One phrase I keep running into early on my investing journey is “risk on, risk off.” At first, I thought it just meant investors were either piling into riskier assets (like technology stocks) or playing it safe with something more stable (like utility stocks). And while that’s partly true, there’s a bit more nuance behind it.
Author Archives: 1investor
Monthly Portfolio Update April 2025
April was anything but boring. From trade drama to political fireworks, markets lurched up and down as investors reacted to headlines almost daily. It wasn’t a meltdown, but it definitely tested our nerves.
Weekly Update for the week ending April 25, 2025
US markets took another body blow at the start of this past week, once again set off by a tweet from President Trump. He renewed his public attacks on Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell, calling him a “major loser” and demanding immediate rate cuts to juice the economy. Trump even floated the idea of firing Powell – a move that, while legally difficult, has rattled investor confidence.
Weekly Update for the week ending April 18, 2025
After everything that’s gone down in the markets over the past couple of weeks – wild swings, big headlines, and whispers of manipulation – I figured it was a good time to talk about something that doesn’t come up often enough: how the stock market can be manipulated, and what that actually means for us investors.
Weekly Update for the week ending April 11, 2025
The sell-off at the start of the week wiped out the past 12 months of gains, with stocks edging closer to bear market territory. Since the previous Thursday, US markets saw their steepest three-day decline since 1987 – and before that, not since World War II. Meanwhile, Canada’s TSX Composite Index (TSX) experienced its sharpest drop since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, though, the damage was self-inflicted—and, frankly, far from fun. ☹
Monthly Portfolio Update March 2025
March was a turbulent month for the markets, with both Canadian and US stocks experiencing sharp swings. The S&P 500 (S&P) and the Nasdaq Composite (Nasdaq) had their worst month since December 2022, tumbling 5.8% and 8.2%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) didn’t fare much better, dropping 4.2%, while the Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index (TSX) was the best of a bad lot, falling ‘only’ 1.9%. The main culprit? President Donald Trump rolled out a wave of new tariffs, reigniting fears of a global trade war that could stifle economic growth and drive inflation higher.