For five years now, I have been shooting a show called Money Match, in which I interview asset managers at major organizations including Accilent Capital Management, Make Space, Newlook Capital and many others.

It’s time to take it to the next level – and turn it into a full-blown podcast, available on YouTube and our website as has been the case, but also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

When I say next level, I also mean that while I will continue to interview asset managers about the investments they offer, I also want to talk with them about their personal story, and how it shapes their approach to money.

Deeper conversations, in other words, with asset managers – and also with fascinating thought leaders from completely outside the financial space.

MY FIRST GUEST is Brandon Crump: psychotherapist, elite CrossFit competitor, coach and family man. I am one of Brandon’s biggest fans. I have so much respect for the way he does so many things so well.  In our conversation, we talk about the intersection of mental, physical, spiritual and financial health.

Click the below image to watch or listen!  And don’t forget to follow and subscribe.

Ian Ardill, B.A., M.T.S.
Wealth Advisor
CEO, Ardill Group

Direct: 1 905 769 2004
Office: 1 905 907 7000
ian@ardillgroup.com

Disclaimer: The Money Match Podcast is for informational purposes only. This content is not intended as personalized investment advice. All investing involves risk, including possible loss of capital.

The post Big reveal! Money Match: The podcast first appeared on Ardill Group.

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By Ian Ardill

The “Ten Titans,” which includes Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Broadcom, Tesla, Oracle, and Netflix, now make up over 39% of the S&P 500, an index which can be viewed as a proxy for US markets overall. And the technology sector alone makes up 34% of the index.

The public equities markets, in other words, are quite highly concentrated.  This means they are vulnerable to the poor performance of a small number of companies.  Which might sound like a suggestion that investors should be skittish about staying invested.

Which is the exact opposite of the message I want to relay.

Staying invested is crucial because if concentrated markets experience a downturn, our human nature can tell us that we are unacceptably vulnerable – and therefore we must sell.  In many cases, however, to do so would be to make an emotional, aka behavioural, investing mistake.

This is also what is called “trying to time the market,” and I have three main things to say about it:

#1: Trying to time the market is very risky, and we advise against it. (S&P 500 Average Returns and Historical Performance)

#2: Being out of the market for just a few days – as few as 10-20 days in an entire decade – can greatly diminish returns. (“Staying the course does not mean ‘set it and forget it’”)

#3:  US equities have delivered consistent real growth over the long term, averaging roughly 6.5–7% per year after inflation – despite wars, recessions, political upheaval, and market crashes. (S&P 500 Average Returns and Historical Performance)

To put it another way, the cost of mistiming is greater than the cost of volatility.  And as we know from the 24-hour news cycle, we live in an increasingly volatile world.  

Consider a Vanguard study, in which a hypothetical $100,000 investment was made in the S&P 500 in 1988.  By 2024:

-Staying fully invested would have grown it to about $4.9 million.

-Missing just the 10 best days would reduce that to ~$2.3 million.

-Missing the 20 best days cuts it further to ~$1.4 million.

-Missing the 30 best days cuts it further to around ~$0.9 million.

That study also shows that the worst and best days are often clustered close together – making market timing even more difficult.

Another vital takeaway is that advice, from a human wealth advisor, is valuable in helping avoid emotional investing mistakes.  I have said before in this newsletter that I actually love “robo-advisor” investing platforms like Wealthsimple, because they make that case for me.  

This is because robo-advisors help people realize that managing their own investments is riskier and more complicated than they think.  People who’ve tried Wealthsimple and their competitors regularly come to me and ask for help with their portfolio, acknowledging something I fundamentally believe:  no one can be an expert at everything.  

Check out the video for some additional perspective.

Have any questions at all?  Want to discuss further, or tell us of someone you know, who would benefit from our disciplined approach?  Reach out anytime to me, or another one of our humans.

Ian Ardill, B.A., M.T.S.
Wealth Advisor
CEO, Ardill Group

Direct: 1 905 769 2004
Office: 1 905 907 7000
ian@ardillgroup.com

The post The most expensive mistake first appeared on Ardill Group.

This year’s deadline for contributing to your RRSP is March 2nd.  An RRSP can be one of your most powerful investment tools – which is why I was recently interviewed by Ardill Group’s Director of Communications, Andris Pone, at a pair of events on this important subject.

FIRST, we shot the second-ever edition of our (newly launched!) podcast, Money Match.

Click the below image to watch or listen.  And don’t forget to follow and subscribe.

SECOND, we held a webinar, in which I answered questions not just from Andris, but also from our viewers.

Click the image below to watch.

If you would like to discuss further, please do not hesitate to be in touch.

Ian Ardill, B.A., M.T.S.
Wealth Advisor
CEO, Ardill Group

Direct: 1 905 769 2004
Office: 1 905 907 7000
ian@ardillgroup.com

The post RRSPs: What you need to know first appeared on Ardill Group.

Here in retirement, I may not be faced with work every day, but there is something that I cannot avoid:  technology.

It is everywhere, and I recognize its efforts to trigger my emotions and influence how I think.

Can I live without it?  No.  It is here to stay.  But I can choose to mitigate its efforts to persuade me to buy an endless array of products and services, and its attempts to stimulate my fears about what is happening in Canada and the rest of the world.

I see it eroding our mental health.  Its negative effects on children and young adults have been receiving, appropriately, a lot of press (here, for example). It is also affecting adults (see here, for example).

And I see it eroding our humanity, which includes the physical, mental, and spiritual attributes that distinguish us from other animals.  As humans, we are created magnificently with the unique characteristics of having compassion, sympathy, intuitiveness, and a heart that will always tell us the truth if we listen. 

But look around at how people are acting.  We could chalk it up to stress, but it is more than that.  We are becoming more unhappy, and more unkind.  

The Electronic-Free Day 

What can we do about it?  Personally, I have drawn a line in the sand, between my wellbeing and tech, by creating The Electronic-Free Day.  

For one 24-hour period each week, I turn everything off.  No phones, no emails, no Internet.  

Has the world come to an end?  Of course not.  The truth is that I have not missed out on anything.  Instead of being at the beck and call of tech, tech must wait for me.  This has created in me a great sense of freedom and control, and is helping me protect my humanity.

I hope you found this article to be thought-provoking.  Let me know:  what are you going to do, to survive the onslaught of technology?

John Ardill
Founder and Mentor
Ardill Group
Direct: 1 416 400 5882
Office: 1 905 907 7000
john@ardillgroup.com

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