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Nobody knows what the lasting effects will be on the economy, much less the world, but massive changes and uncertainty tend to lead investors to consider making drastic changes to their portfolios.

How to handle market uncertainty | Wealthsimple Advisor Insights

Are tariffs and other unsettling news making you jittery?

How to handle market uncertainty

This year has already had plenty of attention-grabbing headlines: tariffs, geopolitics, tariffs, market uncertainty, tariffs. And now we have a new federal election coming, too. Nobody knows what the lasting effects will be on the economy, much less the world, but massive changes and uncertainty tend to lead investors to consider making drastic changes to their portfolios.

Many of our portfolios posted strong returns in Q4 as asset markets, particularly U.S. stocks, continued their epic rally.

Q4 portfolio performance | From our CIO | Wealthsimple Advisor Insights

Q4 performance of our Managed Investing portfolios

From our CIO: A look back at the end of 2024, and what’s ahead

Many of our portfolios posted strong returns in Q4 as asset markets, particularly U.S. stocks, continued their epic rally. It was one of the best years on record, in terms of both returns and return-to-risk ratio, which means the market more or less went up with little volatility. Here’s what happened in our managed portfolios and funds.

We don't like to attempt to predict where the markets are heading, and we explain why.

Why you can't trust market predictions | Wealthsimple Advisor Insights

And how to prepare your portfolio for 2025

Why you can't trust market predictions

When it comes to starting off the year, one thing we did not do to was attempt to predict where the market is heading. And clearly we're in the minority there: every financial institution and analyst seems to be weighing in, and their expectations are all over the place. Some say the markets will be up 20% this year, while others say it’ll be down 20%. This is not a new game, of course. Ever since there have been markets (and new years), people have tried to guess where things are headed and how to take advantage of it through their investments.

This year was great for the stock market, as continued increases in valuations, combined with solid corporate performance, led to extremely high returns.

3 big investment lessons from 2024 | December 2024 | Letter from Ben

A look back that’ll also help you look forward, and what people expect from stocks

From our CIO: Three big investment lessons from 2024

This year was great for the stock market, as continued increases in valuations, combined with solid corporate performance, led to extremely high returns. World central banks switched their focus from fighting inflation and keeping short-term interest rates high, to supporting economic growth and cutting them. Gold came out on top, up 40%. U.S. equities were close behind at 38%, but almost all equity markets, including the TSX (up 25%), experienced above-average performance. The current feeling in markets reflects last year’s nearly uninterrupted rise: individual investors’ holdings of stocks are at all-time highs.

Deep dive into bonds - the different types and how they work - and what the biggest winners, losers, and draws were in November.

How bonds work | November 2024 | Letter from Ben

A primer on bonds, the Trump effect, and what it may take to keep the U.S. market booming

From our CIO: How do bonds work?

Now that the U.S. presidential election results are in, you may be wondering how it affects your investments. Here are some key points to consider.

U.S. election insights | November 2024 | From the Advisors

Now that the U.S. presidential election results are in, you may be wondering how it affects your investments. Here are some key points to consider:

U.S. Election Insights

After years of helping clients resist and recover from misguided financial impulses, I’ve noticed that it’s often the same few things tripping people up. In order to help you not be one of them, this month I’ll cover the most common behavioural mistakes investors make.

6 common investing mistakes | November 2024 | From the Advisors

The 6 most common investing mistakes

How to avoid big investing traps

Navigating the world of investing isn’t just about crunching numbers (and calling your advisor when you don’t feel like crunching numbers on your own). It’s a real psychological journey, filled with mental traps that can negatively affect your financial health.

All of our portfolios grew significantly in the third quarter thanks to strong asset-market returns. These high returns are normal, but are at the top end of what investors can expect in a quarter.

Q3 managed portfolio performance | October 2024 | Letter from Ben

From our CIO: A look at Q3 performance of our managed portfolios

A look back at Q3, and what’s ahead

We break down what CPP, the CPP enhancement, and CPP2 are, how it all works, and how you can get the most out of it.

Everything you need to know about CPP2 | October 2024 | From the Advisors

Everything you need to know about CPP2

What you should know about CPP and CPP2

I’ve had a lot of conversations about retirement planning over the years, and one thing is clear: most people don’t fully understand how the CPP fits into their future. Some aren’t even sure what those letters mean (it’s Canada Pension Plan, if you happen to be among them).

I want to focus on this month is risk and how to reduce it efficiently — which is to say, without lowering your potential returns right along with it.

How to be smart about long-term risk | September 2024 | Letter from Ben

Investment risk, a rise in gold, and the future of China

From our CIO: How to be smart about long-term risk

The big news this month was about the U.S. central bank cutting interest rates after having kept them above 5% since May of 2023. Stocks rallied on the move, particularly the companies that are more indebted and exposed to interest costs. Looking at history, the fact that there have been cuts doesn’t predict much about future returns. That’s up to the economy and how it performs.

It’s been a volatile quarter for markets so far, marked most memorably by those couple of scary days earlier this month, where we experienced sharp declines followed by equally strong recovery.

Has your portfolio gotten too concentrated | August 2024 | Letter from Ben

Portfolio concentration, utilities, and where we might be in the market cycle

From our CIO: Has your portfolio gotten too concentrated?

It’s been a volatile quarter for markets so far, marked most memorably by those couple of scary days earlier this month, where we experienced sharp declines followed by equally strong recovery. But for now the quarter has produced solid gains for most major stock and bond indices — and, as a consequence, most investors’ portfolios. It’s also been interesting to see how, after several years of tech-stock domination, long-term treasury bonds, gold, and Canadian stocks took over as the strongest performers. (I’ll get into how that shift might affect the way you think about your portfolio balance a little later on.)

RESPs help you save for children’s post-secondary education by letting you defer taxes and take advantage of government grants. Many of the clients I speak to are surprised to learn that they can also use RESPs to fund their own education later.

Smart ways to use RESPs | August 2024 | From the Advisors

The smartest ways to use RESPs

What people don’t know about RESPs

As we approach back-to-school season, many families are focused on things like new clothes and finding the perfect rainbow-coloured unicorn lunch box. But there’s another important part of preparing for school that can be easy to forget: saving. It comes up a lot in our calls this time of year, which is why this month I want to focus on the importance of Registered Education Savings Plans.

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