Cutting Through the Noise
August 5, 2009
This current market rally has been characterized as ‘a dash for trash’. In other words, lower quality companies have seen their stocks bounce back dramatically, while the higher quality ones have experienced more modest gains. When the companies that...
Read MoreJuly 21, 2009
If you look up the term ‘credit crisis’ on Google, you’ll get close to 50 million results. Over the past year or so, you would be hard pressed to find two more commonly used words in the business world (other than the usual expletives that abound in falling...
Read MoreJuly 2, 2009
“Things will never be quite the same again. Western businesses in particular will be well served by moderating future expectations. That goes for investors too.” - Tim Price, PFP Wealth Management, June 22nd, 2009. I read Tim Price regularly and always...
Read MoreJune 24, 2009
We need your help Aretha! It seems that the little Canadian technology company that could, Research in Motion, has trouble getting respect. This is hardly a statistically robust analysis, but it has been evident to me for years that RIM and its hugely...
Read MoreJune 10, 2009
Be it resolved that hedge funds are dead - or at least the model as we know it needs to change. This is the position that Tom Bradley argued in a debate yesterday at a luncheon held by the Alternative Investment Management Association (Canada’s...
Read MoreMay 26, 2009
The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (Teachers) came within a hair of buying BCE at $42.75. Clearly the powers that be at Teachers thought enough of the BCE franchise that they were willing to pay up for it and use substantial amounts of leverage...
Read MoreMay 21, 2009
Blogger Canadian Capitalist published a complimentary posting on Steadyhand the other day. He highlighted four aspects of our firm that we emphasize on our website and in our conversations with investors: Low cost, Concentration, Co-investment...
Read MoreMay 13, 2009
Morningstar recently published a comprehensive report on the ‘investment climate’ for mutual fund investors titled Global Fund Investor Experience. The report analyzes the fund marketplace in a number of countries around the world, highlighting the strengths...
Read MoreMay 5, 2009
A writer in the Financial Times this morning suggested that BMW and Mercedes need to worry about scale. With Fiat and Porsche playing the role of consolidators, the auto industry is going to have fewer, larger players. Therefore, as the logic goes...
Read MoreApril 29, 2009
The 2009 Lipper Awards have been announced and the ads and emails have started. There will be a rush of fund firms announcing the loot they've collected. Last year we had some fun with our industry's 'silly season'. We announced our own LIPPY Awards...
Read MoreApril 17, 2009
There was great news today. The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) released a proposal to enhance disclosure requirements for over-the-counter (OTC) trades, including bonds. IIROC is one of two regulatory bodies for...
Read MoreApril 15, 2009
More and more commentators and experts are acknowledging that the world has changed. The framework for the future that Pimco’s Bill Gross laid out recently - namely de-levering, de-globalization and re-regulation - encapsulates what I'm reading...
Read MoreMarch 5, 2009
It would be an oversight to do a series of postings on Warren Buffett’s 2008 Letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway and not review some of the great quotes and analogies. On the current investing environment: “Things also went ...
Read MoreMarch 4, 2009
In this, our third posting on Warren Buffett’s 2008 Letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway , there is no introduction or additional explanation required. This is his comment on the current investing environment. “The investment world has gone from ...
Read MoreMarch 1, 2009
Warren Buffett’s 2008 Letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway was published on Saturday. As usual, it brings a refreshing perspective on topics of current interest. Over the course of the week, we’ll highlight a few. As he does every ...
Read MoreFebruary 27, 2009
With all of us wondering how we’re going to get out of this mess, I thought this month’s Investment Outlook by Bill Gross of Pimco was a good read. Mr. Gross is known as the ‘King of Bonds’ in the U.S. ...
Read MoreFebruary 26, 2009
In the Globe and Mail today, Derek DeCloet wrote an article about the aftermath of Canada’s great ‘hollowing out’ that took place from 2005 to 2007 - the period when foreigners were swooping in to buy our companies. There was ...
Read MoreFebruary 17, 2009
We noted in a blog last August ( It’s Getting Lonely ) that Saxon Financial was sold to IGM Financial (Investors Group) in what was yet another example of a direct seller that has turned its focus to the advisor ...
Read MoreFebruary 11, 2009
I own a lot of Cisco shares through my investment in the Steadyhand Equity Fund and Global Equity Fund. It’s a stock that appears in more than one of our funds. I just went through the company’s February 4th investor ...
Read MoreFebruary 7, 2009
“The conduct at issue relates to stock options granting practices at RIM which, over a ten year period from December 1996 to July 2006 were inconsistent with the terms of RIM’s stock option plan and with RIM’s public disclosure.” - ...
Read MoreJanuary 22, 2009
We've mentioned in recent blogs and podcasts that there's a lot of money sitting on the sidelines as tired investors have been pulling out of the market. With the year-end numbers now rolling in, here are some figures worth noting: ...
Read MoreJanuary 5, 2009
Starting this year, a new savings vehicle will be available to all eligible Canadians who are at least 18 years old. Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) will enable individuals to invest money in a tax-free structure throughout their lifetimes. Contributions to TFSAs ...
Read MoreDecember 13, 2008
A little Saturday humour to perk you up in these troubling times. The market seems to keep dropping and dropping Because those damn Yankees couldn’t stop shopping Through their homes they’ve borrowed a ton of dough Now they’ve got no ...
Read MoreDecember 10, 2008
The latest take on principal protected products comes in the form of life cycle funds with capital guarantees. For those unfamiliar with life cycle funds, they are simply packaged products that have a target end date and shift the asset ...
Read MoreDecember 6, 2008
The other night Lori and I were drowning our sorrows with a bottle of red wine - markets, markets, markets...drink, drink, drink. The wine, called Portfolio 2006 , was a diversified mix of Merlot, Cab, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit ...
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