On the other hand, there is nothing I love more than shopping on the stock market! However, as with traditional shopping, I particularly appreciate the stock market shopping periods when almost most of the stocks are on sale!
Unlike most investors, I don’t necessarily rejoice when stock markets explode higher as they have in recent weeks. So, I have mixed feelings: on the one hand, I’m happy with the gain that this increase has had on our investors’ portfolios; on the other hand, I’m frustrated that stocks we considered potential investments a few months ago are now unreachable in terms of valuations.
In fact, in my opinion, 2023 will have been a good year for most stock market investors – at the very least, those who remained present on the stock market throughout the year. Indeed, not only have North American stock indexes recorded excellent returns, but they have also been particularly volatile. These periods of high volatility have also created great buying opportunities for investors like me who are looking for sales!
Remember 2023. In the spring, most bank stocks took a nosedive when a few regional U.S. banks failed. These difficulties raised fears that the entire financial industry would be affected, which created great opportunities in the sector. We took advantage of the fall in financial stocks to acquire Brookfield Corporation shares during this period.
Then, in the fall, a rise in interest rates combined with fears that the U.S. government would not agree on raising the country’s debt ceiling, as well as the outbreak of war in Israel, caused the markets to fall again. In our portfolios, we then identified a few investment candidates, particularly in the health sector where we have little exposure in our portfolios. Ultimately, we opted not to buy anything – often, the securities we already hold in our portfolio seem more attractive to us than the potential purchases.
At the start of the year, while the stock markets have literally exploded upwards in recent months, my job of finding attractive investment opportunities has suddenly become a lot less interesting because they are becoming increasingly rare.
That said, the sea of stock market opportunities will never dry up! In my opinion, it is impossible to predict stock market behaviour, but my team and I will work hard to be ready to take advantage of the inevitable stock market corrections or specific stocks that meet our selection criteria.
In short, if I can make one wish for 2024, it is that the markets will be as volatile as in 2023!
I would like to take this opportunity to offer you my best wishes for 2024! Above all, I wish you health so that you can fully enjoy all the beautiful things in life.
