August 2021 Update

Money is a tool. It's something that supports your life!

This month, we want to remind our readers of how easy it is to forget about bear markets during a bull market. We are a defensive investment team, tasked with protecting your capital; and though we may not capture all of the market upsides, we keep you safe from market downturns. We also have retirement on the brain! We share some free to download lists outlining what you need to consider for retirement, whether you're more than 10 years away, or retiring next month!

 

https://realinvestmentadvice.com/technically-speaking-past-performance-is-a-guarantee/

August marks the middle of summer, and we hope the warm season has been a relaxing and enjoyable one for everyone. As the country opens and vaccination numbers continue to increase, we hope to see a recovering economy in Alberta and a continuing drop in the unemployment rate.

As we begin to get back to work, we'd like to remind readers how important saving for your future can be. As COVID assistance payments begin to dry up and the workforce begins to open again, we encourage you to put money aside for your RSP or TFSA contributions. Every little bit counts, and now is as good a time as any to start building up the savings again.

With mention of retirement saving, we have included helpful checklists in this blog post that covers the things you need to know and plan for when it's time to start enjoying your hard earned savings. Feel free to download them and save them for future reference!

In our Millennial Minute this month, Ashley shares her own experience in paying off debt and beginning her retirement savings journey. Feel free to send her articles to friends and family who might find themselves in similar positions! 

You'll find Stephen's Technical Comments to be a bit shorter this month, as July was quite quiet in the markets. He shares his Interesting Charts and our monthly spotlight on Digital Ocean.

We hope your summer continues to be a wonderful time with friends and family, and we hope you enjoy this month's update!
 

Interesting Charts  

1) Have you been watching the Olympics this year? Do you think it would boost an athlete's drive to compensate them more for the gold medal accomplishments? 

 

2) I'll be keeping my OFF! and Termacell nice and close from now on!

Technical Comments

• July was the 6th consecutive bull bar. This has not happened in 10 years. Therefore, a 7th bull bar would be even more unusual. Consequently, August should be a bear bar. 
• If it is, the yearlong rally will be a parabolic wedge. That should lead to 2 to 3 months of sideways to down trading.
• But, because the bull trend is so strong, traders will buy the pullback, even if it is 20%.
• The bears have not yet been able to create a bear bar or even a bull bar with a prominent tail on top for 6 months. The bulls are buying aggressively into the close of every month and that increases the chance of at least slightly higher prices.
• Sometimes in a buy vacuum, sellers stop selling until the price reaches measured moves and targets above.
• The next measured move is 4537 based on the height of the pandemic.
• It would also be a trend channel line overshoot which increases the odds that we will see sellers appear.

 

The Portfolios

July was a relatively quite month in the portfolio. We sold Cameco and Invitea Corp. We added a new position in BCE Inc.  We invested some our cash into our holdings and now sit with about 6% cash.  We added the cash due to the successful retest of the rising 50 day moving average.

Returns on our 60/40, 70/30, and 80/20 portfolios before fees: As of August 3rd, 2021

Portfolio Spotlight

DigitalOcean is a public central cloud provider offering a solution designed specifically for small to medium sized businesses (SMB) and in that vein also nurtures start-ups but it has a truly unique edge.  The company addresses the ‘Massive, Growing Cloud Market’ for individuals and companies with less than 500 employees, a total addressable market that it pegs at $44 billion in 2020 growing to $116 billion by 2024.

The company noted that there are 100 million SMBs globally and 45 million developers by 2030. DOCN was designed to make getting started in the cloud easier and faster than the cloud titans.

 

The Millennial Minute

Have you ever had to deal with crippling debt? How often has it left you awake at night? I went through many years of sleepless nights wondering how I'd pay my bills - how could I even imagine trying to save at the same time?? Let me give you some words of wisdom in this month's article! Click here to read more.

Planning Topics

Checklist – Living in retirement: Make the most of your retirement. Each person has a unique vision for how they will spend their retirement. Whatever your plans, make sure you make the most of your retirement by staying physically and mentally active, and ensuring your money lasts as long as you need it too. Click here to get the list!


Checklist – Less than 2 years to retirement: Transition into retirement with confidence. As you transition into retirement, keep in mind your income could come from multiple sources at different times of the month. You’ll need to know where that income will come from, how much you’ll receive, and when you’ll receive it. Before you retire, you’ll need to complete a variety of employer and government forms. This checklist will help you move into your retirement seamlessly. Click here to get the list!

Checklist – Between 2 and 10 years to retirement: A clear path to retirement requires a clear plan. If retirement is now on the horizon and no longer a distant goal, you’ll want to make sure preparing for it is a priority. Using this time to continue to save and build your assets, while paying off outstanding debt can really make a difference. This is also the perfect time to put some serious thought into what your retirement will look like. This checklist will help you do just that. Click here to get the list!

Checklist – more than 10 years to retirement: Prepare now to retire well later. Click here to get the list!
 

Members of our Planning Team:

We also would like to remind you that we have an extensive team of experts that we work with. From Business Succession, to Retirement Planning, even to mortgages, we have the professional advice and service you may be looking for!