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

Third day of losses for S&P 500? Tough market right now if you're focused on the short term. October is volatile from the get go. Short-term bounce in the US dollar has brought a deflationary tilt to the current market, with its negative correlation to equities and commodities. Overall, sit back and try to look beyond the next few weeks, and you'll be rewarded by maintaining a solid weight in equities.

How are you positioning in this environment? Traditional retail is definitely an area he doesn't want to focus on. Companies with a broader online channel, like Nike, will hold up very well. Broadly, he's not shying away from tech that's focused on the consumer or collaborative communication. You want a bit of a balance of growth and value.

CAD vs. US dollar. Caught a lot of people off guard that the CAD has rallied as much as it has. The USD has been on an elevator down until recently. A lot will depend whether there's a continued rally in the USD, which will continue to depress the CAD. Sectors in Canada are struggling, so it's hard to be super bullish on the CAD. He's been buying US positions which will be a tailwind to portfolios in the years ahead.

Could the BoC's credibility come into question as a tool of the Liberal government? Sure, but you have to do whatever you can to help those in need and it's serving to keep the economy propped up.

What are you paying the most attention to in the markets? The earnings season just starting, especially the US banks. Government stimulus has obviously helped. All eyes are on the upcoming US election. Heightened volatility in the case of a contested outcome, as in 2000 when the market pulled back. Finally, governments have extended stimulus packages, though troubling that the US has not.

Interest rates might not rise for years. You're right. The US Fed says until at least 2023, and this provides a backstop to the markets. Lots of liquidity out there. Companies have accessed credit and capital. But all this excess has increased investor appetite, high stock valuations, narrowing credit spreads. Investors are seeking yield and are willing to pay up.

Stephen Poloz comment that rates will stay low for a generation. Because of the severity of the pandemic. Global lockdown has put a lot of industries at risk, and they can't open until Covid is under control.

Buying into green energy. Both Biden and Trudeau are favourable toward green energy. Use market volatility to start building your positions.

Where do you find historical price metrics? Might be hard for a retail investor. She uses Bloomberg and others. You can do it yourself and use Google Finance to go back to annual reports. You can buy subscriptions that give you this data.

Two-thirds of the stocks in his trust will do better under Biden than Trump as president. This runs contrary to popular fears that Biden will raise corporate taxes and push stocks down, but there's a big reason that stocks won't sink: China. Biden won't antagonize China like Trump has, and would likely prevent a further US-China trade war which has pressured markets during the Trump presidency.

It's heartless to not help those in travel, leisure, restaurants, bars, concerts and industries hardest hit by Covid. Washington needs to aid these workers and owners. It is the compassionate thing to do, even though other areas of the economy are surviving or thriving.

All investors are probably confused that we're in the worst economy in decades, yet the American stock markets are reaching all-time highs. In some ways, though, there's a bigger bubble in bonds. As for negative interest rates have failed in places like Japan. How much lower can interest rates go? This and the unattractiveness of cash are driving the stock rally by default. Eventually, this stock rally will break, and this pandemic won't go on forever. We will recover, though at what rate? He predicts global growth in coming years to be subdued as governments lower their debts made during this pandemic. Driving US markets is the feeling that the Federal Reserve has our back. He continues to be in stocks, but is being defensive, though is tilting towards value which he predicts will be a wider multi-year trend in markets.