Cutting Through the Noise
May 3, 2009
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business. Published May 2, 2009. Last week I was at the Richard Ivey School of Business speaking to an investing class. It is part of the Benjamin Graham Centre for Value Investing, which has grown in international...
Read MoreApril 29, 2009
The 2009 Lipper Awards have been announced and the ads and emails have started. There will be a rush of fund firms announcing the loot they've collected. Last year we had some fun with our industry's 'silly season'. We announced our own LIPPY Awards...
Read MoreApril 27, 2009
Michael Nairne and his partner (in all respects) Joanne Swystun started a firm called Tacita Capital in 2006. It is a family office for “exceptionally affluent families.” Tacita publishes research pieces from time to time, the latest of which was recently...
Read MoreApril 22, 2009
Many studies on active vs. passive management draw the conclusion that the latter strategy (more commonly known as ‘indexing’) is superior because it generates higher returns. Notwithstanding the ‘sloppiness’ of some of these comparisons, it is true that many...
Read MoreApril 18, 2009
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business. Published April 18, 2009. Let me set the scene. A generic portfolio manager enters a psychiatrist's office and starts talking. Let's be a fly on the wall. Thank you for seeing me, doctor. Sure, I can lie down on the couch...
Read MoreApril 17, 2009
There was great news today. The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) released a proposal to enhance disclosure requirements for over-the-counter (OTC) trades, including bonds. IIROC is one of two regulatory bodies for...
Read MoreApril 15, 2009
More and more commentators and experts are acknowledging that the world has changed. The framework for the future that Pimco’s Bill Gross laid out recently - namely de-levering, de-globalization and re-regulation - encapsulates what I'm reading...
Read MoreApril 13, 2009
In this podcast, we review the first quarter of 2009 and discuss how our funds have fared in the current market environment. While it was another ugly quarter for equities in general, there were some bright spots, with some stocks posting strong gains...
Read MoreApril 12, 2009
Dig out the white towel and put the razor away. It’s playoff time. Get in on the action by entering the Steadyhand NHL Playoff Pool. Entry is free, and the winner will walk away with a team jersey of their choice. Tom would suggest a Mats Sundin Canucks jersey, of...
Read MoreApril 8, 2009
My last posting on packaged investment products generated a lot of feedback. There were some great comments posted on the blog, but I received many more emails from readers of the Saturday Globe and Mail. Below are snippets from some of the emails...
Read MoreApril 6, 2009
As the wealth management industry works through this bear market, investment products that promise certainty and limited downside risk are going to be popular. With guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) offering minuscule yields, stock-market...
Read MoreApril 2, 2009
Nobody likes looking at their account statement these days. No matter where you’re invested, returns are ugly. But beyond the numbers, there’s often a lot to be desired. We’ve had a number of statements come across our desk lately from investors who are looking...
Read MoreMarch 31, 2009
Recession? Depression? Recessionary depression? Who knows? In the dark moments of an economic and market cycle, I find that everyone becomes an economist. Traders, analysts, portfolio managers, advisors and individual investors all amp up...
Read MoreMarch 27, 2009
Manulife is going to pay its retiring CEO $12.5 million in 2009. Dominic D’Alessandro’s pay cheque for 5 months work will be made up of cash ($2.5 million) and restricted shares ($10 million). To quote chairwoman Gail Cook-Bennett, “[the compensation]...
Read MoreMarch 25, 2009
I received an email from a reader who suggested that someone should offer a balanced fund that is more focused on preserving capital. Rather than being stuck on a set asset mix, as most balanced funds are, the fund would have the scope to move between...
Read MoreMarch 25, 2009
We’ve moved our website to a new host. While you may notice some small changes, including an improved comment feature on the Blog, the site and all its functionality should largely look and work the same. If you notice any oddities or are having any...
Read MoreMarch 23, 2009
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business. Published March 21, 2009. It is hard to find an individual investor who thinks that now is the right time to buy into the stock market. People that are holding cash are happy and have no intention of parting with their...
Read MoreMarch 20, 2009
In the investment business, valuation comparisons are very important. How one security stacks up against another in terms of price to earnings ratio, cash flow multiple or yield is at the core of what we do. CP Rail is cheaper than CN because it has a lower price...
Read MoreMarch 10, 2009
In this podcast, we discuss Warren Buffett's recently published annual letter to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. We posted a series of blogs last week on Buffett's recap of Berkshire's operations in 2008, and Tom's Globe and Mail column on the weekend...
Read MoreMarch 9, 2009
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business. Published March 7, 2009. The news media have been remarkably quiet about the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. newsletter this year. And yet, as we go through this historic time, we need its calm, common sense and...
Read MoreMarch 5, 2009
It would be an oversight to do a series of postings on Warren Buffett’s 2008 Letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway and not review some of the great quotes and analogies. On the current investing environment: “Things also went ...
Read MoreMarch 4, 2009
In this, our third posting on Warren Buffett’s 2008 Letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway , there is no introduction or additional explanation required. This is his comment on the current investing environment. “The investment world has gone from ...
Read MoreMarch 3, 2009
One of the recent themes of this blog has been the notion that this economic crisis will cause the ‘strong to get stronger’. Well-financed companies will have unprecedented opportunities to buy assets and attract talent through this period, and will ...
Read MoreMarch 1, 2009
Warren Buffett’s 2008 Letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway was published on Saturday. As usual, it brings a refreshing perspective on topics of current interest. Over the course of the week, we’ll highlight a few. As he does every ...
Read MoreFebruary 27, 2009
With all of us wondering how we’re going to get out of this mess, I thought this month’s Investment Outlook by Bill Gross of Pimco was a good read. Mr. Gross is known as the ‘King of Bonds’ in the U.S. ...
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