Women have the advantage in crazy markets, a cemetery stock analysts love, and why emerging markets are still a buy

If extreme market swings have become the new norm, look to women of the investing world to keep calm and carry on.

Men are four times more likely to withdraw from investments during periods of turbulence, claims a new study from Nutmeg Saving and Investment Ltd., a Europe-based robo-adviser.

Its researchers focused on violent price moves in the FTSE 100 Index over the past six years, defined as any time the gauge swung by more than 1.5 times its normal monthly volatility. They said that out of 50,000 U.K.-based investors on the Nutmeg platform, women more often held their positions steady in the grip of events like the Greek debt panic in 2013 or February’s market correction.

The study sits alongside those from Morningstar Inc. which found that, on average, women’s approach to risk gave them an edge as active money managers, particularly in fixed income.

“It’s good to see that female investors are staying the course during periods of market volatility,” said Shaun Port, chief investment officer at the London-based company. “This is likely to put them in a better financial position in the long-term.”

Still, an overwhelming majority across both genders stayed the course during the volatile events -- a mere 2.4 per cent adjusted their risk tolerance or sold investments. Among those who did sell, however, men made up by far the largest group, according to Nutmeg.

-- Dani Burger, Bloomberg News

This is the Globe Investor newsletter, published three times each week. If someone has forwarded this e-mail newsletter to you, you can sign up for Globe Investor and all Globe newsletters here.

Stocks to ponder

Park Lawn Corp. (PLC-T). This stock appeared on the negative breakouts list (stocks with negative price momentum) last month with the share price under pressure. However, the stock price is firming and it may appear on the positive price list in the near-future. The company has a strong growth track record, which has translated into solid gains for investors. The share price is up 33 per cent over the past year and has rallied 87 per cent over the past two years with further gains expected by analysts. This small-cap stock has a unanimous buy recommendation from nine analysts. Acquisition growth continues to be a key driver for the stock. Toronto-based Park Lawn operates 139 businesses including cemeteries, funeral homes and crematoria in five Canadian provinces (Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec, and Saskatchewan) and nine U.S. states. Jennifer Dowty reports (for subscribers).

Corus Entertainment Inc. (CJR-B-T). After some early success in late 2016, RSI buy signals have had little impact on the price performance of Corus. But there could be good fundamental reasons for Corus Entertainment stock to rally from here. Scott Barlow explains (for subscribers).

The Rundown

Don’t yield to the pervasive pessimism – emerging markets are still a buy

Chinese stocks are sliding. Tariff barriers are rising. A populist politician – gasp! – has been elected to lead Mexico. So what should an investor do at this perilous time? Buy emerging markets, of course. To be sure, this isn’t a bet for everyone. But if you can tolerate risk and are thinking longer term, an investment in a broadly diversified basket of emerging-market stocks makes sense right now. One reason to like the developing world is that many of these economies – especially commodity producers such as Brazil and Russia – are not as highly exposed to trade wars as places such as China or South Korea. Another reason is that emerging markets are considerably cheaper than their U.S. and Canadian equivalents. Ian McGugan reports (for subscribers).

This is why metals prices are having such a terrible summer

The most important economic data point for global mining investors was released this week, verifying copper’s plunge to US$2.94, a nine-month low, from US$3.33 per pound on June 7. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI Index for June was released with a reading of 53. The index is an aggregation of surveys answered by thousands of manufacturing companies across the world regarding current levels of business activity, hiring and new orders, among other factors. Any reading above 50 indicates growth so the June result highlights continued economic expansion. The problem is the trend. The rate of growth as measured by year over year PMI results is deteriorating and this underscores an increasingly difficult environment for copper and broader resource demand. Scott Barlow reports (for subscribers).

Why it’s not your fault it’s so hard to understand investing

If investment-industry websites were books, the reviews would be brutal. “The problem with the copy that we’re reading and analyzing is that it is turgid, dense and complex,” said Fergal McGovern, chief executive of VisibleThread, a company that offers tools to analyse how well corporate websites communicate. VisibleThread scanned the websites of 69 global money managers, including Canada’s RBC Global Asset Management, BMO Global Asset Management and the Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec. The average overall readability score, on an index where 60 or higher is ideal, was 36.2. “We broadly got poor readability and poor accessibility – a jargon-laden result,” Mr. McGovern said. Rob Carrick reports.

Top Links (for subscribers)

‘Canada’s cannabis firms plot world domination’: The Economist

Others (for subscribers)

Friday’s analyst upgrades and downgrades

Friday’s Insider Report: Companies insiders are buying and selling

IPO outlook bolstered by higher energy prices

Others (for everyone)

Metal markets sent into disarray as global trade tensions ramp up

Canadian dollar seen higher but trade uncertainty to crimp gains: poll

Fears of an oil spike over $150 start to grow

Elon Musk fights the bears as Tesla shares get ‘sell’ ratings from Wall Street

Number Crunchers (for subscribers)