by Scott Ronalds

2016 turned out to be a pretty good year. Prognosticators got almost everything wrong (Brexit, Trump, “sell everything”, etc.), but the markets provided solid gains and investors who stayed the course were rewarded. Canadian stocks (S&P/TSX Composite Index) were up 21%, American stocks up 9% (S&P 500 Index, in Canadian dollar terms), global stocks up 5% (MSCI World Index), and bonds up 2% (FTSE TMX Canada Universe Bond Index).

It was a good year at Steadyhand, too. We’re often asked how our investors have fared, how much money we manage, how fast we’re growing, and how many clients we have – so here’s an update on where we’re at.

Performance

When we take all our clients’ statements and average their returns for 2016, their accounts grew by 7.7% after fees in the year (using the money-weighted methodology). Over the last five years, the number is 9.2% (per year).

Assets under management

We now manage $618 million for investors. Our asset base grew by $90 million, or 17%, in 2016. The Founders Fund is our largest fund, at just over $300 million.

Clients

We welcomed aboard 394 new clients in the year. Of those, 167 are working with us directly, and 227 purchased our funds through third-party dealers (e.g. discount brokers).

Our client base is now 2,900 investors strong, stretching from B.C. to Ontario. Our average client is 56 years old and holds two of our funds.

Notable events

The biggest change at Steadyhand came in the summer when we replaced the manager of our Small-Cap Fund. We’re excited to be partnered with Joe Sirdevan and his team at Galibier.

We also added a new member to the team in the fall, Evan Parubets. Evan joined us in the role of Investor Specialist in our Toronto office where he’s working closely with David Toyne in helping our clients build and manage their portfolios.

Lastly, we’re looking forward to our 10-year anniversary this spring. Stay tuned for details on events in May in several cities to share a decade of investing lessons, musings and advice with our clients.

2017 and beyond

We don’t know what the markets will bring this year (nobody does) or what our pace of growth will look like. Our goals remain lofty though. We’ve already got the best clients in the world (our numbers prove it!), but not enough Canadians know about Steadyhand and we want to change that.

Going forward, the investment landscape is sure to change too, with new regulations making fees and performance more transparent, and the growing popularity of exchange-traded funds and robo-advisors. In the face of it all, we remain confident that our investment approach and client service will continue to win investors over.

Here’s to a healthy and prosperous 2017!

Management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual total returns including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns.