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

Put money to work now in the markets? It's always an OK time to invest, and it's always an OK time to invest 9 months into a bear market. The question is will markets get cheaper? It depends on the path of inflation, which has been pretty sticky. Rates will have to go up more, and this will challenge the stock market. NASDAQ is most sensitive to rising rates, so don't buy here. Dow earnings estimates are likely to come down. The better one is the TSX with its exposure to energy and metals, which may be tough for the next 18 months, but really good thereafter. Banks are at reasonable levels. Are they all going to be up 6 months from now? He doesn't know, but doesn't think so. Are they going to be up a year from now? Yes. Two years from now? Most probably. Ask yourself how comfortable are you with position erosion if it doesn't work out immediately?

Energy patch opportunities. Can't argue with energy companies, still one of the cheapest areas in the market. Still incredible cash cows at WTI $85. He prefers some smaller caps really trading at a discount like VET, ARX, TOU, CPG, and PEY. Many of the energy companies had a near-death experience in 2020, with oil trading so low. They found religion, and this isn't going to change. This new approach favours huge shareholder returns.

Money market fund to park money? Lots of choice out there. High interest savings, cashable GICs. One 12-month duration product he likes, which pays a little bit more, is ZST.L from BMO. Keep for 3-6 months, don't jump in and out. If markets are going to come down 5-10%, nothing wrong with staying in your money market fund for a bit and having some dry powder.

REIT advice for the times. Supermarket-centric is a very good place to be in uncertain markets.

Does he ever recommend non-dividend-paying stocks? His mandate is NA equities. He's not just about dividends. He's opportunistic. Goes for stocks where the risk/reward is really good. He has a bias towards dividends, as you get paid to wait. You can paint a more illustrious painting by using all the tools, and that includes non-dividend payers as well.

The bull case isn't gone, but delayed for a month till the next inflation data. In a month, we're in earnings season which is the next battleground that will determine direction. So far, earnings are hanging on them. Until then, we're stuck. It's possible we could return to June lows, though good earnings could push things higher.

We're in a perilous position, but we're not in a multi-year bear market. Yesterday, there wasn't panic selling by retail traders nor a re-calibration. A lot of selling was done by the algos.

The market is stuck in a trading range between the June lows and August lows. Yesterday's sharp sell-off saw the algos kick in. The market is so queasy and sensitive now, and triggers a slide. She's been buying and selling names (taking profits) in the past month.

He's still bearish. He's love to bullish and make lots of money, but he's bearish based on the facts. The Fed's job is to slow the economy. Also, there are down earnings. Consumer discretionary spending is down.

No doubt today's inflation news will mean a 75-point interest rate hike from the US Fed. Inflation is here to stay and we must be serious to deal with it. The market is discounting a broad downturn in the economy. People are slow to realize that the tide has turned from central banks pouring stimulus into the market to hiking rates.

Cash as a past pick He remains very cautious with these hot inflation numbers and hawkish Fed comments. Keep more cash than you usually would.

Believes an economic "hard landing" is to be expected. US Federal Reserve concerns for high inflation are justified. ~4% interest rates are a reasonable expectation. August inflation numbers will be interesting to watch.

Best news on US Dollar strength is behind us (expecting prices to fall). 6-12 months, thinks energy prices will normalize, and war in Ukraine will end. Central Banks in Europe and Asia are not able to raise rates as quickly as US Federal Reserve.

Educational Segment. Rising interest rates create problems with 60/40 (balanced) ETF portfolio. Better to pursue option based ETF's that create Alpha. Examples like ZWE are good route to generate higher returns for investors. Concept of a 60/40 (balanced) ETF portfolio is a defensive investing strategy. Good exposure to global assets is beneficial to investors.