REACHING OUT

We want to put a focus this month on asking you to contact us if you have any concerns about your portfolio or overall financial plan – or if your family or friends have concerns about theirs. Consider this month’s Marche Monthly to be a primer on what we have been doing to ensure that you continue to outperform the market with less risk, and that your retirement plans remain firmly on track.

BORING IS GOOD

With volatility running high, no one would call the markets boring. Some people, however, might call our strategy here at Marche Wealth Management, boring.

What strikes me the most about this period of volatility is just how calm many of our clients are.

That’s something we are very proud of. Because boring – or calming – works. In a year that has so far been terrible for the markets, our client portfolios are down roughly 3% while the S&P 500 is down more than 13% and the Dow has dropped 9%.

Why the difference?

Because we do not own the market, but instead a hand-picked selection of high-quality companies assembled into a portfolio that is customized just for you, in alignment with your financial plan – and all in alignment with our strategy.

Speaking of financial plans, our Financial Planner, Tracy McClure – re-introduced to you in this year’s February issue – has been very busy, along with the rest of our entire extended team, creating and updating plans for our clients. Many of our clients find this helpful because it reinforces the fact that volatility is part of the plan. Simply put, the proper planning ensures that we never have to sell when prices are lower but are actually in position to take advantage of the lower prices for both stocks and bonds.

And so, as always, we are positioned to capitalize on low prices in the market. In fact, we have rarely made as many trades as we have in recent months (April 2020 was the last time we were as active as we were this May). We are finding companies we think are undervalued, and we are buying them at a discount. When the market goes up over the long term, as it always does, our clients will reap the rewards.
This is why we are feeling calm, and also why we remain confident that our strategy is effective.

Recognizing that some great companies are on sale, many of our clients are sending us more money to invest for them. As well – and this is very important to note – none of our clients have had to sell at today’s lower prices. This is because they have the proper planning in place to not just weather these storms, but come out of them stronger than before.

For more details on our investing strategy, see our website here, or revisit past editions of Marche Monthly like this one or this one.

BONDS

Sticking with our fixed income strategy, which is laser focused on preservation of capital, we have for the first time in many years started buying longer term bonds and GICs in our portfolios, to lock in higher interest rates.

HEALTH CARE PLANNING IS PART OF INVESTMENT PLANNING

In the past two years, there has been a change in the types of conversations we’ve been having with our clients. All based on the fact that health care planning is part of investment planning and overall wealth management.

As wealth managers who take a holistic approach, we have always taken this view; the pandemic has only strengthened it and it is clear that our clients – who can see the threat to health and wealth posed by Covid-19 – are in a similar state of mind. Since March 2020, there has been a substantial increase in the number of clients who want to ensure their will and estate plan is properly in place and that they have updated their beneficiaries, executor and powers-of-attorney, both for personal care and property, to reflect their true wishes at the present time.

Having one’s will and estate plan in proper order is absolutely essential, and at the same time, is the minimum state of readiness we recommend. Amid Covid, RBC Dominion Securities and Marche Wealth Management have been leading the way in presenting a broader array of initiatives designed to protect and promote our clients’ financial and personal well-being. There is the concept of the Trusted Contact Person (TCP), for example, which we discussed in detail in the December 2021 issue of Marche Monthly.

At the same time that Covid presented a threat to longevity, our clients have realized they will be living longer than past generations and therefore have become more attuned to the health issues they might face, as well as who will take care of them if they can no longer be at home.

Here at Marche Wealth Management we have several partnerships to address these holistic concerns including information seminars with medical professionals to discuss various health care risks such as dementia, advanced care plans and specific women’s health issues – all of which is part of the comprehensive wealth planning we do.

We believe our clients should be thinking about all of this. So as always, we are here to help. Want to talk about any of these issues or learn more about the comprehensive resources we provide? Just let us know.

IS THE BANK OF CANADA DOING A GOOD JOB?

It is a question many Canadians are asking: is the Bank of Canada doing a good job of controlling inflation with its interest rate policy?

We think the BOC waited too long to start raising rates, so inflation is more persistent than we originally thought it would be. However, we still expect it to normalize towards the end of the year.

That said, what the Bank of Canada does is outside our control. So is inflation. What is within our control is continuing to buy and own high-quality, well-managed companies with strong balance sheets, the pricing power to pass on increased costs to their customers and the other characteristics that make up the investing strategy we talk about regularly here at Marche Monthly.

Here’s what matters most: the preservation and growth of your wealth after inflation and taxes. So that is what we have been focusing on, and will always continue to focus on.

REACHING OUT, PART TWO

I would like to reiterate that, if you would like to discuss any aspect of your portfolio or overall financial plan, or if your family or friends would like to discuss theirs, we are ready for your call or email. Just reach out.

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We don’t speak jargon. We’re all about uncomplicating your life, so we speak plain English. If there is someone you care about – someone who would appreciate this simple and straightforward approach – please feel free to share this message with them or put us in touch.

Want to discuss any aspect of this month’s blog, or any other issue on your mind? Have a story idea? I am always happy to receive your call or email.