Cutting Through the Noise
April 16, 2012
We go through our fair share of Advil at Steadyhand. Like any business, we’re faced with strategic decisions that involve internal discussions in which not everyone sees eye to eye. While some choices are easy – the boardroom m&m’s are for clients only – others face more rigorous debate. Below are five issues that have been constant sources of tension within the walls of 1747 West 3rd Avenue...
Read MoreApril 14, 2012
We’re celebrating our firm’s fifth birthday this week, which has brought on lots of reflection. Before we started up, I sought counsel from as many people as possible under the theory that if you want money, ask for advice. As it turned out, I got little money...
Read MoreApril 12, 2012
From our Quarterly Report: We’re celebrating our fifth birthday this week, so this letter is going to be more about us than usual. Indeed, during the rest of this month, our plans are to share five stories, post a few ‘five’ lists and drink too much 5-year old wine...
Read MoreApril 10, 2012
“If the bear leans on you, hold your ground.” Are these words of advice from an investment guru like Buffett, Watsa or Hager? No, they’re instructions from the trainer of Koda, my big furry friend who appeared with me in the video on our original home page. As it turned out, the trainer’s words would quickly become as relevant...
Read MoreApril 9, 2012
Steadyhand opened its doors to investors five years ago tomorrow. Since that bright spring day in April 2007, we’ve witnessed a lot – the biggest stock market decline since the Great Depression, a collapse in the U.S. housing market, derivatives gone wild, a global debt crisis, a strong market rebound, record low interest rates, investor paralysis, political revolution ... and more. It’s been an eventful period. And...
Read MoreApril 4, 2012
The investment banking league tables came out this week and they showed that Scotia Capital was at the top of the equity list. BNS was lead underwriter on $2.4 billion worth of deals in the first quarter. What pushed them to the top was a $1.66 billion stock...
Read MoreApril 1, 2012
I’m wired to be a contrarian. That means I tend to be early getting on and off trends. I was worried about the U.S. housing cycle in 2004 and thought the Rolling Stones were over the hill two decades ago (was I wrong?). I’m still calling for Cheez Whiz to...
Read MoreMarch 27, 2012
This was the heading on a slide that Connor, Clark & Lunn showed us this morning during our quarterly review of the Income Fund. The chart (below) shows the path of a Government of Canada 10-year bond yield compared to the commonly-used indicator of inflation in Canada, the Consumer Price Index. After 31 years of declining...
Read MoreMarch 21, 2012
In his column in today’s Financial Post ('Doing all of the Right Things'), Jonathan Chevreau reviews Steadyhand. The article is a book end of sorts, because Jonathan was the first one to write about us in the summer of 2006, just as our business model...
Read MoreMarch 17, 2012
As an active manager of stocks and bonds, we’ve always considered our biggest competitor to be the market indexes. Over time, our clients expect us to beat them. These days, however, we’re facing another formidable foe. It’s called real estate. Investors...
Read MoreMarch 12, 2012
We are currently seeking candidates for a permanent, full-time operations position. As part of the role, the team member will process account applications and trade documents, manage the account transfer process, reconcile daily valuations, and take...
Read MoreMarch 8, 2012
Early in my career, the banks all looked and behaved alike. They battled for retail market share (cozily) and pursued copycat strategies – for instance, they all bought brokerage firms and trust companies within a few years of each other. At that time, Canada...
Read MoreMarch 6, 2012
Emmylou is a typical Steadyhand client (notwithstanding her mono-tooth). Like Bruce, we’ll follow her investing journey and provide periodic updates on the decisions and challenges she faces. Emmylou is 57 years old and divorced. She’s been down the road with a couple of potential partners since splitting with her husband 10 years ago, but is not seeing anyone at the moment. She has one daughter, Stacey, who is a 30 year old teacher in Toronto...
Read MoreMarch 5, 2012
Tom’s Globe article on the weekend focused on Income Gone Wild (Dividends Obsession Distracts Investors From Big Picture). He opines that investors’ intense focus on dividends and income is distracting them from what really matters...
Read MoreMarch 3, 2012
Would you rather see your portfolio earn 3 per cent per year and provide monthly distributions of 5 per cent, or earn 5 per cent with irregular payments totalling 2 to 3 per cent? It may seem like a ridiculous question, but it’s reflective of the choices being...
Read MoreFebruary 29, 2012
I still see a number of strategists and portfolio managers citing the U.S. housing market as a risk for 2012. I don’t get it. The slump is almost six years old. Housing starts are down to an unsustainably low level of 600,000 per year. The U.S. economy is...
Read MoreFebruary 27, 2012
We’ve been banging the drum on the issue of performance assessment for good reason. Most investors don’t know how their portfolio has performed, and most firms don’t want to tell them. This reality was expanded upon in a recent article by Larry...
Read MoreFebruary 24, 2012
Morningstar published an article today on Brian Eby, the head of fixed income at Connor, Clark & Lunn. CC&L is the manager of our Income Fund and Savings Fund. Along with highlighting Brian’s background and experience, the piece sheds some light on...
Read MoreFebruary 23, 2012
For years I’ve been reading reports published by Southeastern Asset Management. The firm manages the Longleaf mutual funds and is chaired by legendary value investor, Mason Hawkins. The year-end report is interesting for a couple of reasons, the...
Read MoreFebruary 21, 2012
Yes, we’re introducing a new addition to our lineup - the Founders Fund. The fund is a balanced mix of our income and equity funds (it is a fund of funds) that best reflects my views on market fundamentals, valuation and ultimately asset mix. The fund’s...
Read MoreFebruary 20, 2012
We wrapped up our cross-country client presentations this month after visiting five cities and braving mother nature in all her winter glory. If you weren’t able to attend one of our sessions, we’ve produced a transcript of the event that hits on the key themes and...
Read MoreFebruary 18, 2012
The RRSP season ain’t what it used to be. In the 1980s and ’90s when investing was fun, it was a focal point on the investment calendar. You couldn’t open the newspaper or walk a block without seeing an advertisement. Banks stayed open late to...
Read MoreFebruary 9, 2012
Warren Buffett’s perspectives on investing are worth their weight in gold (or better yet, stocks). Invest in things you understand. Wait for the right pitch. Don’t follow the herd. Buy things you’d be comfortable holding forever. In a recent article in Fortune...
Read MoreFebruary 4, 2012
Boyd Erman wrote an article before Christmas titled “Squeeze Is On For Smaller Investment Firms.” When I saw the headline, I shuddered a little. Was he going to talk about firms that don’t have billions of dollars under management? Was he going...
Read MoreFebruary 1, 2012
We last spoke with Bruce in September, when he acted on our counsel to trim his weighting in bonds and add to equities. Bruce and Courtney’s portfolio rose roughly 2% in 2011 (its aggregate value at year-end was approx. 346,500). While Bruce isn’t popping any champagne, he realizes that their portfolio fared quite well considering its bias towards equities (which had a weak year). At the end of December, their asset mix was...
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