Happy New Year!  In 2021, we had the privilege of serving you through a great year for our portfolios, and we look forward to 2022 with great enthusiasm.

Just over one month in, it has been an interesting year already, as the public markets are down significantly. The S&P 500 is down approximately 6% at time of writing, for example.

It is clear that inflation, now at a 30-year high, is one of the driving factors.  As are interest rates, in that people are anxious about them rising further.  The market does not like uncertainty, and yet uncertainty prevails, because despite all the pundits and predictions, no one has a crystal ball (see here for John Ardill’s thoughts on just this issue).

My view is that choppy waters are ahead – and this is great news!  Because guess what?  Right now, because the market is down, there are companies on sale.  Now is the time to deploy more money, and if you are not in the market, now is the time to get in – because the market will go up over the long term, just as it always does.  And we must look at the long term as being years – not days, weeks, or months.

Corrections are inevitable (something we mentioned in the Q2 2021 edition of this blog).  And sure enough, here one is – a normal event, which demonstrates that the markets are working properly, and which is a normal part of the economic cycle.  

We are of course discussing the public markets.  We view the private markets, which we have access to through my registration with Raintree Financial Solutions Inc, as a good diversifier – although there are pros and cons to the public and private markets alike.

Would you like to have a conversation about what the private markets might have to offer you?  Just let us know.

PS Last call for RRSPs!  If you would like to discuss an RRSP contribution this year, please contact me now, as the deadline is March 1st.

Ian Ardill, B.A., M.T.S. 

Private Wealth Advisor
CEO, Ardill Group  

Direct: 1 905 717 5698 

Office: 1 905 907 7000 

ian@ardillgroup.com 

The post Opportunity Knocks first appeared on Ardill Group.

A very special edition of our show, Money Match.

You can change a lot in 30 years—and so can your money.  That’s why it’s so important to partner with someone you know has your best interests at heart.

We have had the privilege of having Dr. Scott Windsor as our client for that very period of time. Check that:  he in fact describes us a lifetime partner, and we could not be more in agreement or more thrilled with that label.

Dr Scott started out with our Founder and Mentor, John Ardill, in the 1980s. What are the changes that have occurred in Dr Scott’s life and how have we adapted to them?  What does it mean for you and your plans?

Watch this very special edition of our show, Money Match, to find out.

And thank you, Dr Scott.

The post Dr Scott’s Story first appeared on Ardill Group.

It’s not the no-brainer that some in the media would have you believe.  For some people, the answer is no. For others, it is a yes.  

But here’s one thing for sure: we will carefully walk you through how the options fit your unique financial situation.  A few weeks ago, a client told us that no one had ever thoroughly reviewed the pros and cons with him, like we did.  

Want to talk about it?  I look forward to hearing from you.

The post Should You? first appeared on Ardill Group.

Let me take a wild guess:  the two “Is” – inflation and interest rates – are on your mind.

Mine too.  They certainly were in 1981, just two years after I began my career in financial services, when Canadian interest rates hit their highest point in modern history:  an annual average of 16.63%.

It was a phenomenon I will never forget, and yes, I did see some financial train wrecks.  But this year and the coming years will be nothing like that.

So, how big a problem will the two Is be?

Some of you listen to all the experts who are making educated guesses.  Have you ever noticed that no matter who you listen to, you are never any better off in terms of knowing what to do?

The best advice I can give you as a lonely personal investor is this:  I am not licensed anymore and cannot recommend things for you, that’s Ian’s job (and he’s doing a great job) – but I can tell you what I am doing personally.

First, we have to stop worrying about all the things we cannot control. Fact is, you are not going to get a definitive answer about the two Is. But I still have good news for you: I think that interest rates will not go anywhere near as high as 1981, and I think inflation will stay in the low single digits. 

Second, this is not a suitable time to add greater debt, unless you have lots of cash flow.

Third, take stock of your investments. Some investments perform well when the two Is are running high.  A philosophy that has worked well for me is to structure my portfolio to be flexible in various economic circumstances. This is a strategy that we have been promoting for years at the Ardill Group.

Fourth, if you are mainly into public stock, then your fate is in the hands of the money managers, and we have an excellent ecosystem of excellent managers.

Finally, I like real estate in times of higher inflation.  Not just any real estate, but specifically apartment buildings (see this fantastic interview Ian had with the CIO of Avenue Living, a major apartment building REIT many of our clients are invested in). Another asset possibility is gold, but that’s not something I’m into, because I want to understand the business model an asset is based on, and gold is not based on a business model at all.

If your portfolio is structured to be flexible, then you will sleep better at night.  Want to make sure it is? Call Ian for a review.

I want to end this article with this thought: we have survived two years with Covid, and I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon.  So we need to figure out how to live with it, and be happy.  

And on that note, I wish you happiness overall, and also in your financial decisions.  

John Ardill

Founder and Mentor

Ardill Group

Direct: 1 416 400 5882
Office: 1 905 907 7000

john@ardillgroup.com

The post What I’ve Learned About Interest Rates and Inflation first appeared on Ardill Group.

Think we have high inflation in Canada? Can you imagine living with 50-60% inflation (as Alex did in the 1990s) or even 1,000,000% (that is not a typo) in 2018?

Suffice to say, it was very difficult to get ahead in those conditions – so Alex’s parents were business owners who worked not just hard, but smart.  Her mother owned visual health clinics;  her father a range of businesses including gas stations and warehouses. They instilled in Alex a self-starting attitude that has driven her to this day. At 19, she enrolled in law school in Venezuela.  Upon graduation, recognizing the challenge of lawyering honestly in her home country, she went to Spain for an MBA. 

She then returned to Venezuela to run a visual health clinic founded by her mother, and, in 2015, came to Canada, where she began her new life as an assistant to optometrists from whom clients were walking away due to wait times.

“I said ‘You can easily shorten those wait times.  You just have to do it this way.’”  It was Alex applying the adaptive instincts she had honed in her home country, where finding creative solutions was a matter of survival.  It is the same positive attitude she brings to her work here at Ardill Group.

“I bring that creativity to work every minute.  I am always looking for the best and fastest way to do or improve something.  I am constantly figuring out how to make things flow and be absolutely the most efficient.”  

No wonder that the brand foundation element Alex identifies with most strongly is our fanaticism about consistent service.  As she puts it, “Physical and financial health are so similar.  People want to know they are in steady hands.  It really is all about feeling secure.”

Outside of work, Alex loves cooking (Venezuelan food in particular) and has played tennis since age eight – but with a laugh, describes her husband and children as her favourite hobby.

The post Introducing Alex Zambrano, MBA first appeared on Ardill Group.