Some investment advisors favour stock analysis based chiefly on fundamentals such as balance sheets, price-to-earnings ratios and debt-to-equity ratios. Others are known as technical analysts, and base their decisions mainly on charts that measure a stock’s performance over time.

My belief is that it is best to employ all available modes of security analysis, which I think of as “whole brained” investing, as it combines both left- and right-brained thinking. I discovered this principle many years ago in Bennett W. Goodspeed's book The Tao Jones Averages: A Guide to Whole-Brained Investing, published by Penguin Group USA in 1984.

I research the people who run the company, their balance sheets, their charts and business strategies — because individual pieces of information can mislead. Due to my long tenure and contacts, I have access to a large database regarding the people behind Canada's resource companies and am able to obtain breadth of information, and depth, as required.

An important aspect of investing is the sector you invest in, or the valuation method that you choose to employ. These can account for more than 50% of your returns. Sectors and methodologies go in and out of favour and have a large influence on the performance of the equities that you choose.