Talk:Asset class

Some simple way of indexing cash and cash equivalents is needed, even if "cash" isn't formally an asset class. Perhaps "cash and cash equivalents".--Shakespeare 14:45, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

I've reordered the description but not set cash and equivalents up as a page. If there's a need, we can do it but I'm loathe to add another stub simply because all of the other items on this page have a page behind them.--yielder 16:47, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Asset Classes

Asset classes

I would include real estate and commodities in equities and would prefer to organize it that way.--Shakespeare 18:28, 24 January 2012 (MST)

For fixed income, I was under the impression that <1 year was considered cash equivalents. So GICs and CSBs would be under bonds. --Shakespeare 18:32, 24 January 2012 (MST)

My viewpoint was the "traditional" asset classes of Equities, Fixed Income and Cash -- with some colour provided on each. More sophisticated investors are the ones that would put forth the argument that real estate and commodities (and others?) are separate asset classes. My edit attempts to reflect this viewpoint.

On the Cash equivalents, GICs and CSBs, my edit was geared more towards someone starting out in their investing career and where they might consider these assets. The distinction of < 1 year as cash equivalents comes later in their investment education. I don't hold a strong conviction on where GICs and CSBs get placed, I too struggled with which asset class to assign them into. --Peculiar Investor 19:06, 24 January 2012 (MST)

Perhaps something like

The three traditional, main asset classes are:

• Fixed Income: Bonds * GICs * Canada Savings Bonds
• Equities: Equities (stocks) * Real Estate, including Real estate investment trusts * Commodities * Gold
• Cash and equivalents: Money market funds * High-interest savings accounts

--Shakespeare 19:23, 24 January 2012 (MST)

My inclination is to leave things as is. The page doesn't have much in the way of text, so I'd keep the white space of the current arrangement. Google and a FWF search have been indifferent to the classification of GICs and CSBs. Given their guaranteed nature and their simplicity, I'm inclined to leave them under Cash and equivalents. The challenge is making sure we're addressing the finiki target audience, they are coming to learn about asset classes, so we should err on the simpler side IMHO --Peculiar Investor 20:24, 24 January 2012 (MST)

The problem with leaving it "as is" is that I believe it to be in error.--Shakespeare 20:40, 24 January 2012 (MST)

Using Google

• Guaranteed Investment Certificate - Wikipedia and there is no asset class specifically mentioned.
• Money market - Wikipedia and they list Certificate of Deposit (CD) as a Common money market instrument. I realize the CDs are American, but are they not similar to Canadian GICs?
• Diving into direct investing - The Globe and Mail which states "you can dig deep into the research offered by most discount brokers to select stocks, bonds, cash equivalent investments such as Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs)".

At the end of the day it is a matter of interpretation, and I keep returning to the viewpoint that our purpose is educating new investors about Asset Classes, not dealing with knowledgable investors who understand that in today's market there are many nuances and flavours to what used to be a simple GIC. Maybe the solution is to include an additional line before the three main classes, something along the lines of "asset classes are not necessarily black and white, and some investors may consider GICs and CSBs as part of Fixed Income." --Peculiar Investor 21:13, 24 January 2012 (MST)

Unless the page is significantly expanded, I would prefer to keep it simple. See changes. --Shakespeare 21:29, 24 January 2012 (MST)

The recent edit brings the article in conflict with Short Term Cash Returns --Peculiar Investor 22:10, 24 January 2012 (MST)

I added the bond category.--Shakespeare 22:29, 24 January 2012 (MST)

I believe short-term GICs have largely been replaced by HISAs for many investors now; hence the shift from Yielder's original classification to bonds. However, both cash and bond classifications are appropriate.--Shakespeare 07:30, 25 January 2012 (MST)

Follow-up on Asset Classes

I found CIFCS Retail Investment Fund Category Definitions, and in their Notes on Classification Methodology they list four four broad asset classes: Cash, Fixed Income, Equity, and Other and provide a table with a breakdown. Is this authoritative enough to be used to guide an update of our section on Main Asset Classes? --Peculiar Investor 07:51, 28 July 2012 (MDT)

ISTM that the page needs to be expanded around the concept that different people use different classifications, and that "60:40" would generally subsume cash in "bonds" and (most or all of "other" in equities". So something along the line of "===Different Classification Methods===" with subtitles may work.--Shakespeare 08:20, 28 July 2012 (MDT)

Consider split

Perhaps the Options section should be broken out into a stand-alone article, as it seems a bit out of place in the context of the rest of the article.--Peculiar Investor 12:17, 28 July 2012 (MDT)