Evening with Wellington West Financial CEO - Charlie Spiring

Ironically I post this on a Bloody Friday, where no stock markets is safe from the freefall.
However, it also make those sound advices more relevant and useful.

At the invite of the Clearsight Investment Program to University Alumnis (I am a University of Waterloo alumni), I attended the Charlie Unplugged - National Tour with Wellington West Founder and CEO seminar on Tuesday night.

There was food, open bar, and cookies; I came home with the food in my stomach and knowledge in my head. Thanks Clearsight and Charlie, for your candid answers and straightforward style of presentation (no sales pitch!). Note: Charlie is studying for MBA at Harvard Business School

Some investment advices from Charlie to keep in mind

• GIC vs Preferred Shares/T-Bills
• Instead of 100% invested in GIC, go with high yield Preferred Shares (80%) and 20% in Treasure Bills
• Dividend Stocks
• With the historical low prices, look for Dividend stocks and their 5-year dividend growth rate
• Royal Bank, TransCanada Pipe, Husky Energy, Manulife Financial
• Hedge in sectors (Financial, Energy)
• Again hedge in sectors that are beaten yet have future potentials
• Follow the leader (Warren Buffett)
• Follow the greatest investor in the world, for example Goldman Sachs (GS) and General Electric (GE)
• Write covered call options on your holdings to lower the actual cost
• In downturn markets, write long-term covered calls (despite the temptation for short-term calls that may seem brilliant if you annualize them)