As we continue discovering ways in which the market reacts to everything going on with Covid-19, and the evolving economy, it’s useful to check on the thoughts and advice of many companies and individuals. ETF Trends spoke with John Christofilos, Senior Vice President and Chief Trading Officer for AGF Investments Inc. about the continuing trends in the market, and what advice they’re offering to advisors.
Christofilos began by noting his various experiences over the decade with significant shifts in the market from 1987 to 1996 to 2008. Jumping to modern times, he put it into context by signaling the one continuing trend heard from clients and advisors he speaks with, and it’s the idea of panic.
However, for the moves in the market, it’s been relatively orderly, for the most part, despite the tremendous movement, depending on which side of the trading various people are coming down on. Still, for the most part, the markets have handled things well, and there hasn’t been too much of a reason to panic.
The other well-heard thought over the past few months is how this could be the buying opportunity of a lifetime. While that may or may not be right, all of this speaks to a continuing theme of optimism in the market.
“Investors still want to participate in the market,” Christofilos states, “And be a part of, what could be, as I call it, the self-induced recession, where we’ve actually asked the economy to shut down to save a lot of people’s lives and get things back in order. If that’s the case, then we should be able to get out of this fairly quickly, and if we do, maybe it is the buying opportunity of a lifetime.”
Advisors Vs. Institutional Accounts
In terms of advisors versus institutional accounts, Christofilos explains how talking to retail advisors means answering questions concerning the information regarding where the market is in the cycle. It’s a matter, for them, of determining if they’re in a bottoming process, have they already bottomed, will they retask, etc. So, they are looking for specific market qualities, as it stands. More specifically, they want to give a story to the advisors that can clearly place where they are in the cycle.
With institutional accounts, they are looking for thoughts on fund flows, whether retail institutions or hedge funds are doing the most buying, etc. So, they’re looking more at market dynamics and fund flows, which is more technical in nature. These are the main differentiators, which sums up the open-minded nature of everyone involved, as it’s more about assuring people of what to look for, as opposed to worrying about what’s next.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon (or author name), and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.
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