Cutting Through the Noise
May 27, 2010
Tom met with Edinburgh Partners Limited (EPL) on their home turf last week for an annual update on their firm and global equity portfolio. It was also an opportune time to discuss some of the issues currently impacting Europe and get the CEO’s (Sandy Nairn) thoughts on the debt crisis that is overhanging Greece...
Read MoreMay 25, 2010
I recently attended a luncheon hosted by Connor, Clark & Lunn, the manager of our Savings Fund and Income Fund. The session focused on the economy. Larry Lunn, the firm’s chairman and co-founder, was the keynote speaker. Larry is an experienced...
Read MoreMay 17, 2010
The Task Force on Financial Literacy is a federal government initiative aimed at strengthening the financial literacy of Canadians. The Task Force, which is comprised of 13 members, was appointed in June 2009 (as part of the federal budget), and will...
Read MoreMay 12, 2010
First it was swine flu. Now it’s fragile economies. Seems like pigs can’t catch a break these days. The southern European nations of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain (PIGS) are garnering plenty of attention in the media, as investors fear these countries may...
Read MoreApril 29, 2010
There’s an old saying that mutual funds are sold, not bought. Canada’s mutual fund industry is a perfect example. The majority of financial advisors are paid commissions by fund companies for selling their funds and keeping clients invested in them. Up...
Read MoreApril 28, 2010
April 27, 2010
Michael Lewis has a talent for writing about financial issues in a provocative and colorful manner. Having worked as a bond salesman for Salomon Brothers in the 1980s, he leans on his experiences and lessons learned on Wall Street to bring his readers...
Read MoreApril 22, 2010
George Morgan joined Mackenzie Financial in January 2009 as a Senior Vice-President and Portfolio Manager for the Mackenzie Cundill American Class Fund. Mackenzie issued a public announcement at the time. Here are a few excerpts: "George is an...
Read MoreApril 12, 2010
In this podcast, Tom and I highlight some of the key messages from our Quarterly Report. We also discuss our three-year performance (Steadyhand marked its third anniversary in the quarter) and provide an overview on the advice we are currently providing to clients. You can subscribe to our podcasts via iTunes...
Read MoreApril 6, 2010
Wil Wutherich, the manager of our Small-Cap Fund, was in town last week on a research trip. We snagged a morning of his time to review the fund and get some further insights on some of the stocks in the portfolio. Listen now, or subscribe to our podcasts via...
Read MoreMarch 29, 2010
Toward the end of every quarter, we get on the phone with each of our fund managers and review their portfolios (our funds). This is a formal process that we go through with CC&L (the manager of our Savings Fund and Income Fund), CGOV (Equity Fund), Edinburgh Partners (Global Equity Fund) and Wutherich & Company (Small...
Read MoreMarch 10, 2010
February 24, 2010
The notion of “active share” is in the news again. Coined by a pair of Yale professors in 2007, active share is a measure that indicates just how actively managed a fund really is. In other words, it is a gauge of how much a fund looks like, or overlaps, a certain...
Read MoreFebruary 16, 2010
It’s Day 5 of the Games. As we’re lucky enough to be in the heart of the action here in Vancouver (or unlucky enough depending on your viewpoint), it’s time for a few observations: Canadians are bursting with pride and patriotism. Which is a good thing, no matter how you look at it. There have been a few early disappointments for the home team (Manny Osborne-Paradis...
Read MoreFebruary 10, 2010
Seth Godin is a renowned author, marketer and blogger. He has great insights and observations on human behavior and the business world. In a recent blog, Hunters and Farmers, he examines the differences between the two types of individuals. In Seth's...
Read MoreFebruary 8, 2010
Tom was on BNN this morning (Feb 8) with Marty Cej and Frances Horodelski. Topics of discussion included: What to do at this stage in the market; How to reflect caution in your portfolio; and ETFs. The seven minute piece brings together some key messages from Tom’s...
Read MoreFebruary 4, 2010
February 3, 2010
Don Cranston, one of the founding partners of CGOV Asset Management (the manager of our Equity Fund) was in town last week enjoying some of our rain. We put Don in front of the microphone and asked him a few of the questions that are at the top of investors’ minds these days: How and why does CGOV incorporate foreign holdings into the fund? What were some of the...
Read MoreJanuary 28, 2010
If you’re an income investor, T-Bills and GICs aren’t helping you much these days. And the prospects for government bonds are nothing to get excited about. In order to achieve a more desirable return, you may find yourself reaching for yield, or moving up the...
Read MoreJanuary 21, 2010
Morningstar’s Manager of Fund Analysis, David O’Leary, recently published an article titled Six Changes We Would Like to See in the Canadian Mutual Fund Industry. O’Leary acknowledges that by and large, Canada has an investor-friendly fund industry. Yet...
Read MoreDecember 17, 2009
Dear clients, friends, and those who came across our company searching for a camcorder that doesn't shake: It was a memorable year for Steadyhand and Canadian investors. Following a disastrous 2008 in the equity markets, it looked as though the...
Read MoreDecember 11, 2009
A quick reminder that with the exception of the Savings Fund, the year-end distributions of all our funds will be calculated on December 15th and paid on December 16th. The distribution for the Savings Fund will be calculated on December 31st. Distributions...
Read MoreNovember 26, 2009
Tom will be on Business News Network (BNN) tomorrow morning (November 27th) from 9-10 AM eastern time. He’ll be sitting in with Marty Cej and Frances Horodelski on Market Morning. Black Friday just got a whole lot brighter...
Read MoreNovember 23, 2009
Recent data out of the U.S. suggests that American retail (individual) investors have been watching the stock market rally from the sidelines. According to a report by Morningstar USA, investors have pulled an estimated $4.4 billion out of U.S. equity funds so far this...
Read MoreNovember 16, 2009
From: jsmith@mega-bank.com. To: NewProductCommittee@mega-bank.com. Date: Mon 11/16/2009 1:08 AM Subject: This Year’s Meal Ticket. Just woke up with a brilliant idea!! I’m putting it in an email while the juices are flowing. Still working on the name...
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