Amid volatile markets and turbulence in the economy, our private investments have performed very respectably.  We are honoured to continue building portfolios that are custom tailored – unique – to each client.

An investor who owned an index last year would have performed as follows[1]:

• TSX: down 8.5%
• S&P 500: down 18.1%
• NASDAQ: down 33.1%

On the other hand, all of the asset managers we work with delivered positive returns in 2022[2].  Specifically:

• Avenue Living Core Trust: up 10.15%[3].
• ICM Property Partners Trust: up 13.66%[4]
• Invico Diversified Income Fund: up 13.80%[5]
• Centurion REIT: up 13.89%[6]

Let’s reinforce for a moment just what it means when your portfolio declines, say, 18.1%, which matches the S&P 500’s performance in 2022.  To recover that decline, by how much must your portfolio increase?

The answer is not 18.1%, but instead 22.1%, because the growth will be occurring on a smaller portfolio.

Here is our conclusion:  we see high quality privately-managed assets as providing effective diversification, excellent value – and a hedge against public equity markets.  While all investments have associated risks, it is important to note that common risks of investing in private securities include, but are not limited to: lesser reporting standards, illiquidity, and generally lesser governance standards. In addition to the business-specific risks of the private securities issuer.

Thus the business case stands that good quality private equity investments have the capacity to behave differently than publicly-held alternatives. They present the potential for overall stronger returns while potentially diversifying risk.

Want to learn more?  Just let me know.

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

*Please note: Private market investments provided through Raintree Financial Solutions

[1] Indices information retrieved from publicly available sources. Indices shown are well-known and widely recognized benchmarks and are meant to illustrate general market or sector performance; Investors should be aware of the risks and limitations with any comparisons to such benchmarks, including it is not possible to invest directly into an index.

[2] Past performance does not guarantee future results.

[3] Class D units, excluding the reinvestment of distributions, but inclusive of NAV adjustments.

[4] Series B units, excluding the reinvestment of distributions, but inclusive of NAV adjustments.

[5] Class B units, including the reinvestment of distributions.

[6] Class A units, including the reinvestment of distributions and NAV adjustments.

The post The Power of Private first appeared on Ardill Group.

By Ian Ardill 

Al Derges, may he rest in peace, was the father of Adam Derges, a founding partner at Raintree Financial Solutions.  Al was known for sticking with his values and ethics above all else.  In his name, each year there is an award given to the advisor or staff member who exemplifies his commitment.  I am very honoured to tell you that this year, I was the recipient of the award.

The presentation took place at the 2023 Raintree Summit, held in May at Hockley Valley Resort.

And I am at least twice as fortunate – and so very grateful – because I was also selected by my advisor peers to receive the 2023 Leadership Award.  This is in recognition of my work providing peer-to-peer coaching and facilitation to a group of five advisors.

The post Doubly Blessed first appeared on Ardill Group.

By Ian Ardill 

How does this sound:

• The investments you make in a given fund are fully deductible against income in the year you invest.
• Over the life of your investment in the fund, it is designed to deliver 115%+ total tax deductions against your income.
• When you withdraw money from the fund, it is only taxed as a capital gain, instead of (like an RRSP) being added into your income and taxed at your marginal rate.  Depending on your tax bracket, therefore, you could pay approximately 50% less tax via this method.

Intrigued?  Then you really should watch my latest fascinating conversation with Dan Pembleton, President and owner-operator of Accilent Capital, in which we talk about one of their premiere funds, Pavilion.  It has the above-noted characteristics and more for you to consider.

Please note that at time of recording (Spring 2023), this information assumes a 50% marginal tax rate. Private market investments provided through Raintree Financial Solutions.

The post New Edition of Money Match: Pavilion Part Three! first appeared on Ardill Group.

In retirement, you will be free from your career.  But will you be free from technology?

Until very recently, I certainly wasn’t.  Having been a financial planner for 40 years, I still frame things up in financial terms, so I asked myself:  what return on time I am getting in retirement?

I have a lot more discretionary time now – which can be a blessing or a curse.  You can waste a lot of time if you don’t have deadlines.  I was definitely more productive when I was working.  The old adage is true:  if you want a job done, give it to someone who’s really busy.  But in retirement, my time and focus were constantly being distracted by the apps on my phone and all the beeping, blinking and ringing.

So I’ve taken back control of my time. I’ve cut down on tech, in particular on my smartphone and social media, and I’m happier for it.

The first step is to realize that these technologies are not, at the end of the day, designed for you.  They are designed to serve their creators.  YouTube videos can be entertaining and even enlightening, but they are probably communicating a distorted view of what the creators are really like.  And what they’re really trying to do is sell you more stuff, either overtly within the content, or through ads.  And they keep you addicted through the dopamine hits you get from scrolling.

Facebook is another wonderful way to waste time and stay hooked.  Retirement has allowed me the luxury of sitting down and having a coffee while looking at my phone – and literally two hours can suddenly fly by, scrolling through stuff that is ultimately meaningless.

So I got myself in gear and cancelled many of my social media apps and deleted the beeps and other distracting signals.  I was feeling like a trained monkey reacting to all of it.  I do not miss them even one little bit, and I appreciate not getting targeted by ads.

Then I blocked a whole bunch of people and organizations sending me spam emails.  Now there are more emails in my spam folder than in my inbox.  And even the legitimate emails, I don’t need to check them every day.  In fact, I am tempted to activate an out of office greeting that says I review my emails just once a week.

And you know what?  If someone really needs to get in touch with me, they can always call me on my cell (and I warmly welcome you to do that).  That would be a novel idea here in 2023, since impersonal texting seems to be the dominant mode of communication.  That said, want to know my favourite feature on my phone?  Turning off the ringer.  Voila!  Distractions eliminated.

But what am I going to do with all this time I’ve recovered?  What is the return on time that I want, exactly?  I can sum it up in two words: mental health. The freedom to take the dog for a walk, go golfing or go mountain biking without feeling I am missing something and should be looking at my phone. The freedom to have a meal with someone important to me without feeling I have to check messages.

That, and I’d like to get back to reading at least one book a month.  I like the quiet time.  It’s nurturing, it’s good for the brain and when I finish a book, I get a good feeling.

Books are a fine example of an old technology that continues to serve us well.  I experienced an analogy when shopping recently for a weed remover.  I bought a fancy new model that saves me from stooping over.  It punches into the weed and then leverages it out of the ground – allegedly, because the fact is, it didn’t work.  So I went back to the store and bought the technology that was probably in use hundreds of years ago…and it works just fine.

What are your tips for taking back control from technology?  I would love to hear them.

In the meantime, all my best to you and your family. And if you are still working, enjoy the journey.

PS Artificial intelligence (AI) was not used in the creation of this article 😃.

John Ardill

Founder and Mentor

Ardill Group

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

john@ardillgroup.com

The post This Technology Is Not For You first appeared on Ardill Group.