Blog
The autumn leaves of red and gold
In September the days grow shorter, the nights are cool, and the stock market gets crazy. The first two are easy to explain but the third is a mystery. However, this year was a good example. In the last ten days of September the Dow Jones Industrial Average had four moves of greater than 500 points. That compares to only three such moves in the previous four months. Clearly traders came back from summer vacation ready for action.
A Cottage Romance
Our family owned a cottage for 12 years. Our kids were little and we used it a lot, four seasons a year. Then, as happens, our kids grew up. They started going to camp in summer and had hockey or swimming or other activities in the other seasons. By the end, I was going up by myself to cut the grass in summer and get the snow off the roof in winter. We sold out more than twenty years ago. Do we miss it? Sure. The sunsets over the lake, the joy of jumping into the cool water, the pure pleasure of canoeing on a windless day. Can’t beat it. But things have changed. We paid less than $100,000 for our place. Now, the same property would likely go for close to $1 million. Would it still make sense to buy? Here is some advice I gave to a client who asked us just this question.
Does value still matter?
In the early 1720’s, exactly 300 years ago, all of England was overtaken by a surge of stock market speculation which we now know as the “South Sea Bubble”. Ignited by a monopoly granted by Parliament to a company to trade in South America, all manner of companies suddenly were brought to the market, and their shares were purchased with wild abandon by all and sundry. Two strong emotions ruled; today we call them “FOMO – fear of missing out” and “YOLO – you only live once”. No idea was too bizarre and no scheme too outlandish.
An Ernest Opinion
Costco’s e-commerce opportunity
In talking to other investors about Costco, the main question is whether Costco can still thrive in a world where Amazon and others can deliver an infinite selection of products to your house in one or two days. As this blog will discuss, e-commerce is more an opportunity than a threat for Costco and the management has cleverly designed its e-commerce strategy in a way that grows Costco’s market share without cannibalizing its core business.
Thoughts on buying Chinese stocks and our circle of competence
One of the hot topics of the day among investors is the regulatory crackdown by the Chinese government and President Xi on various industries, most notably the for-profit tutoring and technology sectors. These issues have driven the benchmark MSCI China Index, which tracks a portfolio of internationally listed Chinese equities, down 13% year to date and over 27% from the high in mid-February with shares of major technology companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, and Didi down even more.
Thoughts on Netflix’s strategy on video games
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings famously said that Netflix competes against Fortnite more than HBO and demonstrated that on Wednesday by hiring Mike Verdu as the Vice President of Game Development. Mr. Verdu previously led Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality efforts at Facebook, and also led mobile gaming efforts at industry leaders Electronic Arts, Kabam, and Zynga.
Media Appearances
If inflation runs red hot, that’s an issue for every asset class
Barry chats about his investment plays in a higher pricing environment.
Rogers-Shaw deal is a ‘complete mess’ amid Rogers family dispute
Barry Schwartz chats about the Rogers family dispute, as Edward Rogers' petition heads to court.
Barry Schwartz on BNN – Stock Comments
Barry discusses a number of stocks.
Outlook
Monthly Newsletter – October 2021
David revisits a theme from earlier this year, discussing the difference between speculation and investing and how important it is to understand that these are very different from each other with very different rules and outcomes. He cites some well known examples of speculation in the market and reaffirms that our approach is about being a fundamentals based investor.
Monthly Newsletter – September 2021
The American novelist Norman Mailer wrote: “There was that law of life, so cruel and so just, that one must grow or else pay more for remaining the same.” At Baskin Wealth Management, we have chosen to grow. In this month’s newsletter, David discusses the recent succession planning changes made by us as we lay the foundation for the next twenty or thirty years ensuring we remain the high-touch, high-knowledge service that has built our business.
Monthly Newsletter – August 2021
After a slow start to the year, the spring and summer months brought our clients hot weather and even hotter returns.This has resulted in many asking the natural questions - "How much higher can the markets go?" and "Shouldn't we be looking at taking profits?". In this month's newsletter, Barry talks about the source and sustainability of these returns and the best way to deal with uncertainty.
Wealth Management
Donating Securities to Charity – The Angel is in the Details
This is a follow-up to my earlier post on donating securities to charities. In short, making a charitable donation using securities – such as shares of public companies – that have appreciated in value is a highly tax-efficient strategy. This article will go into greater detail about the tax implications of the strategy.
Tax Free Savings Accounts – Flexible, easy and really and truly tax free
Often, our clients ask us how we can help them and their children invest in a tax effective way. There are not very many ways to do that in Canada. While many are familiar with RRSP accounts, TFSA accounts are of great benefit as well. TFSAs are only available to Canadian residents who turned 18 on or after 2009. They allow for capital gains, interest, and dividend income to be (and grow) tax free. Unlike RRSPs and many other registered accounts, TFSAs also offer flexibility.
Financial Planning at Baskin Wealth Management
Financial planning can seem like a nebulous concept. Because it touches on many aspects of a person’s financial life – investing, retirement planning, tax planning, estate planning, and insurance – its holistic nature is in fact one of its key strengths. Sound analysis of a person’s financial situation requires a strong understanding and analysis of each of these areas and the ability to analyze each simultaneously.