Blog

Cutting Through the Noise


January 7, 2013

By Neil Jensen

Job Opportunity: Office Manager/Admin Assistant

We are currently seeking candidates for a permanent, full-time Office Manager/Administrative Assistant. As part of this diverse role the team member will be involved in many facets of our business, including maintaining the office, managing...

Read More

January 5, 2013

By Tom Bradley

Don't Dread Your Year-end Statement. You'll Probably be Pleasantly Surprised

I’m constantly hearing that it’s been a tough few years for money managers. It’s true that the macro-economic situation has brought uncertainty and volatility, and there’s been no such thing as “safe” income. But in one respect, the past couple of years...

Read More

January 3, 2013

By Scott Ronalds

Readers' Choice - Top Blog Postings of 2012

Turns out the world didn’t end in 2012. A good thing, really, as Tom and I had a lot to write about. With over 120 posts, our updates, explanations, advice, observations, opinions, musings, rants and ramblings were well received, despite the odd scathing...

Read More

December 28, 2012

By Tom Bradley

The Fiscal Curb

Am I bothered because the budget negotiations in Washington are dragging on and the market is bouncing around more than usual at year-end? No. Am I worried that tax increases and spending cuts will slow the U.S. economy? They will, but no, I'm...

Read More

December 27, 2012

By Scott Ronalds

The Big Picture

The Investor Education Fund (a non-profit organization funded by the Ontario Securities Commission) has a cool interactive chart on their website that shows the historical returns – from 1935 to 2012 – of various stock markets, bonds and T-Bills, along with...

Read More

December 23, 2012

By Tom Bradley

From Crude to Carney: A Year for Trends Reversing Course

We’re in the midst of the holiday season, but there’s something about reflecting on the financial markets in 2012 that makes me want to say “bah humbug.” To me, the year was lots of talk – Spain, Facebook, BCE, fiscal cliff, Nexen/CNOOC, Mark Carney...

Read More

December 17, 2012

By Scott Ronalds

The Steadyhand Holiday Letter

It’s been another year of troubling economic headlines, slow growth and political stalemate. Yet, unless Santa gets run over by a reindeer, many global stock markets will finish the year with nice gains. Even the bond market, with its naughty yields, has gained ground in 2012. As the year comes to a close, we’re gratified with the strides we’ve made and the returns our clients have achieved. It’s been a productive...

Read More

December 14, 2012

By Tom Bradley

The Flight to Safety Continues

So far in 2012, $10 billion has flowed into Canadian ETFs (net of sales). It's a big number, especially considering it's been a tough market for most wealth management providers. But as I said earlier this year, the growth doesn't blow me away in the context of a...

Read More

December 12, 2012

By Tom Bradley

A Rush for the Exit

In a recent Globe column, I highlighted a consensus among money managers that interest rates are unsustainably low - short and mid-term Government of Canada bonds are trading at negative ‘real’ yields (after inflation). The argument goes that at some...

Read More

December 11, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Two Losers and One Big Winner

I've just returned from a few days in the U.S. (Denver – clean, friendly, no snow, great music, the Brown Palace Hotel in all its Christmas glory and a Van Gogh exhibit) and have heard and read waaaaaayyyyyy too much about the fiscal cliff. Fortunately, I've come...

Read More

December 8, 2012

By Tom Bradley

How the Under-invested Can Get Back in the Market

My editors want me to at least occasionally write about something topical. At first glance, a column about getting back into the market doesn't appear to fit the bill, but it does. That’s because now is the time to do the groundwork for what is often the most difficult...

Read More

December 4, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Mr. Market Looks Ahead

There have been a number of articles recently on U.S. homebuilders. There are increasing signs that housing activity is picking up (albeit from near-dormant levels) and the indexes that track stocks related to the industry have doubled over the last year. This sector is a great illustration of how the stock market is always looking forward. When this latest run started last fall, the news on housing (resales, starts...

Read More

November 30, 2012

By Scott Ronalds

Year-end Distributions

The year-end distributions for all our funds (with the exception of the Savings Fund) will be declared on December 14th and paid on December 17th. The Savings Fund will pay its regularly-scheduled monthly distribution on December 31st. As a reminder, distributions...

Read More

November 29, 2012

By Scott Ronalds

Best Canadian Balanced Fund

At the annual Morningstar Canadian Investment Awards last night in Toronto, the Steadyhand Income Fund was recognized as the Best Canadian Balanced Fund. We’re a modest bunch at Steadyhand when it comes to awards and recognition, most of the...

Read More

November 28, 2012

By Scott Ronalds

Uh-Oh Canada

Connor, Clark & Lunn, the manager of our Savings Fund and Income Fund, produces an outlook every month on the economy and capital markets. Their recent commentary on Canada is particularly clear, candid, and sobering. CC&L’s views on the US and...

Read More

November 26, 2012

By Scott Ronalds

TFSA Contribution Limit Increased

The federal government announced today that the annual contribution limit for the TFSA is being increased from $5,000 to $5,500, starting in 2013. A feature of the TFSA is that the annual contribution limit is indexed to inflation, in $500 increments. 2013 will be...

Read More

November 24, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Amid the Desk Scraps, a Surprising Wealth of Perspective

Until a couple of days ago, there was a leaning tower of paper hovering over my desk. It was a stack of articles, charts, cartoons, quotes and sport stats that I was sure would be important one day, but in the meantime, was threatening my safety. It had...

Read More

November 22, 2012

By Scott Ronalds

The 007 Portfolio

I saw the new Bond flick, Skyfall, the other day and walked away with a smile on my face, knowing that the British Secret Intelligence Service (also known as MI6) is still well positioned to save the world from evil villains and vixens. Being immersed in this industry for the past decade and a half, I’ve developed a bad habit of relating all things to investing, including 007. When Bond was sipping his famous vodka martini in...

Read More

November 20, 2012

By Tom Bradley

What's an Investor to do?

With a decline of more than 200 points Wednesday, Canada's benchmark stock index erased its gain for 2012 and cemented its position as the worst-performing major stock index in North America. Even France's CAC 40 and Italy's Mibtel index are...

Read More

November 16, 2012

By Scott Ronalds

The Fiscal Cliff for Dummies

You’ve likely heard the term fiscal cliff lately. A catchy, if not chilling phrase, but what does it mean? Put simply, it refers to the combination of (1) billions of dollars of tax increases and (2) widespread spending cuts to government programs, all set to take effect on...

Read More

November 15, 2012

By Scott Ronalds

Money for Nothing

It just got a little greener in Seattle. Bloomberg reported last week that Microsoft recently raised $2.25 billion by issuing 5, 10 and 30-year bonds. And they did it on the cheap. The 5-year notes were issued at 0.875%, the 10-year bonds at 2.125%, and the 30-year...

Read More

November 13, 2012

By Tom Bradley

The Enemies of Performance

For keen investors and/or students of the investment industry, I recommend reading a speech (Surviving Success) given this past summer by Richard Rooney, the Chief Investment Officer of Burgundy Asset Management. Richard was speaking to an...

Read More

November 10, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Finding a Portfolio Manager That Runs Against the Herd

In my last column, I suggested that the stock picker’s lot in life is not as bad as it’s made out to be. I argued that many of the portfolio managers competing in this zero sum game (for every winner, there’s a loser) are destined to underperform for structural reasons...

Read More

November 7, 2012

By Scott Ronalds

Emmylou: Digging It

We introduced Emmylou back in March. As a reminder, she’s a fifty-something Winnipegger with a love for yoga, travel and the occasional pale ale. Emmylou has been a Steadyhand client for eight months now. She holds the Founders Fund across her three accounts (RRSP, Tax-Free Savings Account and Investment Account) and her portfolio has gained about 3.5% since she signed on at the end of February. With autumn briskly announcing itself in the Peg, Emmylou recently got...

Read More

November 5, 2012

By Scott Ronalds

Enormously Cheap

“It’s been a long, hard slog for [global] value stocks lately. I’d say we’re long overdue for a value recovery ...” These words from AllianceBernstein (a global asset management firm) echo the sentiment of our global manager, Edinburgh Partners. In a recent article...

Read More