Paul's Prose October 2019

Politics vs Economics

Let’s face it – who doesn’t want to be richer today? Who doesn’t want to pay less taxes? Who doesn’t want a cleaner world without natural disasters? Who doesn’t want peace and love for all?

Well there is definitely a divide in opinion as to what we want – otherwise we would only need one political party. Thankfully we have options!!!

We need these politicians to fight it out and find some common ground that suits all of us. I am so thankful to be in a country where we are not “born” into a political party. We get to grow up and choose and change how we vote and not “hate” someone who has different views.

There are some that may feel this divide is getting worse, but I disagree. I truly believe the next generation will get along with each other better than this one.

Let’s hope so, for everyone’s sake!

Trade, Brexit, Elections & Interest Rate Policy

All of the above issues, in addition to a plethora of other variables, have an impact on your short term wealth. By “impact” I do not necessarily mean negative – there is definitely some upside potential to all of these.

(Side note: watch the movie “The Upside”!!!)

Markets can be very fickle about short term news – good or bad - and computer based trading programs can often exaggerate what should be a subtle move up or down.

Back when I was in University studying Investment and Corporate Finance (about 100 years ago) my Professors tried to beat into us the fact that most (not all) markets are extremely efficient. A big part of this efficiency lies in the fact that people “in the know” have already built in all sorts of pricing scenarios to a stock well before John & Mary Doe hear about some good or bad news and try to act on it.

The point here is that nobody can time the market. Those who claim they have successfully timed the market in the past were lucky and likely missed 4 other times before succeeding. Also, did they get back in at the right time or miss the first 10% upswing? It simply cannot be done consistently over a lifetime.

I know that I sound like a broken record when I say “know your objectives, your risk tolerance and build a portfolio of high quality investments”.

It sounds so easy, but unfortunately most people don’t have the knowledge or confidence or discipline to do so. That is where we come in.

Personal Thoughts

KENYA, AFRICA – WOW! I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to meet the wonderful people of the Maasai Mara. I cannot wait to go back and share this experience with my family. The WE Foundation is nothing short of a miracle maker for people in underprivileged regions all over the world. They were amazing hosts and educators. I encourage you to look them up and be inspired by how they empower young people – especially girls, all over the world.
Well the Africa trip was in April (I am way behind on Paul’s Prose!). Since then my wife Rosanna retired from teaching in June and we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in August. For the retirement, I threw her a big surprise party – she had no clue! We celebrated both of these events with a trip to Europe, London and Amsterdam and a cruise down the Rhine – absolutely splendid. Amsterdam – quite the place!
On the kid front (well 24 and 22 – but they are still kids to us): They are out on their own and we are home alone – unfortunately, we lost our dog Dobby this summer – we miss him so much. Brad is busier than he has ever been – texting us at 6:00 a.m. from work (thinking we are awake). He tried to give up his window washing company he started, but too many clients kept calling him personally and so he kept many on. He does this work after his regular job at some high tech moulding art company. He is also studying for his Canadian Investment Funds in Canada course.
Leah is now living near the Ottawa Hospital so she can walk to the lab each day where she is pursuing her Masters in Science – cancer research – it’s a tough road, but she balances it off by training with the Nordic Ski team - they think a casual practice is a 17 kilometre run through the Gatineau Hills at 6:30 a.m.!