A Perfect Investment
Many people spend a great deal of their time and energy looking for ‘The Perfect Investment’. Over the past three decades, I have repeatedly had clients actively seek an investment that will produce a steady double digit return risk-free. This ideal investment – high reward for no risk – has become the elusive ‘Holy Grail’ for most investors.
Too many investors, following the latest hot investment tips without doing proper research, end up disappointed, disillusioned, and potentially demoralized when confronted with their losses. Even smart investors are too easily motivated by greed and don’t use common sense when confronted with a ‘get rich quick’ investment scheme that sounds too good to be true.
The simple truth is that every investment carries risk. Even not investing carries risk – inflation can decrease the value of your ‘nest egg’ and reduce the purchasing power of your money! The first step, and the key to successful investment, is fully understanding the risk you are exposed to and using management tools such as portfolio diversification to reduce your overall investment risk.
The next step to becoming a successful investor is to stop listening to others for financial advice. You know the kind: the advice offered at social gatherings and in break rooms, from people who, quite frankly, really don’t understand what they are talking about. Have your own investment rules and stick to them. These are rules and guidelines you establish to stop you from making rushed emotional investments which almost always end in a loss.
Cultivating investment mentors – successful long term investors whose opinions you trust – is the final and, in my opinion, most important step in the process of becoming a successful investor. If you ask these mentors for investment recommendations, be prepared to really listen, as these sources should have no ulterior motive. Your best mentors will often be close friends and family members. In some cases, they may offer you the name of a trusted Financial Advisor, or share what I call ‘established investment truths.’ These truths are the rules of investing that they have successfully used over the years. A few of these successful investors might even recommend that a portion of your diversified investment portfolio be invested in shares of a first mortgage MIC such as First Accredit Mortgage Corp. They might even say that it’s as close to a perfect investment as they have found.
Paul E. Croy
Your Asset Mix and Retirement Goals
Money Managers will often refer to risk as being the level of uncertainty about the returns expected from an investment. In most cases risk can simply be defined as the amount of volatility compared to a projected market return. You might also define risk as the amount of money you think you could lose and still sleep through the night.
In my opinion, being able to understand what you are invested in, and why, is very important when considering taking financial risks. A good test is to ask, “Could I explain to a 12 year old in less than a minute why I hold a particular asset in my investment portfolio?” It should be that simple.
Some years ago two researchers, Martin Leibowitz and Terence Langetieg of Salomon Brothers Inc., issued a report to the pension fund industry called, “Shortfall Risks and the Asset Allocation Decision”. In this report they used widely accepted historical return data compiled by the firm Ibotson Associates. The report found that there was a 36% chance that stocks would underperform bonds in any five year period. They also found that there was a 24% chance that stocks will underperform bonds in any 20 year period. Of course, that also means that there was a 76% chance that stocks would outperform bonds in any 20 year period.
As many Canadians are now starting to look at retirement, over the coming years it will become prudent to rebalance RRSP investment portfolios to decrease future investment risk. Using standard return and risk assumptions and a five year time horizon, Leibowitz and Langetieg concluded that an asset allocation of 30% stock and 70% bonds would result in a higher probability that an investor would meet their goals.
When constructing a fixed income bond portfolio the Money Manager will consider interest rates, maturities, redemption options and the credit rating of the bond issuer. The Managers would normally structure the portfolio with a mix of government, provincial, municipal and corporate bonds. In order for an Investor to reduce investment risk they might consider replacing the corporate bonds in the fixed income/bond portion of their investment portfolio with quality Canadian first mortgages. In addition to increasing the interest yield on your portfolio, an investment in first mortgages can offer substantially increased security when compared to corporate bonds as an asset class.
First Accredit Mortgage Corp., a Mortgage Investment Corporation (MIC) managed by Great Pacific Mortgage & Investment Ltd., invests exclusively in first mortgages. Since 2002, this MIC has offered both large and small investors easy access to investment in Canadian first mortgages while producing an annual historic yield in the range of 7.95% to 10.95%.
Paul E. Croy
Reducing Portfolio Investment Risk
Investing in a Mortgage Investment Corporation (MIC) can be a good way of adding mortgages as an asset class to your current investment portfolio. Shares of a professionally managed MIC can offer investors access to diversification in the mortgage market that may not normally be available to them. Diversification is very important when seeking to lower portfolio investment risk.
In the mortgage industry, a client who elects to directly invest in a mortgage is commonly referred to as a ‘Private Investor’. A direct investment in the Canadian mortgage market requires, in addition to your money, your ongoing investment of personal time to administrate and manage the mortgage. For Private Investors it can sometimes be very difficult to find quality lending opportunities. Perhaps even more importantly, it can be difficult to truly understand the risks involved when faced with mortgage underwriting decisions. Understanding investment risk and pricing the risk correctly is key to successful mortgage investment. Sometimes the best decision is the mortgage you don’t invest in.
Another risk facing a Private Mortgage Investor is the loss of interest income during the period when a mortgage is paid out and the funds are sitting in cash waiting to be reinvested. By investing in shares of a MIC, this reinvestment risk can be reduced because your funds are always working.
Great Pacific Mortgage & Investments Ltd. offers investors the choice of three professionally managed Mortgage Investment Corporations which can help to add investment diversification to both large and small portfolios.
Paul Croy
What is a MIC? – Why You Should Know
Mortgage Investment Corporations (MICs) are designed specifically for mortgage lending in Canada. MICs lend to qualified borrowers in a ‘niche’ mortgage market who may be finding traditional mortgage lending is not getting them the results they need. A MIC mortgage portfolio can include everything from small second mortgages on residential property to commercial and development mortgages on new projects.
To many experienced investors it’s a no-brainer to include MICs in their investment portfolio. MICs don’t have the volatility of stock markets and they offer returns that are significantly higher than those from money market products.
Owning shares in a MIC allows investors to participate in a diversified and secured pool of mortgages. The income is either paid out on a regular basis or can be reinvested for growth.
A MIC is the investment that everyone should have in their portfolio because it’s secure and will make you a lot of money. Pretty simple.
Find out more about MICs here.
