Without our health, we have nothing. That’s why your health is the single most important thing to me as an advisor.

 

In order to serve you properly, including in face-to-face meetings if you wish, it is my duty to be fully vaccinated. I don’t want you to have any hesitation or doubt as to how safe it is to meet with me.

 

So let me be clear: I have been fully vaccinated for several months now. My wife and children are also fully vaccinated, as is the rest of our team, including Joy and any of our partners who may be brought in to contribute their expertise to your wealth management plan.

 

So, if you would like to meet in person, just let me know. I will be very pleased to meet you wherever you prefer: in our office, your office, or at another location that is convenient and comfortable for you. Over the next couple of weeks, for example, my calendar is full with client meetings and is filling up quickly beyond that.

 

Yes, it seems that things are finally returning to normal. The markets have stabilized as well. Last year, to take advantage of high volatility in the market, and the opportunities it created, I made more trades than ever before. This year, we have not needed to be nearly as active – and we are still feeling very positive about our returns. We are outperforming our benchmarks – the TSX and the S&P 500 in Canadian dollars – and even more important, the rate of return that our clients have targeted in their financial plans.

 

Of course, the market is not completely placid. It is worried about the Delta variant, as demonstrated by a 725-point drop in the Dow last week. The market is starting to have some doubts about what has been, in recent months, a very positive growth forecast. So positive, in fact, that much optimism is still priced into the overall market. Therefore, for people who are essentially buying the market (passive investors or people investing in exchange-traded funds), the market is about as expensive as it has ever been.

 

But we don’t buy the market, and that is why we have been able to outperform it, with lower risk. Which companies do we own? The ones that fit our long-time investing strategy: mostly high-quality, dividend-paying companies that are primarily in regulated industries and have strong balance sheets and business models we understand.

 

Given how low interest rates are at this time, we feel that this strategy is more attractive than ever – and that owning high-quality dividend-paying stocks will preserve your capital more effectively than bonds for longer-term money. Most of these companies are still trading at a meaningful discount to the market, therefore giving us a greater margin of safety.

 

The sense is growing that we could have a federal election this fall, and that the Liberals are poised to win a majority government. Perhaps working in the Liberals’ favour is that their response to the pandemic is no longer considered by Canadians to be a top-three election issue.

 

What does it mean for us?

 

In a number of past editions of Marche Monthly, I have shared my view that to us, elections do not really matter. In November 2019, for example, just after our most recent general election. And again in blogs last September, October and November, relating to the US federal election of 2020.

 

Here’s some of what I said in November 2019, following the Liberals’ minority win. It’s just as true now as it was then:

 

“If negative sentiment, uncertainty or volatility happen to be introduced to the market as a result of the election outcome, or by any other noise for that matter, our portfolios are positioned to capitalize on the mispriced securities that will result.”

 

I also said that we will continue to insist on the importance of planning. Because a comprehensive, up-to-date financial plan creates more wealth for you and your family, especially in Canada, where we have a high cost of living, high taxes and big national deficits (even more so amid the pandemic, of course). Planning keeps the focus not just on what you make, but even more importantly, on what you make after taxes.

 

As time goes by, we are working with more and more multigenerational families: grandparents, parents, children and even their children. To continue to build upon the level of service we deliver, we are conducting a search for a new team member: an associate who will work closely with Joy, so we can provide all generations in our client families with the highest level of service for many years to come. We look forward to making an announcement in the coming months.

 

On behalf of the entire team here at Marche Wealth Management, I hope you are enjoying summer as much as you possibly can. Things are not completely opened up, but we really have come a long way since winter. Happy summer!

 

 

 

Tyler Marche, MBA, CFP, FCSI

Your life, uncomplicated

 

tyler.marche@rbc.com

1-416-974-4810