Established Performance History
No money manager gets it right all the time, including Fisher Investments Canada, but we believe the lessons learned from managing investments through many market cycles provide us with valuable insight and experience you may not get with other money managers.
Portfolio Performance and You
Our investment approach starts with you. We take the time to understand your unique needs, current financial situation and the goals you’d like to achieve with your money. With these in mind, we create a tailored investment strategy with what we believe provides the highest probability of accomplishing your personal objectives.
If you would like to know which investment strategy we’d recommend for you or discuss our performance history, please contact Fisher Investments Canada at 888-291-0675. A regional representative will be happy to provide more information about our performance history and discuss investment strategies for your personal goals.
Past Performance Isn't Everything
When evaluating a potential financial adviser or investment, you will likely be interested in their past performance. However, we caution investors against considering only past performance, since it may not tell the whole story.
“Past performance is no guarantee of future results.”
If you have ever looked at marketing materials for an adviser or a financial product, you have likely seen this disclosure. Here’s what it means: An investment may have been up or down in the past, but that past movement doesn’t give any hint as to what that investment will do in the future.
A Higher Standard
Performance figures can be deceptive. Many methods exist for calculating and presenting investment returns. However, it can be difficult for advisers to show average results for a typical client since investors have different financial objectives, investment time horizons and comfort levels for risk.
Of course, it’s easy for advisers to present their winners after the results are in. But, yesterday’s winners won’t necessarily be winners tomorrow.
Our Measure
At Fisher Investments Canada, we calculate performance based on the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®), a framework of rigorous measurement standards with some important features:
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Performance represents the majority of a firm’s client portfolios, not just a select few.
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Quoted performance numbers are those that client portfolios actually achieved—no hypothetical returns.
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Investors can compare firms that claim GIPS® compliance on an “apples-to-apples” basis with other investment managers who claim GIPS® compliance.
GIPS® is a registered trademark owned by CFA Institute.
CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein.
Performance Benchmarks Help You Understand Your Returns
Fisher Investments Canada believes the cornerstone of any valid performance measurement is a benchmark. Benchmarks act as a basis for portfolio creation and a reference point for measuring performance.
Typically, the benchmark should be a broad, well-constructed index. Fisher Investments Canada uses the MSCI World Index as the benchmark for most Fisher private clients’ stock portfolios. This index is designed to represent equities performance across 23 developed markets.
Why the MSCI World Index?
We believe this index is generally an appropriate equity benchmark for a number of reasons:
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It reflects our view that well-diversified portfolios should invest globally.
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It accurately reflects the global developed stock markets’ composition.
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It is well-suited to help clients achieve their long-term financial goals
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Its data go back to 1969, allowing us to scrutinize historic trends and inform our analysis.
Long-Term Performance Means Staying Disciplined
In addition to achieving performance results, an effective investment adviser should also be a trusted coach, who helps you stay disciplined and avoid mistakes you might make on your own. Investing is difficult and can be emotional—especially when market volatility strikes and your nest egg is on the line.
When market performance falls, fear may cause you to exit the market at its lowest point and potentially miss the rebound, which can set you back substantially. When markets are rising, greed or the “fear of missing out” may unintentionally drive you to overconcentrate in outperforming sectors or pursue speculative investments (i.e., “chasing heat”). A financial adviser should help you remember your investment goals and stick to your investment strategy—a key factor in achieving long-term performance results.
Questions?
If you have questions about Fisher Investments Canada’s performance, or the current performance of your investments, contact us to request an evaluation.
We can review your portfolio and discuss how our services may be able to help you reach your goals.
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