields on guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) top five per cent for thirty years and it could be another thirty years before we see them again.

Expectations for interest rate cuts in Canada continue looking into 2025, with a 50-basis point (bps) rate cut this week priced at 85 per cent

The new year brings a fresh batch of opportunities for investors to lower their tax bills and keep more of that money compounding in investments.

The Canadian dollar began floating versus the U.S. dollar after the fall of Bretton Woods in 1971. Since that time, the loonie versus greenback exchange rate has average 1.23, but has spent almost no time at all at that level.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has added another $7,000 to the total amount that can be contributed to a tax-free savings account (TFSA) as of Jan. 1, 2025.

The market was excited about the Donald Trump tax cut in his first administration.

The wave that has returned U.S. President Donald Trump to office has global financial markets bracing for just about anything.

With the U.S. election out of the way and Donald Trump’s administration filling out, the market will turn to Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) earnings this week to see if animal spirits can keep the party going.

Investors who get exposure to Canadian equities through market-weighted exchange traded funds (ETFs) and even Canadian equity mutual funds might be surprised that one company has taken a more influential role in the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index.

We thought it would be interesting to look at returns of a few asset classes during Donald Trump’s first presidency.

You must pay tax on your 2024 income, of course, but you can lower your tax bill when 2025 rolls around by acting before Dec. 31.

I didn’t want this week’s educational segment to be about the U.S. election, though it’s hard not to be, so I’ve added a twist to get you to consider not trying to time markets but rather to think about better, more robust portfolio construction.

Many of the most popular stocks in Canadian retirement investment portfolios have recently gone through stocks splits including Tesla, Nvidia, Honda, Google, Apple and Amazon.

The cost of capital is likely the most important input into the valuation of most assets.