Canadian Dollar upgraded to Safe Haven Currency Status

The number of analyst reports predicting that the Canadian Dollar will appreciate against the US Dollar was dwarfed today by Russia.  The Russian Central Bank just announced that they will be diversifying away from US Dollars and one of the major replacement currencies will be Canadian Dollars. 

It’s not often that Canada makes headlines in the world media, let alone the investment status of the Canadian Dollar.  Before the Russian Central Bank made the announcement, the Lucky Loonie began a move that left it at a one week high of $95.13 (USD).  The Loonie made a broad based move and advanced against the Greenback, Euro, and Mexican Peso.

Currency strategists around the world all seemed to concur that the Canadian Dollar is going to move higher, likely to parity with the USD and beyond, and that the notion confirmed by the Russian Central Bank—that nations all over the world are diversifying against the Greenback—is just the beginning.  If the Russians announced this move, how many other nations have parallel thoughts?

The Russians like Canada for investment because of the vast commodity resources and the resilience of the economy during the recent recession.  If you are a foreigner to Canada and need a safe haven to park your hard earned cash will you be following the Russian Money Train?  Whether yes or no, you need to be intrigued by the investment opportunities available. 

Investing in Canada is a very simple process.  There exists a highly competent legal system to protect you from bankruptcies and bad faith transactions, and the country possesses some of the largest commodity reserves in the world from oil and gas to forest products to gold.  The Toronto Stock Exchange TSX is a world class stock market, and even the TSX-Venture contains some great small cap investment opportunities.  Further, the Bank of Canada has made it policy to have no surprises on the interest rate front.  They announced rates would remain unchanged until later next year when the economy is fully recovered with only a small qualifier to change rates if inflation becomes a risk.

For those risk-averse individuals you may even consider simply owning some of the high quality Canadian Banks.  Banks in Canada have become the model for all banks to live up to around the world.  The Banking industry in Canada has been highly praised by investment institutions and Banks all over the world and many governments are attempting to create similar governing rules to protect consumers in the same way the Bank of Canada has.

For investment ideas in Canada please search this personal finance blog and check back regularly as we explore investment opportunities in the Canada stock markets.