How to Survive a Bear Attack

Thank you to Menard Kinkaid Wealth Management who hosted an informative presentation on March 7th titled ‘How To Survive A Bear Attack’  by Phillip Petursson, Chief Investment Strategist at Manulife Investments. It was great to connect with your team – James Kinkaid, Susan Moore, Rob Meredith, Roger Heard, Brianna Barber, Danielle Goddard, Kathy Massine.

Don’t fret, no humans or bears were harmed in the making of this presentation. The “bear” in question refers to a bear market which is a condition where security prices drop dramatically after a recent high. Phillip provided the following takeaways on how investors can survive these types of markets:

Rule #1:  Vanquish Fear & Panic

·        Focus on the fundamentals, not emotion

·        Q4 was not 2008, but many retail investors treated it as though it was

·        There are no signs of Global recession in 2019

Rule #2:  Become Familiar With Your Environment

·        Negative calendar year returns are rare outside of recessionary environments.

·        Positive feelings on the Canadian banks and energy stocks.

·        Money being put to work in the US and Global markets makes sense.

Rule #3:  Take Advantage of Opportunities

·        Investors are their own worst enemy – resist the urge to flee the markets (see Rule #1) and look for quality on sale

·        There are windfalls and shortfalls to every asset class – asset allocation remains a critical factor