Cutting Through the Noise
February 28, 2011
While plowing through my research pile, I had the pleasure of reading the year-end report of the U.S.-based Longleaf Partners Funds. I’ve followed Longleaf, which is an extension of Southeastern Asset Management, for more than a decade and long...
Read MoreFebruary 25, 2011
As an addendum to my post last week, I want to revisit the words safe and Canada. An excellent reason for investing in Canada is that it’s a safe(r) way to play the emerging markets, specifically China. Our resource stocks in particular will benefit from...
Read MoreFebruary 24, 2011
At our recent client presentations, there was a subtle shuffling of feet and an air of unease when the topic of Japan came up. Japanese stocks have been an area of increasing interest for our global manager (Edinburgh Partners) and we laid out the reasons why: Japanese stocks are cheap on several measures; the proverbial...
Read MoreFebruary 21, 2011
A recent Angus Reid poll confirms what we have believed for a long time - many investors don’t know what they’re paying for their investment services (Steadyhand clients notwithstanding). The December 2010 poll revealed that 45% of respondents...
Read MoreFebruary 18, 2011
“Risk-free investing. Yes, it does exist.” These words are featured prominently in a financial institution’s ads we’re seeing this season. And every time I see them, it sets me off. Why? Because investing is all about taking risk. Without it, we get risk-free...
Read MoreFebruary 17, 2011
February 16, 2011
The manager of our Equity Fund, CGOV, recently published a short piece that addresses a timely topic – inflation. With commodity prices rising across the board, investors may be curious as to how certain companies are affected by this trend...
Read MoreFebruary 14, 2011
As for my strategy, I’ve sold some of my non-registered investments and invested the proceeds in my Steadyhand TFSA. I triggered a small capital gain in the process, but the future tax-free growth will more than offset the small tax liability. All of my TFSA...
Read MoreFebruary 9, 2011
Morningstar’s David O’Leary recently wrote a research report on our Small-Cap Fund. The piece, titled There’s a Lot of Potential in this Obscure Fund, is available on Morningstar’s website for subscribers to their premium service. Morningstar also...
Read MoreFebruary 7, 2011
The manager of our fixed income funds (Connor, Clark & Lunn) prepares a Financial Markets Forecast every year that addresses the outlook for the economy, inflation, monetary policy, market valuations and extreme technical conditions in order to set...
Read MoreFebruary 4, 2011
Bay Street, we have a problem. A PR problem. Our clients think we can do more than we’re capable of. Some think we know which stocks are going up and when to get in and out of the market. We’re setting them up for disappointment and as a...
Read MoreFebruary 1, 2011
Tom Bradley was recently a guest on the Women’s Financial Learning Centre’s “Let’s Talk Money Podcast” with Karin Mizgala, a co-founder of WFLC. The topic of the show was transparency in the investment industry (or lack thereof). Tom and Karin...
Read MoreJanuary 21, 2011
On the buy side, we have a love/hate relationship with our stars. We’re happy when they put big return numbers up on the board, bring recognition to our firms and attract new assets. We don’t like it, however, when we become too dependent on them. Then...
Read MoreJanuary 20, 2011
Assessing your portfolio’s performance is a key element of being a successful investor. Yet, it’s also one of the ‘muddiest’ and more overlooked areas of investing. That’s because a proper performance assessment takes time and is hard to do. Also, the...
Read MoreJanuary 17, 2011
2010 was a good year for both stocks and bonds. Resource-focused and small-cap stocks saw sharp gains, and both the Canadian and U.S. markets turned in double-digit returns. European stocks struggled in comparison, however, due to the well-publicized headwinds in the region (i.e., debt problems)...
Read MoreJanuary 12, 2011
For investors that own a monthly income fund of some kind, Dan Hallett’s article in the Report on Business today is a must read. As Dan says, “the industry has created numerous products that kick out generous amounts of cash each month...
Read MoreJanuary 7, 2011
“Finding the right answers is easy. Asking the right questions is the hard part.” As we open our calendars on 2011, this old adage has never been more apt. We’re being buffeted with crosswinds and it’s not obvious which ones will affect investment...
Read MoreJanuary 6, 2011
It was reported this week that Goldman Sachs is investing $500 million in Facebook, which is a private company. Goldman’s 470 partners and select clients are also being given an opportunity to buy shares. One report suggested that this investment puts...
Read MoreJanuary 4, 2011
We asked our managers and select employees why they’re optimistic about the stock market in 2011. Let’s just say they had some unique perspectives. Click the link to watch the video...
Read MoreDecember 24, 2010
Hindsight bias: The inclination to see events that have occurred as being more predictable than they were before they took place. That’s Wikipedia’s definition of a behavioural weakness we all have. We take credit for having seen something...
Read MoreDecember 22, 2010
Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management is one of my favourite market analysts. In a letter published last Friday, he takes on the topic of gold. It’s a wonderful piece and a must read for anyone who is interested in the shiny metal. There are too many pearls...
Read MoreDecember 17, 2010
Our funds paid out their distributions to unitholders yesterday. As a reminder, distributions represent the mechanism whereby the funds transfer to unitholders any interest and dividend income and realized capital gains they accrued over the year...
Read MoreDecember 15, 2010
Although 2010 is coming to an end, we’re left with a lot to remember (and forget), including the Vancouver Olympics, the European debt problems, the vuvuzela, the iPad, the HST controversy in B.C., and the gloomy economic forecasts. While it was an eventful year in business, politics and sports, it was another busy and productive year in the shop as well. In this year's Holiday Letter, we reflect...
Read MoreDecember 10, 2010
We’re going through another wave of consolidation in the asset management industry. Last summer, Sceptre Investment Counsel merged into Fiera Capital. More recently, CI Financial bought Hartford’s mutual funds, Bank of Nova Scotia made an offer for DundeeWealth...
Read MoreDecember 10, 2010
We've compiled four years of Tom's articles and blogs into a new book titled It's Not Rocket Science: Plain-English Advice for Managing Your Investments. The pieces are short narratives that reinforce some of the basic, yet most important, principles of investing...
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