A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert (A Commentary)

In an SVB situation, everyone looks to see what are the highest risk banks. Signature Bank, for example, had a crypto platform and a deposit base that was almost entirely private equity. That money all fled at the same time for the same reason. You have to think about the risks when things are good. We're all wired to think, What's my reward here? A good lesson for all.

He invests directly rather than getting involved with CDRs. He wants to take on the currency risk, as it's a hedge against a lot of factors. Geographic and currency diversification. 

NA is going to hit 13M units this year, and that's coming off the pandemic. Chip situation has solved itself. Still below what was considered normal of 17-18M units. So they're going to produce 13M highest-margin units they can. GM's been more successful at this than Ford.

Not too much. They're generally underweight banks, which has been beneficial this week. He's more looking for opportunities in the sector, such as BX and BN. See his Top Picks.

As a firm, they do equity income. Broadly speaking, they have an income mandate. Within that, there are pockets of sustainable-focused strategies such as clean tech, which don't provide a dividend. 

Yes. The broader theme is rates volatility, which has been so high. Markets across the world in real estate, infrastructure, and private debt have been locked. Large bid/ask spreads means that people are having a hard time  reaching agreement on pricing. We know that inflation is still uncomfortably high, but this week has perhaps made it more difficult for the Fed. When rates volatility comes down, people can then get a better idea on the pricing of different assets, and this should help broader markets. We were starting to see that in US real estate. People were coming back into the market as rates went down.

The economics aren't there yet for hydrogen. It's going to take a long time, when you consider what's already in the renewable energy space. With energy in general, we need a lot of different sources, so it's good to try a lot of different things and see what works.

Advantage of DIY Investor: It’s okay to do nothing. Over-activity is the enemy of performance; not only does frequent trading rack up fees, it often has negative tax implications and, most importantly, exposes the investor to more situations in which to fall prey to behavioural errors. There are three reasons professional investors fall prey to over-activity: first, they are compelled to act by constant awareness of market volatility and financial news-feeds; second, inactivity may be misconstrued as incompetence by peers and superiors; third, it is difficult to justify high fees by doing less, even when it is the right thing to do. DIY investors, on the other hand, have the liberating ability to make evidence-based long- term investment decisions, then leave those accounts alone. As Buffet has said, “The stock market is designed to transfer money from the active to the patient.” 
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The SVB collapse meant a long weekend and an interesting 48 hours for him. FDIC has bailed them out, so they have set a precedent for other regional banks. This is concerning. Shocking to him, but it saved the day. What will the Fed do next week, and what will the ECB do tomorrow with interest rates? We're getting a relief rally, because this is not over. Banks need to raise savings rates a lot in order to compete, so their margins will decline.

He is bearish all oil, though he is bullish the price of oil. But the companies won't make money even at higher prices, because inflation will grind down their profits. These companies will get squeezed over time.

Advantage of DIY Investor: It’s okay to do nothing. Over-activity is the enemy of performance; not only does frequent trading rack up fees, it often has negative tax implications and, most importantly, exposes the investor to more situations in which to fall prey to behavioural errors. There are three reasons professional investors fall prey to over-activity: first, they are compelled to act by constant awareness of market volatility and financial news-feeds; second, inactivity may be misconstrued as incompetence by peers and superiors; third, it is difficult to justify high fees by doing less, even when it is the right thing to do. DIY investors, on the other hand, have the liberating ability to make evidence-based long- term investment decisions, then leave those accounts alone. As Buffet has said, “The stock market is designed to transfer money from the active to the patient.” 

Silicon Valley Bank could be the first chapter of an ugly story for the regional banking industry. Its failure could cause confidence problems in some regional banks with corporations pulling back from the extra yield and putting money in the safer major banks like JP Morgan even though the interest rate is less. However this is nothing like the financial crisis of 2008. The large central banks are in excellent shape with much stronger regulation than the regional banks. TD is under some pressure because of its ownership of Schwab, but there is no need to worry since it is one of the top U.S. banks and in great financial shape. The situation with SVB could make one re-think the whole industry.

A lot of corporations and sectors are already reflecting the higher cost of borrowing and one outcome might be the Fed slowing down the pace of rate increases. This would be positive for the markets. The market expects rate increases and the economy to slow down so there are a lot attractively priced stocks now.

The question was on gold and silver. He has never owned shares of gold and silver companies. In days like today they go up and then fall back later.

The question was on Emerging markets bonds. There is no guarantee of getting your money back. The yield isn't worth the risk.