Ticker Take: a weekly newsletter on investing.

A recap of the week

Will all-time highs bring more momentum?

Long-time strategist Chhad Aul thinks so.  I spoke this week with Aul, Chief Investment Officer at SLGI Asset Management, who has concluded that stocks returning to all-times with better breadth creates a more resilient market.

Earlier in the year, we had seen the S&P 500 reach fresh records, largely thanks to the big appetite for tech stocks and AI enthusiasm.

More recently, though, better performance in areas ranging from small caps to income oriented investments (such as real estate and utilities) has meant a deeper bench of winners.

Aul also expects emerging markets to join the breadth expansion, with China taking steps now to support its economy with fresh stimulus.

I had a similar conversation this week with Jack Manley of J.P. Morgan Asset Management.  Manley noted that at this stage of the rally, the “S&P 493” (everything aside from the “Magnificent 7”) has now driven the majority of the returns this year.

And with earning broadening out beyond the “Mag 7,” Manley is putting an emphasis on sectors such as health care, financials and materials through the end of 2024.

And yet, don’t bet against AI plays…

Now, just because market watchers have been enthused by less concentration in tech doesn’t mean that tech is a sector to avoid.

I had another conversation with tech bull Dan Ives, Senior Equity Analyst at Wedbush Securities.  

Ives has been quite consistent in his response to the tech naysayers.  He sees transformational opportunity ahead for the companies that are leading the AI charge and would not bet against the well-known stocks associated with that story.

We spoke about Tesla’s upcoming robotaxi event, scheduled for October.  He’s excited about what that could reveal.  He’s been encouraged by the latest Gemini updates from Google’s Alphabet.  And he recently upgraded Palantir on the AI opportunity associated with its business.

Will the “Trump Factor” bring more gains for gold?

Gold watcher Dec Mullarkey believes bullion’s record climb could continue, with another 20% of upside possible from here.

Mullarkey, Managing Director of Investment Strategy at SLC Management told me this week that beyond some of the driving forces that have pushed gold to record levels (ie. lower interest rates, China demand, etc), he sees lingering geopolitical risks and the threat of tariffs from a Trump presidency as factors that investors may seek to hedge by investing more in gold.

Some ways to play the gold rally?

I spoke with Brianne Gardner of Velocity Investment Partners this week.  She likes the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), as well as Wheaton Precious Metals and the CI Gold Bullion ETF C$ Hedged Series (VALT).  You can find more of her picks and other gold ideas in our picks of the week section at the bottom of this newsletter.

Bitcoin’s spot in one’s portfolio 

It seems inevitable that investors will continue to compare the opportunities with gold to those with Bitcoin.  

Some Seif, founder and CEO of Purpose Investments has been a consistent voice on the opportunities surrounding crypto.

In his opinion, Bitcoin and gold — while viewed as alternatives — are not in competition with each other.

And while he believes investors would be well served by having Bitcoin in their portfolio, he has routinely advocated for a relatively small allocation.

For example, if that were, say 1% of a $100,000 portfolio, that’d be about $1,000.

In dividends we trust 

For those curious about the power of dividends, here’s some perspective on the different between stock performance and total returns (which include dividends) for some well known stocks over the past 20 years.

                  Stock gains:      Total return:

Nvidia          103,586%        112,938%

Apple            34,108%          40,412%

Costco           2,019%           3,035%

Cintas            1,799%           2,390%

Microsoft        1,470%          2,412%

McDonald’s    1,000%          1,824%

Caterpillar        946%           1,635%

Home Depot    943%           1,585%

CN Rail            939%           1,361%

Nike                 802%           1,069%

Starbucks        756%           1,010%

Chubb              639%           1,031%

Aflac                471%             799%

Walmart          355%             585%

Coca-Cola       259%             556% 

J&J                  185%             402%

Chevron          175%             484%

IBM                 174%             397%

My next chapter…

Before we wrap up this week’s newsletter, I wanted to share a quick update with you — about me.  After 25 years of working in television news, I’ve decided it’s the right time to step down from the anchor chairs at BNN Bloomberg and CTV News.  For those of you familiar with my work on those networks (or on Bloomberg Television), I’m looking forward to beginning a new role as a financial commentator with both BNN Bloomberg and CTV in the new year.  

As for my next chapter, I’ll have more details to update you on soon.  I love the world of investing and I’m always committed to sharing everything I know with you!

So expect more of that!

And if you’re not connected to me on platforms such as X, Instagram, TikTok or here on Substack, please do so and you’ll be first to know about what’s coming next.

I really think you’ll enjoy it!  

Picks of the week:

Ayako Yoshioka, Wealth Enhancement Group: Lam Research, Salesforce, Palo Alto Networks 

Diana Avigdor, Barometer Capital Management: Campbell Soup, Agnico-Eagle, Kinross, Microsoft, Visa, Killam Apartment REIT

Ebrahim Poonawala, BofA Securities: CIBC, Royal Bank

David Nelson, Belpointe Asset Management: GE Vernova, PayPal Holdings

JoAnne Feeney, Advisors Capital Management: Target, Honeywell, AMD, Broadcom, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Kinder Morgan, TJX Companies, Kratos Defense, Rtx Corp

Brianne Gardner, Velocity Investment Partners: Capital Power, CCL Industries, Wheaton Precious Metals

David Burrows, Barometer Capital Management: Manulife, Goldman Sachs, BWX Technologies, Howmet Aerospace, Alamos Gold, Pembina Pipeline, Southern Co