Chilliwack – Bill Westmacott, Life Insurance Broker BC, Precious Metal Specialist, and Wealth Solution Provider.
Does this mean I should be 100% out of the markets? In most cases, no. But it depends on what’s important to you and what risks you are comfortable with. If you have had a great year of returns, it may be wise to lock in some of your profits. You may not need to sell 100%, but you may want to consider selling 30%, 40%, 50% or higher, depending on your objectives. You will never go broke taking a profit! Seek professional help if you are not sure what to do. So, why have many markets hit all-time highs? Liquidity, and pumping trillions of dollars into the markets, margin (borrowing money to invest) are at all-time highs, and it is really that simple. The money has been poured into several sectors (AI stocks, tech companies, resource sectors like gold, silver, uranium, rare earths, copper, Crypto plays like Bitcoin & Ethereum EFTs, and Corporate Treasury companies, Stablecoins, etc. Huge dollars have driven these sectors to exuberant highs. Nothing goes up forever, so expect a healthy correction as we have seen in the gold and silver space in the last couple of weeks. Once there is a healthy correction, it may be a great time to buy back great stocks. I like to buy things on sale, and hopefully you do too!
Interest Rates: On both sides of the border, we saw a .25% drop in interest rates last week. Canada’s rate is 2.25% and the US rate is 3.75%. Both Canada and the USA are swimming in the deep end with growing debt and endless, unsustainable deficits. Experts who monitor debt levels in both Nations have warned politicians that what they are doing is both dangerous and unsustainable. The lowering of interest rates has done little after 9 times in Canada to resurrect the struggling housing market. The endless media and realtor commentary over the last couple of years (pent-up demand argument) has neither come to pass and nor will it. We have 30-year high inventories in many markets. Why? Housing in many markets is unaffordable for the majority of Canadians. I will explain more about real estate shortly.
Interest rates have been lowered due to the massive costs of debt payments by governments, the sluggish economy, and high unemployment in Canada. On top of this, Canadians are carrying record debt levels (we have the highest debt levels in the G7), and banks and governments are terrified of massive defaults. I do not expect more rate cuts this year, but we will see what unfolds in 2026. As I have encouraged clients for 20 years, reducing debt or eliminating it entirely is a key to financial freedom. Yes, there is good debt if you know how to use it, but for the majority of Canadians, they are swimming in a pool of bad debt.
Real Estate: I do not need to explain why we have a housing crisis. Most people know why! The big issue is not a lack of homes, homes per 1000 persons (424 in Canada). Yes, we need to continue to build affordable homes with reasonable square footage. Not 300 to 600 sq ft units or 5000 sq ft.. The G7 average is 471 per 1000. The mega issue is affordability! House prices in many cities have skyrocketed, while household income has barely increased. Historically, a detached home was between 2.5 to 3.5 times the median household income. In many cities, costs have exploded to 6, 8, 12, or even 15 times the median household income. You can thank extremely poor political polices for the last couple of decades for this crisis. Until house prices drop significantly, the housing crisis will continue.
If affordability was not a big enough crisis, a BC Supreme Court judge recently ruled that the Cowichan Nation now has “Aboriginal Title” to seven and a half square miles of privately owned and fee-simple properties. Meaning, if you live in this region, you’re free title home or property now has a second title owner. This ruling has massive consequences BC wide and potentially Canada-wide as a legal precedent has now been set. 90% of BC land can be disputed and end up in the courts for years. The legal costs are immeasurable, and the stress to homeowners who have bought a property in Richmond now face unsellable homes. No bank or Credit Union in Canada will finance a home with two titles. My heart goes out to the Richmond property owners who may have paid millions for their homes or land. What a mess! We currently live in uncertain and crazy times! If you own a home in BC, I recommend you follow this story closely. This story will most likely play out over multiple years, unless the ruler is overthrown.
Gold and Silver: I need to end this Blog on a positive note, as I can barely wrap my head around the Richmond/BC new house crisis! As of Friday, October 31st, 2025, the data is from Canada Life’s weekly markets update.
| Commodities | Level | YTD | 1 Yr |
| West Texas Intermediate (US$/bbl) | 60.98 | -14.97% | -11.95% |
| Gold (US$/oz) | 4,002.92 | 52.52% | 45.88% |
| Silver (US$/oz) | 48.69 | 68.46% | 49.07% |
Silver and gold have had a stellar year of returns, even with the recent correction, which was due after nine consecutive weeks of record highs. There may be a further correction in precious metals if a stock market correction happens this month. Very probable, but not guaranteed. Only time will tell, but this will be an excellent time to pick up gold and silver when they are on sale. I will continue to build my position on any pullbacks, as I have done for years. I recommend you do the same if you are able.
Central banks have been accumulating Gold all year long at a record pace, and are purchasing about 25% of all global supply. The central banks know that debt levels are unsustainable and a day of reckoning will come. Silver and Gold supplies are very tight. Many precious metals products take two to three weeks to deliver. One of my clients recently went to my preferred bullion dealer to pick up his order, and he said, “The line went into the parking lot.”
As long as you have a 5 to 10-year time horizon, purchasing precious metals makes sense. Physical gold, silver, and platinum are excellent ways to protect your wealth, create diversification, and protect your purchasing power. Yes, then there is the amazing price appreciation that one has experienced over the last couple of decades. In just the last two years, there has been over 100% ROR. Of course, growth is not guaranteed, but highly predictable based on continued global debt levels and geopolitical risks. I suspect price appreciation in many multiples from where we are right now. So, it is not too late to build a position in precious metals.
If you would like to add to your position, please reach out ot me, as I continue to offer my clients a discount from retail pricing. If you are new to the precious metals space, please contact me with any questions.
All the best for the remainder of 2025!
