World total energy consumption has been steadily rising, increasing 3.5 times in the last half-century. This is driven by the more than doubling of population, increasing economic growth and prosperity. Energy consumption temporarily declined twice in the last half century — during the 1980-82 recession and the 2007-09 Great Recession. Energy consumption and economic growth […] Read more
The sky is not falling, Part 3
The best investment opportunities occur when negativity rules
The Sky is not falling, Part 2
Free markets are best equipped to find solutions to global problems
Developed economies operate under a democratic, capitalist, free-market system. Developing countries often have socialist, autocratic, controlled-market systems — although many are becoming freer. It seems obvious to me which system is superior, yet the continuing tug on free-market economies is towards socialism, because “profit” is considered a dirty word implying that one party took advantage […] Read more
Investing for a positive, progressing world
Herman VanGenderen wants to assure you that the sky is not falling
Chicken Little is a famous storybook character. He (or she) had an acorn drop on his head and concluded the sky was falling. As he rushed to tell the king, he ran through the countryside yelling “the sky is falling. The sky is falling.” Along the way he collected other like-minded fowl, all yelling, “The […] Read more
Try these seven keys to less risky stock put-selling
Selling puts is not for the faint of heart, but there are ways to lower your financial risk
I frequently sell puts. This has helped me build the U.S. side of the taxable portfolio I publish in my newsletter from US$37,405 four years ago to US$90,000 today. Over these years I have been put once, had 14 positions expire and have profitably bought out an additional 11 positions. My profits have totaled $29,000 […] Read more
Leverage and the fascinating world of stock options
While the world of stock investing is misunderstood, options are truly the great unknown
While the world of stock investing is misunderstood, this pales in comparison to misunderstanding around leverage or options. Leverage is the use of borrowed money to accelerate the purchase of a larger asset than you could purchase with cash. It is often possible to purchase real estate with as little as 10 per cent of […] Read more
Why the odds are in favour of investing in stocks
Over the past century, the stock market has vastly outperformed “safer” forms of investing
Annual returns from the U.S. stock market have averaged 9.4 per cent since 1900. Over these 119 years, inflation has run 2.9 per cent, so long-term after inflation returns have been 6.4 per cent. Stocks exhibited significantly better real returns than bonds at 1.9 per cent, T-bills at 0.8 per cent and residential real estate […] Read more
Farming and investing in the stock market: there are many similarities
Both have randomness and volatility; plus, good management doesn’t always lead to good outcomes
Stock investing and farming entail variability and random chance. Both also create opportunities for profit when randomness and volatility are understood. I introduced the “bell curve” in my last column, demonstrating how portfolios have good and bad outliers, while most stocks clustered around the mean. Does this concept apply to farming? Say you farm 11 fields of canola […] Read more
Investing and the omnipresent impact of the bell curve
Outstanding performance of the titanium portfolio on its first anniversary
Last year I described my “Titanium Strength Model Portfolio,” based on buying and holding strong stocks. Now it’s time to take a look at my results. How did the portfolio perform? How did it compare to market indices? What other nuggets can we glean that might aid our understanding of portfolio management? What does a […] Read more
Secrets to sanity and success in the investment world
Buying and holding is a more solid, and sane, strategy then portfolio turnover
This article marks my 24th for Grainews. My first article, in March of 2018, had a quote: “it’s all about buying common shares in solid companies, and holding them for a long time.” I hope you are now convinced of the validity of this approach. Why is this simple strategy shunned by most market participants? […] Read more
Long-term U.S. successes, and blemishes
Adding U.S. stocks to your portfolio brings diversification and a chance to profit
Previously, I shared examples from my Canadian portfolio that contributed to long-term investment success. The Canadian market is just three per cent of the world market and isn’t very well diversified, with financial and resource companies dominating. This makes international diversification a key success component. My longest standing stock account is an RRSP. Many years […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
