August 22, 2026 7:00 am
I retired from The Toronto Star 10 years ago this month, having written about investing and personal finance for most of my career. I did retire, sort of, but continued writing for 10 more years. This included the Globe Advisor section of the Globe & Mail’s Report on Business and Gordon Pape’s investment newsletters, The Internet Wealth Builder and the Income Investor.
I also worked the other side of the street. Excel Investments, later acquired by SunLife, introduced me to emerging markets, particularly India. Harvest ETFs, with its focus on exchange traded funds that generate income showed me another side of the industry.
I enjoyed it all, but this time really is different. This is my last post, though the archive of articles will remain online for a while.
I came across my final column for The Star as I was clearing things out. It summed up many things I had learned. The importance of patience, of having a plan and of taking a long term view. Rereading the column, I was struck by how many of the observations still ring true. This is even though the world is a vastly different and eminently more uncertain place.
The column is reprinted below with some light editing and a few comments in italics.
***
I’ve seen two deep recessions and some smaller ones. Four big market crashes and too many lurches to count. Eight prime ministers have come and gone.
Each crash was followed by a strong recovery and each recession by renewed economic growth. The lesson is that better things usually lie ahead. (Quite true. The TSX has averaged a 9.4% annual return in each year of the past 10. Total gain before dividends: 147%)
In the 1980s, at the beginning of my career, there was too much inflation. Interest rates were at an extreme high, now they’re at an extreme low. Small investors were deeply distrustful of stock markets. That remains so. Public finances were heading the wrong way and they still are.
Despite this, Canada is the envy of the world. We have the things societies need to succeed. Progressive and inclusive social views. The impartial rule of law. Vast natural and human resources. A sophisticated banking and financial system. Excellent public education.
Our federal finances, though far from perfect, are the envy of the developed world. (In 2016, Canada’s government net debt‑to‑GDP ratio was the lowest in the G7 at 26.7%. The Fraser Institute says it is now 75% which is mid-pack.)
The notion that perpetual deficits are okay is back. It is based on the idea that it’s not the absolute amount of money you owe, but the amount relative to your income, in this case the value of the economy.
This sleight of hand allows governments to run deficits forever as long as the borrowing is less than some percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). Of course, you can keep changing that number to suit your spending needs.
Expect more economic experimentation because the old levers aren’t working. Eight-plus years of ever lower interest rates (18 years now) have created ballooning personal and public debt. Look no farther than house prices, stock market valuations and ever longer lines of credit.
These distortions can go on for a long time. The trigger that ends them is often something nobody saw coming.
This new thinking includes an unwillingness to let the normal course of the business cycle work. The way it used to work is that the economy accelerates and expands, overheats, contracts and accelerates again. Now we just want the upside. This is being done by the manipulation of interest rates to stimulate consumption. This steals growth from the future and digs an ever-deeper debt hole.
Here are some parting thoughts:
Do not be afraid to invest. Stock market investments help companies grow, which creates jobs, which creates prosperity.
It is not risk-free, but your risk can be reduced. For safety look no further than the places where you shop, bank, buy groceries, cellphone plans and the Internet. Think Canada’s biggest manufacturers, energy companies and electrical and gas utilities. These companies are the bedrock of our economy and grow with it over time.
Their dividends will give you 3 to 4 per cent annually – plus a tax break – compared with a bank savings account yielding half of one per cent. (Currently ~1%) You get a stream of rising dividends and a rising share price over time.
Invest in a way that keeps your fees low. Don’t give your profits way.
Be patient: We live in a time where patience is measured in the milliseconds it takes to load a web page. Investments are not like that. They take time to mature and time is your friend.
If you buy shares of companies with sound businesses, that have a history of profitability, that dominate their industries and pay dividends in good times and bad, you will succeed.
Dividend reinvestment plans allow you to take the dividends as shares rather than cash. This will accelerate your gains because of the power of compounding.
If you cannot accept the risk of investing in the stock market then fixed income is where your money should go. But after inflation the money will be worth less every year.
Have a plan: Nobody sets out on a trip without a destination. It should be the same with investing and personal finance. If you have a plan, are patient and let compounding work for you, you can do it. You don’t need to buy complicated investments or swing for the fence to find the next Apple or Google.
Keep it simple: Don’t buy anything that can’t be explained in one sentence. Avoid in-the-news companies. Expectations are high and they often make the news when their advantage has peaked.
If it seems too good to be true, it is. Ask yourself how an investment can return a “guaranteed-to-be-safe” 6 or 8 per cent in a 2 per cent environment. It can’t.
Read widely and not just investment blogs or analyst reports. Reading widens your horizon and gives you a better perspective on current events.
How to find the savings to invest? Six years ago (2010 at the launch of the Star’s Moneyville web site) I wrote that personal finance can be summed up in one sentence: Spend less than you make and save the rest.
The rest becomes your investments, which over time, if you are patient and have a plan, will pay off.
Good luck!
Posted by Adam Mayers
Categories: Featured Post, Investing, Personal finance
Tags: Dividend strategies, dividends, Investing strategies
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Parting thoughts….!? That was fun to read, happy to say we are on the right track. I’ve never not known you to write.. what’s next!
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By ersmayers on August 24, 2026 at 11:46 am
Hi Adam,
I enjoyed reading your posts.
I only signed on over a year ago.
So much of my wealth is based on reading columns like yours.
Otherwise I would have plodded along at mediocre returns while paying a two percent mer.
Money is such a touchy subject with most Canadians.
I am glad I did not travel the well worb road.
Blogs like yours do make a difference in people’s lives.
Thank you.
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By mikew880926cb6ea9 on August 24, 2026 at 12:05 am
Thanks, Mike and good luck!
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By Adam Mayers on August 24, 2026 at 8:00 am