No one likes to lose money, and no one likes to lose money particularly quickly. But that’s exactly what’s happened lately with the TSX Composite down by 9% at one point over two short and feverous weeks.
Meanwhile, if you were holding a sizable portion of your portfolio in marijuana stocks, your experience was likely worse.
Canada’s marijuana darling, Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX:WEED) lost as much as 40% of its value during that stretch, but Aphria Inc. (TSX:APH), viewed by many as the “conservative” play within the space, lost even more than that — at one point it was more than 45% off its highs.
Even the HORIZNS MARIJUNA LF CL A UNT ETF (TSX:HMMJ), an ETF that holds a diversified basket of marijuana holdings, still managed to lose 35%, although it has since recovered some of those gains.
While it seems like the dust has cleared and markets are starting to recover for now, it will only be a matter of time again before we get another market crash — and next time it could be worse.
With that in mind, you might want to consider “buckling up” in the meantime with these three companies that are virtually recession-proof.
Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G)(NYSE:GG)
In times of crises, people seem to flock to gold as a store of value. Gold bullion has been looked at this way for over 5,000 years, so as far as this theory is concerned, at least there’s safety in numbers.
Goldcorp is the world’s largest gold company and a low-cost producer, meaning the B.C.-based company has fared better than most, as prices of gold and precious metals have languished since 2011.
Additionally, Goldcorp has lagged the recovery of the broader market over the past few years, making it that much more of an attractive investment today.
Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY)(NYSE:RY)
Royal Bank is Canada’s largest bank and is, in fact, one of the largest financial institutions anywhere in the world.
In recent years, the company has been growing its wealth management business globally. Not only does this provide diversification benefits to the bank’s core Canadian operations, but it also shields the bank from declines in interest rates in times of crisis.
Telus Corporation (TSX:T)(NYSE:TU)
When the economy takes a turn for the worse, it typically means businesses are laying off workers, and households are cutting back on spending.
It’s easy to understand how this could affect companies like Magna International Inc. and even Warren Buffet’s investment in Home Capital Group Inc., but it’s a pretty good bet that people won’t be cutting back on using their smartphones.
While some may complain about the supposed epidemic of smart phone addiction, it’s certainly welcome news for telecoms like Telus.
Telus is the newer, younger version of telecoms in Canada. While the company is smaller than more established incumbents BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., that also means it has a longer runway to growth standing ahead of it.
