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In a slowing economy, the right investment strategy plays a key role in downside protection

Investment Views, Investments

In a recent video, Paul Holba, CIO, reviews the key market events of 2022 and outlook for 2023. He also shares how the team’s investment strategies reflect our cautious view of the environment, but with some positive outlooks and opportunities.

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Market timing and missing the worst performance days

Investments, Personal Finance

In my last article, I wrote about the benefits of a buy and hold strategy where an investor stayed in the market through the ups and downs of a particular investment. 

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Staying invested in the market

Investments, Personal Finance

A common piece of advice for investors is that long term success doesn’t hinge on timing the market. It’s time in the market that may make the bigger difference.

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Emblem Portfolios in action - Asset allocation update, December 20, 2022

Investments, Tactical Updates

Key takeaways:  

  • Tactically moving to a more defensive positioning
  • Increased bonds, decreased equities (all portfolios except Emblem Aggressive Growth, which has no bond component)
  • Emblem Aggressive Growth – increased US equities, decreased international equities

Tactical update - December 20, 2022

We are choosing to adopt a more cautious posture and see increasingly attractive relative value in fixed income. As such, we have reduced our equity targets in the various Emblem funds and increased our fixed income targets.

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When defense is the best offense

Investment Views, Investments

From the desk of CIO Paul Holba: In this latest update from the Empire Life Investments team, Paul Holba discusses how 2022 continues to be a challenging year—but it’s not all bad news.

Market recap

2022 continues to be a challenging year for investors. As mentioned in my July update, the first half of the year produced some of the worst year-to-date returns in decades for many markets. At the end of the third quarter, market returns continued to incrementally trend in the wrong direction (albeit at a slower clip). However, many markets experienced a strong October rally, trimming the year’s losses to varying degrees. Supported by its resource sector orientation, Canadian equities held their value better over other markets, while the growth-oriented Nasdaq Composite continued to lag materially.

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Interest rates, inflation, and currency: a fixed income market update

Investments, Off the Cuff

The actions of central banks around the world are having a positive effect on inflation, and we are starting to see signs of it slowing, particularly as we look at the year-over-year and month-over-month numbers in Canada and the U.S. However, with widespread inflation and the near-term upward trajectory of interest rates, we could soon see an economic slowdown.

Ian Fung, Portfolio Manager, Fixed income, discusses these and other factors affecting fixed-income markets and the global economy.

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Incorporating Inflation into Financial Planning

Investments, Personal Finance

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A rude wake-up call

Investment Views, Investments

From the desk of CIO Paul Holba: In this latest update from the Empire Life Investments team, Paul Holba reviews the key market events impacting 2022 and beyond.

The first half of 2022 was turbulent, with major asset classes suffering from their worst first half of a year in decades. The year began with the world’s uneven emergence from the pandemic and supply chain disruptions affecting the global economy. Russia invaded Ukraine in February, spurring a major geopolitical event that pushed up prices of commodities, including energy and agricultural products. China’s zero-COVID policy has suppressed demand, weakened productivity, and spilled over into global supply chains.

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Corrections: What we can learn from the past

Investment Views, Investments

Corrections: What we can learn from the past - May 25, 2022. The Investments team looks at previous market corrections through the decades, the events that followed, and why staying invested through bouts of volatility has proven to be a beneficial strategy for the long-term investor.

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Downside protection in an uncertain environment

Investments, Off the Cuff

Doug Cooper discusses recent market events, their impact on Canadian equities, and how the Empire Life Asset Allocation Fund is positioned.

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