The market has been bonkers these past few weeks. Learn how to approach the tariff-driven volatility with Hidden Gems Canada lead advisor Jim Gillies. He also shares a few stocks to consider for a TFSA right now.
Prefer to read? There’s a transcript below.
Transcript
Nick Sciple: I’m Motley Fool Canada senior analyst Nick Sciple, and this is “The Five-Minute Major,” here to make you a smarter investor in about five minutes.
Today we’ll share how we’re approaching all this tariff volatility and share a couple stocks to consider for your TFSA right now. My guest today is Hidden Gems Canada lead advisor Jim Gillies. Jim, thanks for joining me.
Jim Gillies: Thanks for the invite, Nick.
Tariff news and market reaction
Nick: Volatility has been the buzzword in markets over the last week. Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff announcement on April 2 sent the U.S. S&P 500 index down nearly 5% on Thursday and nearly 6% on Friday. Then, a week later, his announcement of a 90-day reduction in reciprocal tariffs down to 10% — although excluding Canada and Mexico and actually increasing tariffs on China — that announcement sent the index back up 9.5%. As we’re sitting here today on Thursday [April 10], the S&P 500 index is down another 3%. Global indexes also volatile all over the board. Jim, how are you responding to this volatility as an investor?
How investors can respond to volatility
Jim: Well, Nick, you know I’ve tried curling up in a fetal ball under my desk, and that doesn’t seem to have worked very well, so we’re going to skip that one way I’m responding to this.
But you know, thinking long term, saying to myself, “this too shall pass.” I’ve been fortunate enough or unfortunate, depending upon your point of view, to have been investing publicly for the Motley Fool since 2005 and privately for myself for almost a decade before that. So I’ve lived through the tech bubble and the subsequent tech wreck. I’ve lived through the global financial crisis, recommended stocks publicly during the global financial crisis, lived through Covid, lived through all the other little minor market events that always seemed problematic. The Asian currency crisis in ’98, the fall of Long-Term Capital Management in ’98, the Canadian marijuana stocks massacre that followed 2018.
There’s always something large or small, and we prefer small. But there’s always something going on in the market that looks like it’s getting wrecked out. And this is a pretty big one. It seems that the administration in the U.S. seems to favor chaos a little bit, at least for the time being. When it comes to trade and tariff negotiation that they sent, they seem to view it as a feature, not a bug.
Whether we agree with it or not is kind of irrelevant. It is the cards that we have currently dealt to us, so I am taking it slow. I am reminding myself of the long term. I’m fortunate enough that I have been steadily building cash every paycheck as well as I took a few things off in late 2024, and earlier in 2025, where I have a reasonably large cash balance.
I’m slowly deploying that. Almost glacially, if you prefer. And I’m sitting here going “I am assuming I am not investing a dollar today that I am not perfectly happy seeing where I’m investing them, seeing that it’s staying there for a minimum of five years. And beyond that I’m trying to get outside and stay physically active. Walk the dog, go for a bike ride. That’s about it.
3 stocks Canadian investors can confidently buy in a TFSA right now
Nick: Yeah, Jim, you mentioned those past economic panics. And for just about all of those, if you bought shares during that market environment, you’re sitting here today pretty happy with those purchases. You mentioned building up cash in your portfolio. For investors who do have cash to deploy today, what are some stocks that look attractive to you as long-term adds? If you’re looking to add to your TFSA account here in this market volatility.
Jim: Not a problem. I’m going to be exclusively Canadian here. First I’m going to advocate for a couple of REITs. One is SmartCentres REIT (TSX: SRU.UN). They are Walmart’s landlord in Canada.
I think people will still be shopping at SmartCentres, regardless of what’s going on with tariff mania, and whatever’s going on at Walmart, which we probably can expect the prices at Walmart to rise a little bit. But that would be SmartCentres, run by the guy who helped bring the entry of Walmart into Canada. Back in the early ’90s. Guy named Mitch Goldhar. He’s a founder, owns a lot of shares. It pays a very nice dividend, I think, north of 7% at this point.
And alongside that I’m gonna give you Slate Grocery REIT (TSX: SGR.UN), which is — it’s in the name. They are a REIT that owns grocery stores. They exclusively own grocery stores in the U.S, however. That also pays a very nice distribution, is run by good management, and should largely be at least tariff-muted. It trades in Canada, but all of their properties and their financials are in the U.S.
And I’ll give you MTY Food Group (TSX: MTY), which is the parent franchisor of about 90 different banners on both sides of the U.S. border. Very highly franchised. Lots of good cash flows, and the market hasn’t cared for about three years about this one, and, you know, I still think it reflects very good value. So there you go.
Nick: Yeah, for investors looking for companies that are going to be reliable dividend-payers, are still going to be around here in five years. Some great companies to add to your TFSA today. Jim, thanks so much for joining us for this edition of the “Five-Minute Major.” Hope to see you again soon.
Jim: Thank you.
