Fat tails and the precautionary principle: How Isaac Newton lost his shirt in the stock market

 October 17, 2023 |Alan MacDonald
Sir Isaac Newton was a mathematician, physicist and philosopher who was considered by many to be the father of the scientific revolution, and one of the greatest thinkers of the seventeenth century. He was also a wealthy man, who inherited a small fortune...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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How to get a perpetual 6.5 per cent return on your investment capital

 November 15, 2022 |Alan MacDonald
Many investors these days are wondering how they can capitalize on the incredible run-up we’ve been seeing in interest rates lately. According to the RBC Strategy Committee, the current high rates will probably be with us for a while. But with ongoing...
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Too many investors fear longevity too little – and market volatility too much

 September 16, 2022 |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 and a half times, and it’s pretty close to the average inflation in the...
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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...
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Market volatility fatigue

 May 17, 2022 |Alan MacDonald
The last two years have been tough for everyone. We’ve been through a once-in-a-100-year pandemic that seems to just keep coming up with new variants. Politics have become more bitter and divisive than ever, with conspiracy theories and fake news flourishing...
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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...
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