On July 1st, we will celebrate Canada's 146th birthday. Looking good, Canada...but how good?

We are consistently ranked in the top 10 best nations to live in based on such factors as political freedom, safety, respect for diversity, health care and education.

With the exception of some intense hockey rivalries, no war has been fought on Canadian soil in nearly 120 years

Our financial system is the envy of the world.

I could go on, but instead, I'll encourage you to check out (or PVR) Maclean’s Great Canadian Countdownpremiering Monday, July 1st at 7pm EST. saw a commerical for it this morning and it looks awesome.

While we have much to celebrate as a nation this coming Canada Day, the last few years have not been kind to the average Canadian equity investor ("I am Canadian and so is my portfolio"). With so many of them lacking international diversification in their equity portfolios – specifically exposure to soaring U.S. markets – they have seen their equity returns sag.

I attended an event earlier this week to hear Jim Allworth, RBC DS' Investment Strategist, speak about "what's next" for us. Shifting from the post-2008 malaise to the future and how to be appopriately positioned as monetary policy, inflation and interest rates return to historically "normal" levels - and one of the key takeaways was positioning our portfolios for a market growth that favours the US market (over the Canadian market).

Enjoy the weekend.

D.

Dian Chaaban

Investment & Wealth Advisor

Chaaban Wealth Management Group

416.842.4234