"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." — Benjamin Franklin

Providing Protection & Growth Investment Opportunities Mark Schoeffel / 19 November 2025 I was fortunate to have been invited to a presentation this past Monday, November 17, 2025, hosted by Ninepoint Partners and featured Nawojka Wachowiak, a Senior Portfolio Manager and bio-geologist with 25 years of experience in capital markets, including 10 years at Dynamic Funds.  She was introduced by Arie Dendekker (Vice-Present, Product Specialist), who provided an overview of Ninepoint's offerings, including the Gold and Precious Minerals Fund (primarily gold equities with some physical gold), the Silver Equities Fund (primarily silver equities), and a Resource Fund managed by Nawojka, which has shown exceptional performance. T he audience included a dozen or so other advisors and the session was interactive, with questions from a number of people. The talk focused on gold market cycles, drivers of the current bull market, investment strategies in precious metals and mining, and det...

Artificial Intelligence: The Defining Investment Theme of the Decade Mark Schoeffel /  05 November 2025 Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer experimental technology – it is reshaping industries, business models, and productivity worldwide. In a recent Fidelity webcast that I attended, portfolio managers and analysts discussed how AI is transforming everything from healthcare and finance to energy and infrastructure, and how investors can participate in its long-term growth.  Immediately to follow is a high level summary; following this are my more detailed notes. 1. Why Fidelity Believes AI Is Here to Stay According to Portfolio Manager Mark Schmehl , the market debate about an “AI bubble” misses the bigger picture. While valuations in some areas appear stretched, the fundamentals continue to improve . “Engineers see what’s coming,” Schmehl noted, “and they’re building tools that are already changing how we work.” AI adoption is accelerating across both consumer and en...