Leaving the Neutral Zone

Winter 2025  - Newsletter #24

I feel a little torn in using the above quote in this winter's newsletter. On one hand, I have been feeling a resurgence of Canadian pride of late as I'm sure many of us have. How better to express that than by dusting off the Great One’s most famous quote? On the other hand, according to President Trump, Mr. Gretzky should be under strong consideration as the first governor of the state of Canada1 . This will probably not be a popular sentiment among my clients. I do think however that the sentiment expressed in the quote above is perfectly appropriate for what investors face today. Mr. Gretzky was not gifted with magical foresight. He was not imparted with a superpower to be able to see 5 seconds into the future, nor did he have access to any time-traveling technology during his illustrious career of record goals and multiple Stanley Cups. What he did possess, beyond heaps of talent and undoubtedly a respectable work ethic, was an uncanny sense of good positioning. I would never dream of comparing myself to a talent like Gretzky’s. That comparison would fail at every turn: most flagrantly on the ice, as my hockey career extended to House League Atom C, and goals-scored in my six or seven-years of hockey could be counted on two hands: that's career-long, by the way. I do very much draw a parallel to the importance of positioning when it comes to portfolio management. My clients do not hire me because I have an uncanny sense of knowing exactly what the future will hold. Or at least if you, reader, have hired me on that basis: we need to have a conversation! A cliché saying in financial circles, but it is very true that “there is no crystal ball”. To put it simply, it isn't about prediction. It is about positioning.

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