MacDonald Advisory Team

Cheap and boring: Why the least exciting stocks look pretty good right now

July 31, 2023 |Alan MacDonald

Mark Twain has been credited with saying that “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” In my experience, this sage observation is particularly fitting when it comes to stock markets and the behaviour of investors. In the 1960s and 1970s,...

Too many investors fear longevity too little – and market volatility too much

May 15, 2023 |Alan MacDonald

In 1993, the cost to mail a letter in Canada was 43 cents. Today (assuming anyone were to actually want to mail a letter) it would cost $1.07. That’s an increase of just over two a half times, and it’s pretty close to the average inflation in the price...

How to crash-proof your retirement income

April 12, 2023 |Alan MacDonald

As I write this article, the latest crisis du jour is the collapse and insolvency of the Silicon Valley Bank. We here in Canada tend to think of our banks as being virtually invulnerable. But as the 2008 banking crisis taught us, even the biggest blue-chip...

An Investor checklist for 2023

February 27, 2023 |Alan MacDonald

An investor checklist for 2023 The first month of the New Year is officially behind us. Traditionally, this is the time when all our well-meaning resolutions are forgotten until next January rolls around, and our old habits start to rear their ugly heads...

There’s a recession coming in 2023. So why am I still in stocks?

January 16, 2023 |Alan MacDonald

The debate is over. We have an inverted yield curve in fixed-income securities, where short–term rates are higher than long–term rates. Consumers are stretched thin, battered by the twin spectres of rising interest rates and higher-than-average inflation...

Why Negativity Sounds Smart

October 24, 2022 |Alan MacDonald

You can’t open the financial news today without being bombarded by a steady stream of negative headlines. Among the most cherished topics are runaway inflation, sovereign debt default, over stretched consumers, impending recession, war, and, of course...

Why not wait until things look better?

June 20, 2022 |Alan MacDonald

“Let’s hold off on putting any money into the markets for a bit and wait until things settle down.” I’m hearing these words from a lot of investors these days. Especially from people who have recently sold a business or property, had a bond or GIC come...

The antidote to market volatility

April 21, 2022 |Alan MacDonald

It’s tough not to be a little worried these days. Between rising threats of inflation, new strains of COVID-19 on the horizon and the terrible events unfolding in Ukraine, we all have good reason to be concerned about where our world is headed, and what...

Are we about to relive the dot-com era?

March 14, 2022 |Alan MacDonald

It’s said that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes. I’m old enough to have lived through more than a few major stock market setbacks in my time. I started my career just before the market-wide drop of 1987. In 1996, I saw bank stocks get...

Market peaks shouldn't be scary

February 14, 2022 |Alan MacDonald

It’s hard to open a financial newspaper, check your social media feed or even listen to the news these days without hearing someone talking about how the markets have reached a new peak. You’d think that the markets reaching an all-time high would be...

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