Monthly Message

The Wutherich & Co. Composite was down 3.0% in May. This compares with the S&P/TSX down 1.3%, the BMO Small Cap Index down 2.1%, S&P 500 (US$) up 1.4%, the DJIA (US$) up 0.7%, while the NASDAQ (US$) was up 2.5%.

I was reminded of an interesting acronym this month: FOMO. It is short for Fear of Missing Out. I get a sense that portfolio managers are buying certain stocks because they feel they have to own them to chase market performance, rather than that they should own them based on fundamentals. In my nearly 25 year career, I have seen this happen a few times. The most famous example is the TMT (Technology, Media and Telecom) boom of the late 1990’s. While many of the stocks that are being chased this time are no doubt excellent businesses, I don’t believe they are the only stocks worthy of consideration. Furthermore, the intense focus on just a handful of names and sectors probably means that these are well priced. Situations like this often end in tears.

We tend to ignore what everyone else is focused on and buy individual names that we think present good value for their growth prospects. We know that we can be completely out of sync for long periods of time, but we are comfortable with this, believing that we develop better long-term rates of return this way. In the meantime, one thing that we have observed in the portfolio is that there are no small reactions. Stocks react violently to disappointing earnings or fanciful “short-seller reports” (STN and ZCL in the former category; BAD and CRH in the latter). Whenever this happens, we review the fundamentals and stick to our own convictions regarding the stock, be it buy or sell.

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Monthly Message The Wutherich & Co. Composite was down 0.4% in April. This compares with the S&P/TSX up 0.4%, the BMO Small Cap Index down 2.3%, S&P 500 (US$) up 1.0%, the DJIA (US$) up 1.4%, while the NASDAQ (US$) was up 2.3%. It is interesting to watch what is happening to Home Capital Group […]

Monthly Message The Wutherich & Co. Composite was up 3.2% in March. This compares with the S&P/TSX up 1.3%, the BMO Small Cap Index up 1.1%, S&P 500 (US$) up 0.1%, the DJIA (US$) down 0.6%, while the NASDAQ (US$) was up 1.5%. The Trump Bump, Trump Slump, Trump   ?  . How many alliterations […]

Monthly Message The Wutherich & Co. Composite was flat at 0.0% in February. This compares with the S&P/TSX up 0.2%, the BMO Small Cap Index up 0.1%, S&P 500 (US$) up 4.0%, the DJIA (US$) up 5.2%, while the NASDAQ (US$) was up 3.8%. The Trump Bump continues, at least in the US. While it […]

Monthly Message The Wutherich & Co. Composite was down 2.2% in January. This compares with the S&P/TSX up 0.8%, the BMO Small Cap Index up 2.0%, S&P 500 (US$) up 1.9%, the DJIA (US$) up 0.6%, while the NASDAQ (US$) was up 4.3%. The weakness experienced in the Wutherich & Co. Composite during January happened […]

Dear friends and clients, We would like to remind you that the 2016 RRSP period deadline is March 1, 2017. If you have not made a contribution to your RRSP account with Wutherich & Company in a while, now may be a good time to do so. Feel free to get in touch with us […]

Monthly Message The Wutherich & Co. Composite was up 0.9% in December. This compares with the S&P/TSX up 1.7%, the BMO Small Cap Index up 3.2%, S&P 500 (US$) up 2.0%, the DJIA (US$) up 3.6%, while the NASDAQ (US$) was up 1.2%. December marked the end of a good year for the Wutherich & […]

Monthly Message The Wutherich & Co. Composite was up 4.0% in November. This compares with the S&P/TSX up 2.2%, the BMO Small Cap Index up 1.8%, S&P 500 (US$) up 3.7%, the DJIA (US$) up 5.9%, while the NASDAQ (US$) was up 2.6%. November Trumped October’s strong performance for the Wutherich & Co. Composite. Our positions […]

Monthly Message The Wutherich & Co. Composite was up 1.7% in October. This compares with the S&P/TSX up 0.6%, the BMO Small Cap Index down 2.0%, S&P 500 (US$) down 1.8%, the DJIA (US$) down 0.8%, while the NASDAQ (US$) was down 2.3%. October proved to be a spooky month for the markets though the Wutherich […]

Wil in Toronto Dear clients and friends of the Greater Toronto Area, Wil is going to be in Toronto from November 14th to 16th for client and company meetings. Should you like to meet him to discuss our investment portfolio, feel free to contact him directly at: –  wil@wutherich.ca   or   514-487-3782. Look forward […]