CASH (CASH)

(A Top Pick June 11/15.)

(A Top Pick June 5/15.) Just sold some Chinese ADRs so he has about 50% in cash. Doesn’t plan to keep the 50% over the summer, but is looking to invest in the next week or so, and will probably end up at 40%. If there is a big enough pullback by Sept/Oct, he will be invested 100% again.

There are opportunities coming up such as agriculture, fertilizers from the end of June through September, utility stocks from July through to October, gold stocks and pharmaceutical stocks. There is nothing he would buy today.

He reduced equities by 20% right across the board. For example, a client that had 80% in stocks and 20% in bonds now has 60% in stocks and most of the 20% has gone to cash. He is not forecasting any doomsday scenario, but the reality is that we have had 5 above historical average return years in the market. We have gone over 1300 days without a 10% correction. We are heading into the summer where generally volumes are down and there is more volatility. Cash gives you some insulation in the portfolio and an opportunity to step in and do some buying.

(A Top Pick April 20/15.) He is at about 32% in cash right now. Sees a lack of participation in the index movements. Some of the sentiment studies shows the over enthusiasm by the retail investor versus some of the institutional, and hedgers are a little cautious. There is kind of a lacklustre attitude in the market right now.

Holds his in a high interest savings account at a bank. He gets .75%, so it’s not for the return; it’s for the safety and to be available if an opportunity comes along.

(A Top Pick March 11/15.) He is holding 32% in cash. He is trying to leg a little bit out of the US stocks, because he thinks the Cdn$ might rally $.02-$.04, but is actually bearish longer-term on the Cdn$.

(A Top Pick April 14/14.) Still thinks we have 3 months of potential severe downside risk. Once we get into June, that risk dissipates, so if people can be patient and find the names they really like, the trigger point will probably be either that we get down to the low $30 and there will be a lot of pain, or you wait until June when you have the window to be a buyer.

He is holding about 16% in cash and is looking at this as an opportunity potentially, although he hasn’t moved on it yet, in energy. Oil generally makes 2 kinds of bottoms, 2 tests of a low. If he sees oil hit around the $45 area and successfully test that point, he may actually start legging in, and he needs the cash to do that.

29% of his portfolio is in cash. Cash has never hurt his returns. He is an investor in companies and if he can’t find something to invest in, that he thinks is a prudent opportunity of making a fair return in the long haul, he is not afraid to have cash. When you have cash to position, it really turns you into seeing threats and problems as opportunities, not as a danger to your portfolio.

Would it be wise to get a healthy cash position and wait for prices to get lower? She is not bearish on the markets. The US markets are only off 3% their all-time highs. Toronto is about 10% off its all-time high, despite the fact of what is happening in energy and base metals, a 3^rd of our market. It’s not really that severe. We are not going into recession, and a recession is what kills a bull market.

He is setting this aside for new IPO (HHL.UN-T) on an ETF on healthcare. This will contain global companies with about a 7% dividend.

He is at 39% cash in his fund. He has little confidence in the overall trend of the market. We are into tax loss selling so there could be volatility and he wants some dry powder.

He does most of his buying in November and December. For people who like the contrarian method that he uses, that is a great time to pick up bargains. He likes having the cash horde ready so that he can put it on the table and buy the bargains when they appear.

She is letting it accumulate because the market may pull back a little more. We don’t need to jump in just now, but she wants to see how things play out.