EI Personal Finance - Track Your Results One Quarter at a Time

2025 is a wrap and what another great year of investing. We walk through our results using the dashboard tools that make it very easy to track your results. The good news, our approach has produced consistent results with fully documented reporting.

This week we return to a subject from January where we discussed the value of owning individual stocks. We are often told stock picking is a losing bet. However, holding two top stocks from five or six different sectors can often set us up for outsized gains

This week we return to the perils of getting caught up in the news cycle with either overly positive or negative outlooks. We have seen impressive growth coming off the April 2 Liberation Day announcement, but we need to be cautious.

Today we update our financial model using the 30 Minute drill. Very nice rebound off the April Liberation Day news with Global markets experiencing a nice rebound. We walk through our two spreadsheets with updates!

Back to research basics ! Keep these tools in mind as you look at new or existing investments !

Our May 4, 2025 topic covers a lot of ground in light of the Trump tariff announcement on April 2, 2o25. A great reminder to stay diversified and make sure we stay invested with appropriate levels of risk tolerance.

This week we discuss the value of geographic investment diversification. We do hold a significant % in global funds, but our North American bias does show an overweight position. Time to look at some European and Asian ETFs to spread our ownership more globally.

Today we update our quarterly results and help listeners understand the value of our 30 Minute Drill. We see that despite the wild turbulence in the stock market, our big picture results are much better than the gloom and doom in the news media.

This week we share our experience playing blackjack and note behavioural similarities between bad blackjack players and short term investors.

As you establish yourself as a self directed investor, it is important to build a network of like minded investors. We all have pre-conceived notions on investing approach but we need to maintain an open mind set and look to others for ideas.

Today we explore some critical Macro Economic indicators that can affect our investments. We believe everyone should have some attention on unemployment levels, interest rates, inflation rates and historical stock market levels.

This week we look at ETF's as an excellent investment for gaining equity or bond exposure with less risk. We see the combination of ETF's, stocks and fixed investments as an excellent combination for the long term investor.

Today we stray a little from the usual broader topics to talk about the 4% Withdrawal Rule and how it may need some refining. This episode leans toward soon to retire audience, but also useful for others in their long term planning.

This week we talk about areas of investment that attract support from companies and governments. RRSP's, RESP's, and TFSA's should be part of everyone's investing mix. How we manage these accounts depends on investment time horizon, risk tolerance and our long term plans. Company support for RRSP/401K's along with stock options can help drive our long term goals.

On this week's episode, we discuss the benefits (and risks) associated with owning individual stocks. We fully realize that index ETF's and Fixed Income investments offer reduced risk, but owning one or two top stocks from five to seven core sectors, allows investors to participate in significant upside and/or gain strong dividend gains.

This week we talk about avoiding too much hype or doom in the markets. We have seen a lot of volatility in the last three months and fully expect this to continue.Using the 30 Minute Drill we stick to our plan and given the great runs of 2023 and 2024, taking some profit and re-deploying to cash and equivalents not a bad idea.Work with your advisor to re-calibrate your portfolio appropriately, but re-balancing should be part of the plan !

We walk through the Thirty Minute Drill using real life experience as we get set for 2025. We completed our drill this weekend - in 30 minutes - and now have a view of our YoY results and how we plan to do continue to grow in 2025 !We also review Morgan Housel's book - "The Psychology of Money."

On this week's episode, we discuss some basic research tools and how to integrate these resources into your investing strategy. It is often confusing to source consistent information on stocks, ETF's and markets, but with some modest effort, you can create a shortlist of go-to resources supporting your investing objectives.

In today's episode, we discuss the power of compounding in our investment portfolios. Whether it is dividends being converted to new share purchases or taking profit and re-deploying the proceeds to other investments, our approach to invest consistently and drive upside.

This is our first episode explaining why Express Innovation Personal Finance was created and how we plan to work with a community of like minded, self-investors to share in great ideas for building wealth.Visit us at expressinnovation.ca to review our content and consider booking an appointment for the 30 Minute Drill !