Valuations Matter

Content Provided by Paula Wieck, CLS Manager of Investment Research Below is a chart showing the Shiller’s CAPE (or cynically adjusted price-to-earnings) ratio levels and corresponding market returns. The green bars represent the cheapest/lowest CAPE ratio whereas the dark blue represents the most expensive/highest CAPE ratio. As a reminder, the CAPE ratio is a smoothed… Continue reading Valuations Matter

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Why Use Fundamentally-Weighted Indexes?

Content provided by Rusty Vanneman, CLS Chief Investment Officer What is the difference between a “capitalization-weighted” market index and a “fundamentally-weighted” index? Okay, maybe this question isn’t the top question on most ETF investors’ minds, but I believe in the years ahead, more and more ETF investors will ask this very question. First things first,… Continue reading Why Use Fundamentally-Weighted Indexes?

I Did It! What Do I Do Now?

Content provided by J.J. Schenkelberg, CLS Senior Portfolio Manager Have you ever set a goal? Something you strived for that required time, patience and hard work to achieve. Maybe it was completing an educational degree, passing a test, running a race, losing weight, or something as simple as waking up a little earlier. Easier said… Continue reading I Did It! What Do I Do Now?

How to Build Trust

Content provided by Sierra Morris, CLS Junior Investment Research Analyst I think we can all agree that trust in financial professionals was tarnished following the crisis in 2008, and still has not been fully recovered. You can see and hear it anywhere – from Occupy Wall Street to your neighbor who talks about how they… Continue reading How to Build Trust

The Benefits of a Transfer on Death Account

Content provided by Nate Wattier, CLS Client Services Manager Earlier this year, I walked a bereaved daughter through the frustrating task of setting up an estate account for a small, individually registered account which had been set up years ago by her recently-deceased mother.  Not only was this poor woman coping with the death of… Continue reading The Benefits of a Transfer on Death Account

How to Use the News

Content provided by Rusty Vanneman, CLS Chief Investment Officer A lot of information flows across investors’ screens these days, more information than ever before. This is the case for both individual and professional investors. Just how much of this information is important though? How much is just trivia and filler? How much of it is… Continue reading How to Use the News

The Long and Short of It

Content provided by Grant Engelbart, CLS Portfolio Manager The world of alternative investments is vast, and often times a little blurry.  A good place to start when thinking about alternatives is a fairly simple idea – buy stocks you like, sell stocks you don’t.  This is the general premise for a long/short strategy.  Since, in… Continue reading The Long and Short of It