eResearch | With the war drums beating and then receding after an assassination and a ballistic missile response coupled with a downed commercial airline, we are starting out 2020 with a cautious stance. Although recessionary fears for the United States in 2020 have receded, there are still ominous signs that a possible economic slow-down could yet occur. Markets, as usual, remain volatile, so nothing new there. The political environment in the United States remains prickly and tensions could escalate quickly as the impeachment proceedings play out. Europe has its own particular problems to face in 2020. All of this makes for a vigilant investor. But that is as it should be.
Portfolio Performance Benchmarks
Our initial investment at the beginning of 2019 was $500,000. We will continue to assess our Portfolio’s performance using that benchmark. However, we will also compare our performance from the beginning of 2020 when the Portfolio had a value of $605,204.
Bob Weir has over 50 years of investment research and analytical experience in both the equity and fixed-income sectors, and in the commercial real estate industry. He joined eResearch in 2004 and was its President, CEO, and Managing Director, Research Services until December 2018. Prior to joining eResearch, Bob was at Dominion Bond Rating Service (DBRS).
The Portfolio struggled in concert with the general market this past week. Still, it rose 1.1% in the month of September and it is up18.0% since inception. [more]
Our Top Ten Portfolio performed well of late and regained the $600,000 level. Including dividends and trading profits, the Portfolio is up 20.4% YTD and exactly matches this year’s gain by the S&P/TSX Composite Index. We think that we should be able to do better than the general index. [more]
Our Top Ten Portfolio continues to be range-bound, essentially since mid-June, suggesting that it might be time for an over-haul. Portfolio managers typically consider this strategy at this time of year. [more]