With the first quarter of 2020 coming to an end, you may have recently received your quarterly TD Mutual Fund account statement. As COVID‑19 continues to impact people, businesses and communities around the world, we recognize that this may be a particularly difficult time for you and your family and that recent market events may have you feeling anxious about the impacts to your portfolio.
To help put things into perspective, we wanted to address a few questions and concerns that you might have as you review your account statement:
The current markets have me worried. What is TD doing to help protect my portfolio?
Our team of professionals are working proactively seeking to help our investors participate in any potential future market upswing, by:
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Monitoring daily market movements to seek to ensure portfolios are well positioned to withstand continued short-term volatility while still focusing on long-term objectives.
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Striving to reduce exposure to geographic regions, industries or
companies that might be negatively impacted over the long‑term by the COVID‑19 pandemic.
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Looking for opportunities to help our investors participate in any potential market upswing.
You may have noticed that the markets are down in reaction to COVID‑19, but what does that really mean? It may help to consider the year‑to‑date (as of March 31, 2020) performance of the S&P/TSX Composite Index
and S&P 500 Index, as examples, which are down -20.90% and
-19.60%* respectively.
Now, pull out your recent statement and look at the 'your personal rate of return as of March 31, 2020' section. While it may be unpleasant to see unrealized losses on your account statement, moments like this are where the diversification of TD Mutual Funds makes a difference. Your statement may be reflecting a lower or negative return, but if you hold a portfolio diversified with fixed income and equities, you likely didn't experience the full impact of the equity market decline.
I just got my statement and my mutual fund declined in value this quarter.
We understand – it never feels good to see lower, or even negative returns, on your statement, which is a risk when you're invested in the market. It is, however, important to remind yourself why you invested in the first place and to continue to remain focused on your goals.
While your personal rate of return may fluctuate regularly, whether it be negative or positive, it is important to remember that investing is typically associated with a long term goal. If your financial goals haven't changed and your personal circumstances allow you to do so, staying the course may help you avoid a potential loss while markets are down and could benefit you over the long‑term once markets potentially recover.
If my goals haven't changed, what other options do I have?
When times get tough our instinct is often to sell before reviewing all options. As you assess your current financial situation, it's important to also review your financial goals to ensure you're making the best decision for both the short and longer‑term.
A few other things you may want to consider:
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Revisit your budget often – your income might be temporarily lower during this period of uncertainty, but your expenses might be as well, helping you balance your finances;
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Take advantage of COVID‑19 relief programs from your Financial Institution (e.g.. mortgage deferral programs, credit relief, etc.)
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Apply for Government support programs (e.g. Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), etc..)
Adjusting your spending or taking advantage of these resources may allow you to hold onto your investments until markets potentially recover.
I'd still like to get in touch.
If you have any additional questions or wish to get in touch, we understand and are here for you. Feel free to give us call at 1‑800‑577‑9593, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.. to 6 p.m. (ET).