Cutting Through the Noise
September 11, 2014
A lot of money is flowing into alternative investments again. But what's wrong with good old stocks and bonds?
Read MoreSeptember 9, 2014
A look at the whacky world of central bank micro management.
Read MoreSeptember 4, 2014
On average, our team has 89% of our financial assets invested in the Steadyhand funds. That's home cooking!
Read MoreSeptember 2, 2014
CRM2 represents a huge step forward, but without eliminating the complexity and potential conflicts inherent in trailers, it’s unfinished business.
Read MoreAugust 27, 2014
“It’s not volatility itself that generally leads to poor longer-term performance, but rather it appears to be investors’ emotional reactions to volatility that ultimately lead to poor performance.” – Richard Bernstein, Richard Bernstein Advisors, New York. This is an ...
Read MoreAugust 25, 2014
When I came out of business school too long ago, it was a given that if you wanted to pursue a sales career, you went for a job with Xerox or IBM. These organizations put their recruits through extensive training and were known to be the best sales organizations ...
Read MoreAugust 21, 2014
One of the more ‘non-consensus’ strategies we’ve pursued over the last few years has been the Global Equity Fund’s commitment to Japan. Although there have been periods when Japan has contributed to client returns, on balance it has been a drag so far ...
Read MoreAugust 19, 2014
There was a story in the Report on Business on Monday about the results so far from China’s oil investments in Canada. To date, Chinese energy acquisitions (including CNOOC’s purchase of Nexen and Petrochina’s pending acquisition of 40% of ...
Read MoreAugust 15, 2014
It's been a good time to be an investor over the last five years, but at Steadyhand we've been playing a cautionary tune of late. As we explain in our Current Thinking on the Home Page, valuations are getting stretched in the bond and stock markets. Clients should ...
Read MoreAugust 13, 2014
One of the joys of Steadyhand's success is that we get to bring other turned-on people into the company and gain from their experiences and energy. With our growth, it's time to add some depth to the investment side of the firm. In our latest posting, we're looking ...
Read MoreAugust 12, 2014
A man from Singapore recently paid over $2 million to have lunch with Warren Buffett at a New York steakhouse. It’s a pricey tab for a T-bone, but in support of a good cause. Buffett auctions off an invitation to lunch every year (for up to eight people) on eBay and the proceeds go to a charity that runs anti-poverty programs and serves free meals in San Francisco. Other financial types ...
Read MoreAugust 8, 2014
So far, it’s been a crappy summer in southern Ontario – cool, rainy and unpredictable. I recently finished two weeks at Crystal Lake, so I experienced it firsthand. Near the end of the holiday, I had two people say to me that we need to get used to this type of weather ...
Read MoreAugust 6, 2014
If you grew up in the late 70’s or early 80’s, you know the band Journey. You probably owned one of their vinyls or cassettes, and maybe even had a poster of the quintet on your bedroom door (you know who you are). If the name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve ...
Read MoreJuly 30, 2014
“It’s like if the tree in the backyard has a crack in it, you worry it’s vulnerable to a storm. But if no storm happens, it goes on and on, and maybe eventually strengthens through growth. If the right storm comes along and knocks it onto your neighbour’s house ...
Read MoreJuly 23, 2014
Much has been written about the flaws of the investment industry. Recently Michael Lewis stirred the pot with his book about high-frequency trading called Flash Boys. In this space, I’ve talked often about high fees, complex products, unattainable promises, and ...
Read MoreJuly 21, 2014
Steadyhand has now been in business for over seven years. That’s exciting for all kinds of reasons, but today I’ll focus on just one – investment returns. We now have 7-year numbers, and not one, not two, but three 5-year performance periods. Clients can look ...
Read MoreJuly 16, 2014
sen∙ti∙ment (noun) The mood of the market. The attitude of investors towards the near-term prospects for a particular index, asset class, or security. Some investment managers view market sentiment as a valuable contrarian indicator. That is, when the bulk of investors are sour on the prospects for the market, it is often a good time to buy, as much of the bad news is already reflected in prices and the ...
Read MoreJuly 14, 2014
In his column in the Report on Business the other week (How to Discuss Fees With Your Investment Adviser), Rob Carrick provided investors with a list of questions to ask their adviser about fees. In case any Steadyhand clients are interested in asking the questions ...
Read MoreJuly 11, 2014
From our Quarterly Report: “It’s not the time to chase yield or return, but rather, it’s about managing risk and making sure the odds are in your favour ... I don’t think a 10-20% cash cushion is excessive at a time when we’re going through a grand economic ...
Read MoreJuly 10, 2014
It was announced yesterday that Saskatchewan and New Brunswick have joined Ontario and British Columbia in committing to a Federal securities regulator, currently (and hopefully temporarily) named the Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System. Why do ...
Read MoreJuly 7, 2014
In presentations over the last year, I’ve often referred to Ontario as the Italy of Canada. In other words, its finances are abysmal. At a time when the province’s key economic drivers, housing and autos, are booming, the fiscal deficits are large and show signs of ...
Read MoreJuly 3, 2014
I opened the Financial Times website this morning to see that the unemployment rate in the U.S. had dropped to 6.1%. Beside that headline was a story about the Dow Jones hitting 17,000. Just minutes before, I saw in the Globe and Mail that Canada and the U.S. are ...
Read MoreJune 30, 2014
1). Make ‘Snowball’ your holiday read. 2). Go to summer school with Professor Buffett. 3). Read ‘The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America’. 4). Grab a beer and popcorn and watch a few Buffett videos on YouTube. 5). Head to Dairy Queen for ...
Read MoreJune 26, 2014
I saw a note that 150,000 people worldwide wrote CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) exams on June 7th. It’s a reminder of how tough it is to get into the investment business. For some reason, lots of young people want a piece of the great gig that we have ...
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