Cutting Through the Noise
March 13, 2013
I’ve been a bit of a downer lately, writing negatively about bonds and real estate, and pointing out that risk premiums (the opportunity to generate returns in excess of government bond yields) have narrowed for many other investment strategies. (Note...
Read MoreMarch 8, 2013
The latest Steadyhand T-shirt minces no words. In bold white letters on a black shirt are the words Scott came up with to describe our philosophy around stock investing – concentrate dammit! We’ve had lots of interesting reaction to the shirt, but the best comes from Winnipeg. Lori and I gave everyone in the family (who we thought might wear it) a shirt for Christmas, including our nephew Branton...
Read MoreMarch 7, 2013
I’ve been highlighting a number of asset classes where the risk premiums - the opportunity to achieve returns above government bonds - have narrowed. My focus has been on income securities, but I’ve poked my nose in on residential real estate as well...
Read MoreMarch 5, 2013
I came across a wonderful piece on the Blackstone Blog last week (I apologize, but I can’t remember who pointed me there). It’s entitled, ‘Byron Wien Discusses Lessons Learned in His First 80 Years’. As the title implies, Mr. Wien is an industry veteran and has lots...
Read MoreFebruary 28, 2013
In a ‘Live from the Desk’ posting on the Vertex website (a Vancouver-based fund manager), readers get to experience a typical day on the bond desk from the perspective of new issues. Bond investors are seeing corporation after corporation coming to market...
Read MoreFebruary 27, 2013
I’m hearing rumblings that the investment industry is going to fight back on some of the new regulations that the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) are proposing around performance and fee disclosure. Last week’s full page ad in the National...
Read MoreFebruary 26, 2013
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are now a fixture on the investment landscape and are among the fastest growing investment products. There’s good reason for their rise in popularity: they’re simple, low cost, transparent and provide market-like returns. But ... they’re not for everyone. In a newly updated paper, we compare the experience of an ETF investor (Jake) to that of a Steadyhand client (Julie). There are notable...
Read MoreFebruary 22, 2013
Mohamed El-Erian, the CEO and Co-chief Investment Officer of PIMCO, is a regular contributor to the Financial Times. In his piece today, he opines that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not seek an early end to quantitative easing (QE). For me, the most...
Read MoreFebruary 21, 2013
The Canadian clients of Ally Financial got news this week that the sale of the firm to RBC has been completed, the interest rate on their high-interest savings accounts is being reduced from 1.8% to 1.2%, and their accounts will be closed on April 30th, as reported...
Read MoreFebruary 20, 2013
As we’ve worked to build our firm over the last six years, one of the frustrations we’ve had is that people don’t know we can manage ‘their’ money. They are aware of us, may follow our writing and even buy into our philosophy, but they think we only work with...
Read MoreFebruary 19, 2013
The team has been working hard to keep client expectations in check. Markets have been good and the Steadyhand funds have performed well, so it’s natural that clients start to expect more from their portfolio. We’re being a particular downer in the area of...
Read MoreFebruary 15, 2013
We wrapped up our cross-country client presentations this month after visiting five 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 event that hits on the...
Read MoreFebruary 14, 2013
Sher took a call yesterday from a woman who wondered where I’d gone. She was a regular reader of my biweekly column in the Saturday Globe and Mail and noticed it wasn’t there anymore. Indeed, the Globe has been freshening up the Investor section...
Read MoreFebruary 12, 2013
The Asia Pacific is the fastest growing economic region in the world. Not surprisingly, many multinational companies are increasingly focusing on selling their goods and services in countries such as China, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, and the...
Read MoreFebruary 8, 2013
In the current edition of MoneySense magazine, there’s an article on RRSPs entitled, ‘Surprising Truths about Your RRSP’. There is a ton written about RRSPs at this time of year, but I thought this piece did a good job addressing some key issues. In the...
Read MoreFebruary 5, 2013
In the Report on Business last week, John Heinzl, fondly known as the ‘Yield Hog’, dedicated his column (How a Focus on Dividends Can Transform Your Investing Approach) to a dividend-oriented portfolio managed by a real investor, Rob. It looks...
Read MoreJanuary 31, 2013
Investors have had a real love for income and dividends over the past several years. And for good reason – bonds and high dividend-paying stocks have been stalwart performers. But the quest for yield may be leading to imbalanced portfolios. Investors who...
Read MoreJanuary 28, 2013
It’s that time of year: holiday bills, new diets, bleak weather, and RRSP contributions. Not exactly exciting stuff. Bruce is a little more jazzed than many investors though. He reviewed his account statement last week and found that his portfolio at Steadyhand was up nearly 12% last year (since starting with us two years ago, his portfolio has gained approx. 6.5% per year). “Grinning ear to ear”, he noted in an email. While we love his enthusiasm, we reminded him that many...
Read MoreJanuary 23, 2013
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” – Winston Churchill. It was a strong year in the capital markets and your portfolio was most assuredly up. Good news, right? Well, probably, but maybe not. A proper assessment of...
Read MoreJanuary 19, 2013
A young client phoned this week to ask if she was invested in mutual funds. She’d heard they were high cost and not the place to be. While the call was a little disconcerting given that we only use our own funds to build client portfolios, it was not surprising. Her...
Read MoreJanuary 17, 2013
My wife dragged me to a spinning class last weekend. It was a humbling event for my quads, hamstrings and calves. They’re still cursing me. Nevertheless, it was an inspiring experience. The lights were low and the music high. Everyone in the room was focused intensely on the instructor’s cues and was content to turn the tension dial to self-inflict a higher level of pain (and gain). I quickly learned...
Read MoreJanuary 15, 2013
We’ve said it many times, but 2012 was another reminder that market returns don’t often match up with what we’re seeing in the headlines. In many respects, the economic news in 2012 was ugly. The U.S. grappled with the fiscal cliff, mounting debt and political bickering. The sovereign debt and unemployment issues is Europe lingered, China was dealing with slowing growth, and weak commodity prices were...
Read MoreJanuary 14, 2013
From our Quarterly Report: In the Q4 brief last year, my goal for our clients was “another unremarkable year”. We had come through a tough period in the markets in good shape, but with interest rates even lower and the economic and political outlook...
Read MoreJanuary 11, 2013
I guess I’m more optimistic than executives at the major banks. When we lose a client (we’ve been lucky so far, our clients have been very loyal), I fully expect she/he will come back one day when circumstances change. As a result, when a client takes money...
Read MoreJanuary 10, 2013
Having been early and loud with my concerns about Canadian housing prices, I’m following with interest the daily coverage of the residential real estate market. I have a few thoughts on what I’ve read so far. Despite all the front page coverage, the...
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