iShares CLF

Buying Bonds? Think Short Term – The Safety of Short Term Bonds

by

Bond funds have been out of favor these days, especially with the threat of rising interest rates. With dividend stocks paying juicy yields and returning phenomenal capital appreciation, investors have been reluctant to purchase fixed income securities. Investors forget that when times are good, that all of that can change on a dime! This week the TSX and S&P 500 are already showing signs of a correction, with some dividend stocks off 10% from their highs. This should be a reminder to investors of why asset allocation is important. That’s where short term bond holdings come into play! Bonds with …

Read more

Recent Buy: Power Financial Corp. PF Series S

by

This morning I sold another chunk of my iShares bond ETF, CLF, and purchased 100 shares of Power Financial Corporation First Preferred Shares, Series S, at $25 per share. The current yield is 4.80%, just slightly higher than the common shares of PWF. The shares are rated Pfd-1 by DBRS, and P-1 by S&P, which are considered highest quality ratings. Preferred shares (PF Shares) from Canada’s biggest companies are rarely offered with TD Waterhouse, and these new issues are usually gone within 20 to 30 minutes. I have been planning for several months to start adding PF shares to my …

Read more

Recent Buy: CLF, BNS and RY

by

Buy Low and Sell High is a great investment tenet. One of the biggest dilemmas with this investment doctrine, is when markets are down, it doesn’t always mean you have the funds to invest. Case in point, in May 2012 the TSX hit its 52 week lows. Although I have no way to know where market tops or bottoms are, I would love to have bought into some great stocks at that time. If I am already fully invested, and don’t have any investment capital, then it really makes no difference whether markets are down or up. While I don’t …

Read more

CLF ~ Claymore 1-5 Year Govt. Laddered Bond ETF

by

Right now bonds are expensive, as they are trading at premium with low yields. Bonds are also very complex instruments.  So for most people buying bonds directly in a record-low interest rate environment means you are overpaying for the bond, with a reduced yield below the coupon rate.  However loading up a portfolio with 80% or 90% dividend yielding stocks is not prudent either. We only have to look back at the market crash of 2008 to see how equities did – but bonds and bond funds did well. Bonds are a necessary component of any portfolio, since they create …

Read more