EdgePoint: Second-level thinking in periods of market extremes
Portfolio manager Andrew Pastor and analyst Sydney Van Vierzen discuss why using second-level thinking to choose 'non-obvious' survivors is especially important during periods of market extremes. To illustrate, they break down three examples from the EdgePoint Canadian Portfolio.
Charts that caught the eye of the investment team
With everyone crowding into the growth/tech trade the five largest stocks in the S&P 500, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook, now represent more than 20% of the entire index. The last time the top 5 were this concentrated was in 1970!
While it can be tempting to sell in the midst of a downturn, investors who hold their investments historically see much greater returns. To see how this plays out, let's rewind to the Global Financial Crisis. Here are two hypothetical investors, Sharon and Barbara, both start out with a $1000 investment at the market peak. After the decline, Sharon reacts emotionally as the market declines. Her $1000 is now worth $432 at the bottom and Sharon sells. She later rebuys once the market rebounds to the previous peak. After 7 years Sharon has $531. Barbara reacts rationally despite the downturn and stays invested. At the end of 7 years, Barbara has $ 1,232.
This week's dilemma
