Cutting Through the Noise
May 22, 2014
dol∙lar cost ave∙rag∙ing (noun). A strategy of buying a fixed amount of an investment (such as a mutual fund) on a regular, pre-determined schedule. The investment is purchased regardless of price, which helps take emotion out of the process. Dollar cost averaging can help smooth out the path of returns of an investment, as more shares, or fund units, are purchased when the investment’s price is falling and less are ...
Read MoreMay 20, 2014
I read a lot in this job, out of both necessity and interest. I often find it refreshing to take a break from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, the Report on Business, etc., to read something lighter, inspirational, controversial, or just offbeat ...
Read MoreMay 12, 2014
You may have heard the phrase "Sell in May and go away". It’s an investment strategy that involves selling your stocks in May and repurchasing them in the fall. It’s based on the premise that stocks have historically performed better during the months of ...
Read MoreMay 5, 2014
Investment fees reduce returns. This much is obvious. What isn’t so clear, however, is what constitutes reasonable fees. A number of variables play a role, such as whether you work with a full-service advisor, follow an active or passive (indexing) investing ...
Read MoreApril 24, 2014
An investor’s long-term mix of stocks, bonds, cash and other investments that will provide her with the best opportunity to achieve her objectives. It should take into consideration an investor’s goals, risk tolerance, and investment time horizon. An investor should not alter her Strategic Asset Mix unless she experiences a change in her personal circumstances such that her investment objectives, risk ...
Read MoreApril 16, 2014
David Toyne (our Toronto guy) pointed me to an interesting story the other day about doing a job right. David’s a fan of Terry O’Reilly and his radio series Under the Influence. He was listening to a recent episode in which O’Reilly was reciting stories from some of ...
Read MoreApril 14, 2014
Roughly one-third of our Income Fund is currently invested in stocks. Equities add both diversification and yield to the portfolio, which can be particularly beneficial in today’s low interest rate environment (10-year government of Canada bonds are yielding a paltry 2.4% ...
Read MoreApril 11, 2014
From our Quarterly Report: Looking to the future, the advice we’re giving our clients has increasingly focused on risk management. Rising stock prices have resulted in increased valuations and a renewed thirst for risk assets. The current stock market run ...
Read MoreApril 9, 2014
di∙wor∙si∙fi∙ca∙tion (noun). The practice of owning too many securities or investments such that a portfolio starts to look very similar to the broad market and has no sense of direction. Also known as Overdiversification. The term is taken from The Steadyhand Dictionary, which is a collection of investing terms and colloquialisms. Some are widely used, some aren’t used enough, and some are seen ...
Read MoreMarch 25, 2014
short term∙i∙sm (noun) (1) To focus on short-term market moves, economic news or company fundamentals. (2) To act on recent events without considering the longer-term implications. (3) To veer off course from an investment plan based on prevailing trends or fads. (4) Investors plagued by short-termism often damage their portfolios by buying high and selling low. (5) A chronic condition ...
Read MoreMarch 20, 2014
The sun is shining. Flowers are blooming. And ideas are sprouting. It’s the first day of spring in Vancouver, and as our local brewery says (Granville Island), it’s good to be here. Leading thinkers, innovators and communicators have swarmed the city for the TED ...
Read MoreMarch 17, 2014
Remember the days of trotting down to the video store to rent a movie? You’d hope the flick you wanted to see was still available, then grab a copy of the box, wait in line at the counter, whip out your membership card, grab a bag of Twizzlers and fork over ...
Read MoreMarch 11, 2014
clo∙set in∙dex∙ing (verb) The practice of a fund manager building a portfolio that closely resembles an index for fear of losing assets or his job if performance fails to stay close to the index. Associated with low conviction, low active share, and underperformance. The aforementioned term is taken from The Steadyhand Dictionary, which is a collection of investing terms and colloquialisms. Some are ...
Read MoreMarch 6, 2014
Timing the market is a mug’s game. You might get it right once or twice, but over the long term, switching in and out of funds based on recent returns and ‘expert’ forecasts will likely do your portfolio more harm than good. The proof? Look no further than Morningstar's ...
Read MoreFebruary 24, 2014
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) have become a popular investment option in Canada, as they offer simplicity, low fees and market-like returns. Yet, there are important tradeoffs with these products that investors should be aware of. In an updated paper, we ...
Read MoreFebruary 20, 2014
The benefits of diversification - no explanation required. The table was inspired by a blog from Canadian Couch Potato.
Read MoreFebruary 18, 2014
Morningstar recently updated our Stewardship Grade for 2013. Once again, we scored an ‘A’, and were one of only three firms to receive the top grade. Morningstar is a leading provider of independent investment research. They first introduced Stewardship ...
Read MoreFebruary 17, 2014
We wrapped up our cross-country client presentations this month after visiting five (very cold) cities. If you weren’t able to attend one of our sessions, or are looking to revisit some of the themes we touched on, we’ve produced a summary of the presentation ...
Read MoreFebruary 11, 2014
The banks are running lots of cute, reassuring ads these days. To Bruce, they’re as painful to watch as his sinking Canucks. But they’re a reminder to him that it’s RRSP season. Bruce contributed $6,500 to his account back in June and plans to add another $10,000 this week. His wife Courtney also intends to contribute $10,000. With the strong run in the markets last year, they’re not sure where to invest the money, so they stopped by the office for some advice. We reviewed their ...
Read MoreFebruary 5, 2014
Every NFL football team is allowed to field 11 players. The Seattle Seahawks are an exception. They play with 12. The “12th Man”, however, isn’t a player per se. He’s 67,000 fans. He’s the raucous group that packs CenturyLink Field to cheer on his beloved Hawks. The 12th Man is a passionate, energetic fan, well-versed in football. He knows when to be silent (when the home team has the ball) and when to ...
Read MoreJanuary 30, 2014
Tom was on BNN yesterday morning discussing some of the chapters from his new book, It’s Still Not Rocket Science. Some of the topics reviewed included: the four most dangerous words in investing (it’s different this time), China, getting back into the ...
Read MoreJanuary 29, 2014
We encourage investors to undertake a thorough performance review once a year, every year. And we walk the talk. We’ve updated our annual assessment of our funds’ performance that uses the framework laid out in our paper How is Your Portfolio Doing? ...
Read MoreJanuary 13, 2014
From our Quarterly Report: When I think about risk management for clients and the firm, one item is increasingly showing up on my sheet - client expectations. I’m confident that stocks will deliver solid long-term returns and Steadyhand will be a good steward ...
Read MoreJanuary 7, 2014
Another sketch for the archives from Carl Richards. Richards is an American fee-based financial planner and author. His sketches appear in the New York Times Bucks Blog ...
Read MoreJanuary 1, 2014
From stocks to interest rates to real estate to resources, there was a lot to write about in 2013. There was also a lot of noise to cut through, and we were busy doing our part. Below is a list of our most popular blog posts last year, as judged by you, the readers ...
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