Cutting Through the Noise
April 18, 2012
It was a good start to the year for Steadyhand. We welcomed close to 200 new clients to the firm in the first quarter, our assets under management grew by 15%, and our transfer pipeline is healthy. Stocks also had a strong showing, with the Canadian market rising 4% and the U.S. and World markets gaining roughly 10%. The bond market declined as interest rates edged upwards, although losses...
Read MoreFebruary 21, 2012
Yes, we’re introducing a new addition to our lineup - the Founders Fund. The fund is a balanced mix of our income and equity funds (it is a fund of funds) that best reflects my views on market fundamentals, valuation and ultimately asset mix. The fund’s...
Read MoreFebruary 15, 2012
We recently stopped by CGOV's office to talk with Gord O'Reilly (the lead manager) about the Equity Fund. We discussed a number of topics, including CGOV's definition of core vs. opportunistic holdings, their strategy with respect to dividends, and what...
Read MoreJanuary 12, 2012
2011 was a great year for bonds and a not-so-great year for stocks. Interest rates declined further (10-year government bond yields ended the year below 2% for the first time in a century) leading to strong price gains in government bonds, and to a lesser extent corporate bonds. Debt concerns in Europe and political lollygagging weighed on investor confidence and most stock markets...
Read MoreOctober 11, 2011
It was an ugly quarter for stocks, with most major markets suffering double-digit declines. The bond market, on the other hand, had its strongest showing in 15 years (government bond yields now stand at levels not seen since the 1940s). Our funds declined, but held up better than the market. Their focus on high-quality, non...
Read MoreSeptember 15, 2011
Wil Wutherich, the manager of our Small-Cap Equity Fund, is in town this week on a research trip. We booked an afternoon of his time to discuss the fund. Since we've covered his investment process in previous sessions and his philosophy is well documented on our site, Tom sat down with him to talk stocks...
Read MoreJuly 12, 2011
It was a skittish quarter for stocks. The Canadian market had a rough spring, as commodity-related stocks gave back some of their gains from earlier in the year. The U.S. and Japanese markets were largely unchanged, while Europe was mixed. Bonds, on the other hand, had a strong quarter, as investors embraced safety and yields...
Read MoreApril 12, 2011
Stock markets pushed forward in the first quarter despite some strong headwinds, including revolutions in North Africa, a powerful earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and lingering sovereign debt issues in Europe. It goes to prove that the linkage between headlines and market returns is anything but precise. In this podcast, we...
Read MoreMarch 30, 2011
Wil Wutherich, the manager of our Small-Cap Equity Fund, is in town this week on a research trip. We booked an afternoon of his time to review the fund and get some further insights on some of the stocks in the portfolio. Topics of discussion include: performance, valuations, and the resource sector, among others. Listen now...
Read MoreJanuary 17, 2011
2010 was a good year for both stocks and bonds. Resource-focused and small-cap stocks saw sharp gains, and both the Canadian and U.S. markets turned in double-digit returns. European stocks struggled in comparison, however, due to the well-publicized headwinds in the region (i.e., debt problems)...
Read MoreOctober 28, 2010
Small cap stocks were hit particularly hard during the credit crisis of 2008/09. In this update, Tom talks with Wil Wutherich (the manager of the fund) about the current financial shape of the businesses in the portfolio and how they weathered...
Read MoreOctober 27, 2010
In this update, Tom and Dr. Sandy Nairn discuss some of the opportunities and dangers in the global markets (Sandy's firm manages our Global Fund). They touch on the outlook for the economy and how it impacts EPL's research efforts, their views...
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