Brian Acker, president, chief executive officer and chief investment strategist, Acker Finley

FOCUS: North American large-cap stocks and ETFs

MARKET OUTLOOK:

The last time I was on Market Call, I stated the following on May 26.

"As spring turns into summer, only the U.S. Federal Reserve knows when enough pain is enough to substantially slow down inflation as the Fed possibly considers some ‘dovish’ language and potentially returning back to lower interest rates and ‘quantitative easing’ mode that produced increasing asset prices like in 2021.”

Well, simply stated, “We are not there yet!”

The Fed must continue to talk tough on inflation and continue increasing interest rates until headline inflation starts to settle down. Until this happens, U.S. equity markets will trade in a volatile range until the U.S., and hopefully the western world, generally start to see inflation is under control or at least peaked.

So we are in a macro market where big answers must be given to interest rates, currencies and macroeconomic factors (are we in a recession yet or are we coming out of a recession?) before investors can focus on individual sectors and equities.

For the last 10 years, I have been recommending U.S. dollar-dominated assets for Canadian investors. Over the last year and a bit, we have seen this recommendation pay off for investors. We still see upside momentum for the U.S. dollar and will continue to recommend this position for the intermediate term.

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TOP PICKS:

Brian Acker’s Top Picks

Brian Acker, president, CEO, and chief investment strategist at Acker Finley, discusses his top picks: U.S. Dollar, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF, and Sprott Physical Gold Trust.

U.S. Dollar - Investors should have a large proportion of the investable assets in U.S. dollars

iShares 20 Plus Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT NASD)

Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS TSX)

 

DISCLOSURE PERSONAL FAMILY PORTFOLIO/FUND
USD Y N Y
TLT NASD Y N Y
PHYS TSX Y N Y

 

PAST PICKS: January 5, 2022

Brian Acker’s Past Picks

Brian Acker, president, CEO, and chief investment strategist at Acker Finley, discusses his past picks: Cisco Systems, Intel, and Lockheed Martin.

Cisco Systems (CSCO NASD)

  • Then: $60.28
  • Now: $43.60
  • Return: -28%
  • Total Return: -26%

Intel (INTC NASD)

  • Then: $53.87
  • Now: $27.26
  • Return: -49%
  • Total Return: -48%

Lockheed Martin (LMT NYSE)

  • Then: $358.14
  • Now: $481.67
  • Return: 34%
  • Total Return: 37%

Total Return Average: -12%

 

DISCLOSURE PERSONAL FAMILY PORTFOLIO/FUND
CSCO NASD Y Y Y
INTC NASD Y Y Y
 LMT NYSE Y Y Y