Insight is Capital™ Podcast

Our conversation with Hans Albrecht and Nicolas Piquard, portfolio managers at Horizons ETFs.In this wide ranging discussion, we discuss markets and market conditions, investor economics, (low) bond yields and (low and threatened) dividend yields. We go in-depth on the misunderstood opportunity of covered call writing as an overlay equity investing strategy, that is available via covered call ETFs, that produce a sustainable, tax efficient, high monthly income for every-day investors seeking yield, in addition to equity returns.Transcript

Our conversation with Steve Hawkins, President and CEO, Horizons ETFs, we discuss markets, trends, and why cash balances shouldn't be a drag on investing, which led his firm to launch two new cash management ETFs. HSAV, launched earlier this year, and HSUV.U, launched more recently, solve some of the perennial problems of cash balances, earning nearly zero-interest, which are a drag on returns and revenue, sitting in investment accounts. Transcript

Risk Parity is the answer: What was the question?Adam and Pierre focus their discussion on diversification as a combination of "diversity" and "balance". Diversity is about holding investments that are designed to thrive in very different market environments, and for different reasons. Balance has the objective of ensuring that investments are all able to express their unique personalities. Risk parity is the ultimate expression of diversification. Sadly, many investors are misguided about the concept, and focus on the wrong things. We drill to the heart of the idea and illuminate why a risk parity portfolio should be the starting place for most investors.For those of you who don't know it, Adam Butler and his partners, Mike Philbrick and Rodrigo Gordillo are among North America's small community of rising authorities on on the subject of quantitative investing, risk parity, and adaptive asset allocation.

Brooke Thackray is an expert on seasonal investing, a research analyst for Horizons ETFs, and sub-advisor of the Horizons Seasonal Rotation ETF (Ticker: HAC). He is also the author of 9 books and guides on the subject. Full transcript  

Our conversation with Resolve Asset Management's Mike Philbrick and Rodrigo Gordillo. We discuss how in little more than 10 weeks we have gone from "What's going on with the market? Is the world ending?" to "What's going on with the market? Why isn't the world ending?" Investors have a second chance now in the midst of the COVID-19 shutdown shock, the biggest single economic event of our lifetimes, to revisit their portfolio construction, and to reconstruct their portfolios so as to capture the highest realized risk adjusted returns, and all but eliminate their exposure to 4-standard deviation, black swan type market events. Full Transcript

Michael Greenberg, Vice-President and Portfolio Manager, at Franklin Templeton Multi-Asset Solutions joins us to talk about his perspective on COVID-19 shocked markets, and his outlook on markets, behavioural finance, rebalancing, and opportunities. Full transcript

Our conversation with Hubert Marleau, Market Economist, Palos Management, about macro, micro, and mini-micro market and economic considerations in the present and his clear-eyed expectations of what the future holds, post-COVID-19.  

Our conversation with Judy Paradi and Paulette Filion, partners at StrategyMarketing.ca, and co-authors of the terrific new book, “Invest in HER, The Smart Financial Advisor’s Guide to Winning Female Clients.” According to numerous studies, women are on course to control about half of all accumulated wealth in Canada within the next decade. The financial industry, though, which remains dominated by males, has been slow to evolve in light of this extraordinary socio-economic trend. This isn’t the 60’s anymore. Women are getting elected to government, they are gaining an influential foothold on Boards of Directors. They start businesses, they are terrific consumers. Women are expected to live longer than men. – Today women account for 62% of University graduates – Women represent almost half of all practicing lawyers and accountants, more than 60% of all new physicians, and are the main breadwinners in 40% of all households. In their new book, Invest (in) HER, The Smart Financial Advisor’s Guide to Winning Female Clients, they say advisors are missing the obvious – they have failed to see that their future success depends on women – of every age and background.  

Our conversation with Capital Markets Strategist, Guy Haselmann, on COVID-19's market, economic and social shock, and contemplating what the exit from the economic shutdown may look like, and how it may reshape things.

Sandy Liang, Portfolio Manager of the Purpose Credit Opportunities Fund, Purpose Investments shares his expert critique on the differences and similarities between the 2008 and 2020 Bond and Credit Market Crisis. In our conversation, Sandy Liang provides valuable insight on how the credit market works, his fund's defensive posture going into the drawdown, and the correction/opportunity set that has revealed itself.