One of the presentations I’m looking forward to later today at the "Inside ETFs" conference is called the hidden gems. Presenters have been invited to show their best ideas in a rapid-fire segment that will leave you with fresh ideas for your portfolios. There are a dozen interesting ideas for uncorrelated returns (read diversification) in your portfolio.

I highly recommend going to the websites of the ETF providers to learn more about how each product works. For me, I’m looking to add ETFs to my portfolios that look very different than traditional markets (equities and bonds).

DTEC ALPS DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

ULBR VELOCITYSHARES LONG LIBOR ETN

POCT INNOVATOR S&P 500 POWER TRACKER 15% PROTECTION

PUTW WISDOMTREE CBOE S&P 500 PUT WRITE

COMB GRANITESHARES BROAD COMMODITY

DTEC is going to look most like the stock market and should outperform in the coming years. Industries leading in disruptive technologies should have the highest growth rates. ULBR should look nothing like the stock market. It’s a play on rising interest rates. It does well when the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates and does poorly when expectations change towards lower interest rates. POCT is a strategy using derivatives to attempt to track the returns of the S&P 500 with 15 per cent protection on the downside. In the recent decline, the S&P 500 fell about 20 per cent and this ETN fell about half the rate. PUTW tracks the CBOE put write index. It’s designed to provide the same returns as the S&P 500 with less volatility. COMB is a broad based commodity futures ETF designed to track a broad index of commodities.

Comparative Returns vs. S&P 500

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Learn to sleep at night in a bear market

The previous Investor’s Guide to Thriving tour wrapped up on December 1, 2018. Aptly named “How long can a bull market run?” we may have received our answer. The market printed the worst December since the Great Depression – bringing most of the major indices officially into bear market (-20 per cent+) territory. Markets have rebounded in January as they always do after steep declines, but we are likely in the early phases of a bear market where average corrections are closer to 30 per cent and extreme corrections are more than 50 per cent. If this is case, we haven’t seen the last of market volatility and a downward pattern of lower highs and lower lows. Many people are surprised at this phase because it can take some time for the fallout to move from Wall Street to Main Street – showing up as a recession. Job markets are relative robust still and Central Banks are still talking about raising rates. Markets are forward looking and generally anticipate economic downturns, so even as rates continue to rise, employment appears to be strong, and many companies are still posting record earnings – you should be paying attention to the growing cracks in the system.

Larry will take the audience on a more detailed tour of past bear markets to see what we can learn about how this next one might compare. Will it be a gentle panda or a deadly grizzly? Can we hope for a soft landing due to aggressive government policy? How would we recognize a market bottom – when the next major bull market might begin? Why not go to cash or put all your money into a GIC right now? There are many questions to ask – and while (spoiler alert) we don’t have a crystal ball to give you the definitive answers. Larry can show you how to navigate a bear market so that you will use it as an opportunity rather than something to fear. Using some of his favorite indicators and techniques, you will learn how to use a tactical approach to trading, and strategic asset allocation (including the use of gold, real assets, and other non-equity vehicles), to help keep your portfolio within your emotional comfort zone – while avoiding costly emotional mistakes. Success in difficult markets is both a science and an art, so Larry will also discuss the psychological aspect of managing portfolios under stressful conditions.

You will take away from this live presentation a timely perspective on how to approach your investments in 2019 and beyond – along with actionable ideas to help strengthen your portfolio, and even a few tools and resources to use at home.

City Date
Milton  Feb. 28 
 Saskatoon March 6 
 Winnipeg March 7 
 Toronto - Queensway March 9 
 Kelowna March 13 
 Victoria  March 14
 Vancouver  March 16
 London  March 20
Halifax  March 28 
 Markham March 30
 Montreal April 11 
 Ottawa April 13 
Edmonton    April 24
 Calgary   April 27

Follow Larry Online:

Twitter: @LarryBermanETF

LinkedIn Group: ETF Capital Management

Facebook: ETF Capital Management

Web:  www.etfcm.com