Canadian Banks - Buy 'em and Hold 'em

This is going into the Note To Self file.

I bought RBC (RY), at at a bit of high point, at $50.25 in February, 2008.  For the next few months the share price wandered in the $45.00 - $50.00 range, seldom reaching my purchase price.  After late October, 2008 RBC shares joined everything else on the slippery slope, all the way to $27.07 on February 17, 2009.

Again, like everything else, they clawed their way back after the February/March lows.  By July they were back in the $50.00 range.  I'd been holding for nearly a year and and half and was becoming bored. I placed a sell order the last week of July believing that I could pick something better if I could free up the RBC funds.  The price finally caught up to my sell order and I was taken out on the way up at $50.49.  RBC closed that day at $51.00.  That was my first clue.  Within hours I'd missed a further 1% upside.

After selling my RBC shares the price rose steadily, all the way to $56.00 by the end of August.  Yup, because of my boredom and impatience, I'd missed a full 10% gain in four weeks!

While holding RBC shares I did do a bit better than my purchase and sell prices would indicate because of very nice quarterly dividends which steadily flowed into my account.

RBC closed yesterday at $58.24...up nearly $1.00 ahead of today's earnings release.  The numbers are out this morning.  Missed estimates by a penny a share but did turn a profit of 1.5 Billion for the quarter...a 35% increase!  Not too shabby for 90 days.

Thankfully, I held TD (TD) shares throughout the same time line...mainly because TD never got back up there as quickly as RBC.  TD earnings out tomorrow.  Should be interesting.

Yup, my new rule for Canadian bank shares is buy 'em and hold 'em!