I hope you and your family are well and have enjoyed the summer. Students headed back to school this week and some employers have adopted a hybrid model - working 3 days at an office and 2 days working from home.

The proverb patience is a virtue means that it is a good quality to be able to tolerate something that takes a long time. Covid and investing require this virtue!

If you are in Nova Scotia, especially Halifax (Central Zone), to some (including me), the unexpected happened in the last week and a half.

Just over 1 year ago the pandemic was quickly changing from something that was happening elsewhere to other people, to something that was happening to all of us everywhere. It went from an abstract thing on the other side of the world to something very real in our community.

It started strongly, with stock markets at all-time highs and unemployment near record lows. But by mid-March, a new coronavirus had reached North America after emerging overseas in late 2019.

I hope this month’s post finds you doing well despite the second wave of COVID. It had been a terrific summer for the Atlantic bubble and the experts warned us that it would not last. Such is life, nothing lasts forever.

I hope you and your family are well and have enjoyed the summer. Fall is approaching and the “new normal” continues as students head back to school, whether virtually or in person, and many people continue to work from home.

Democratic nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden looks to have an edge in the race, leading President Donald Trump by about seven percentage points in recent national polls. The contest for the U.S. Senate –key to a potential Biden administration’s ability to implement its agenda –appears close to a tossup.

The answer is YES, but as humans we spend endless amounts of time trying to figure it out. When, in fact, all we can do is be ready. Life comes at us fast. Remember history may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.

1st quarter statements have been distributed. The statements show your values from one quarter to the next. This is short term and with March having been one of the steepest 1-month declines in history the negative numbers can be disconcerting. In fact, if you were to review your account(s) with the inclusion of April you would find a much-improved number from the end of March.