Canadian investment advisor urges calm amid U.S. tariff turmoil

As global markets tumble following U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, one local financial advisor is urging Canadian investors to stay calm and focus on the future.

Murray Leith, Chief Investment Officer at Vancouver-based Odlum Brown, offers a level-headed method to navigating the turbulence caused by global shifts.

“My advice to people is consistently, if your money is in the market, it should be longer-term money, because the market is not predictable in the short term,” explained Leith.

“I have no ability to predict what the market is going to do over a shorter period of time. I have a lot more confidence in my belief that the market and the economy will rise over longer periods of time. My investment strategy is based on that conviction.”

For those able to weather the storm, Leith says this market dip presents an opportunity to buy high-quality businesses at a lower price.

“Invest for the long term, and if you do that and you don’t attempt to time the market, you will do well, and you will do better than those that attempt to jump in and out of the market.”

For investors who may not have the luxury of waiting — such as those saving for a down payment on a home or nearing retirement — Leith advises caution.

“If you need the money within the next couple of years, it shouldn’t be in the stock market. You need to have at least a five-year horizon, in my opinion.”

Drawing from personal experience, Leith recalls when he sold off the majority of his own equity holdings before buying his first home.

“The day I made that decision, I came into the office and liquidated most of my stock portfolio. I wasn’t going to close on it for six or eight months, but right when I’d made the decision, I knew that I needed the money within less than a year.”

Tariff impact on Canadian stocks

While the global trade situation is creating ripples across markets, some sectors in Canada are performing better than others.

For instance, the TSX has outperformed its U.S. counterparts, with year-to-date returns showing a flat performance, in contrast to a more than nine per cent decline south of the border.

“Canada was treated better than a lot of other countries in Wednesday’s tariff news, and that was a positive surprise for everybody,” said Leith.

However, Leith acknowledges that certain industries, like the energy industry, have faced challenges. Recently, oil prices dropped sharply, negatively impacting Canadian energy stocks.

Despite this, Leith says energy stocks remain valuable in a diversified portfolio for “hedging reasons.”

“They provide great cash flow, and that’s an industry that, at the end of the day, despite what President Trump says, the U.S. still needs and wants.”

Lessons from history

When it comes to advising his clients during times of uncertainty, Leith’s message is clear: don’t panic.

“When we went through the pandemic, I had a lot of people telling me they thought we were in for a long and gruelling recession. I even thought we were finally going to have a major housing correction in Canada. But over the next two years, prices went up 30 per cent, as did the stock market.”

“If I had acted on those fears and told people to pull out of the market, people would have lost out on a lot.”

Leith adds that it’s a great example of how trying to time the market can backfire.

“Sure, sometimes you’ll be right on your call, but if you’re wrong just a couple of times in an investor’s lifetime, it can do worse than those that just have a long-term view and buy and hold pieces of great companies.”