Cutting Through the Noise
September 30, 2008
We will publish our quarterly report next week, but in light of the turmoil in the markets, we wanted to provide a brief update on the third quarter today. As well, we are planning to do a podcast later this ...
Read MoreSeptember 25, 2008
Canadian Capitalist, a prominent financial blogger, recently posted a glowing book review of David Swensen’s Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment . CC followed up the review with another posting today ( How to Pick a Winning Mutual ...
Read MoreSeptember 21, 2008
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published September 20, 2008 I love writing this column, except on weeks like this. I don't generally do time-sensitive stuff (this isn't my day job), but when the markets are melting down, writing ...
Read MoreSeptember 17, 2008
Today was another tough day in the markets. The declines were broad based, although financial stocks of all stripes pulled down the indexes the most. The U.S. market was the worst (-4.7%), while Europe and Asia were down 2.5% and ...
Read MoreSeptember 15, 2008
In markets like this, almost everyone is unhappy. Some conservative investors might have done OK if they owned lots of government bonds, but most are down more than they expected and they didn’t expect to be down at all. No ...
Read MoreSeptember 11, 2008
Our five funds can now be purchased in TD Waterhouse discount brokerage accounts. Trades must be placed over the phone with a representative from TD, and their transaction fee varies based on the size of your purchase. ...
Read MoreSeptember 11, 2008
I recently received some thoughtful comments and questions from a client who is weighing the benefits of both the active and passive (indexing) investment approaches. I felt my responses may be helpful to others with the same thoughts/questions. Investor: ...
Read MoreSeptember 8, 2008
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published September 6, 2008 I recently had the occasion to hear marketing pitches from two leading investment firms: Burgundy Asset Management and Sprott Asset Management. Both have built wealth for their clients and ...
Read MoreSeptember 4, 2008
I came across a great quote today and it is totally applicable to the market environment we find ourselves in. It comes from Tim McElvaine’s newsletter ( www.mcelvaine.com ). He in turn got it from an interview with Chris Davis ...
Read MoreAugust 29, 2008
I’m not much of a tape watcher or television junkie, but I’ve had the Business News Network (BNN) and Bloomberg News turned on more than usual this week. I don’t know why really, because it has been an incredibly slow ...
Read MoreAugust 28, 2008
Inspired by a recent Dos Equis commercial , I'm toiling with the idea of a new Steadyhand advertising campaign - The Most Interesting Man in the Mutual Fund Business . It would go something like this: Tom is out of ...
Read MoreAugust 28, 2008
I understand “location, location, location” in the real estate business.” What I don’t get is “scale, scale, scale” in the investment business. But “scale” is the word of the week in our industry. Both Rick Waugh, the CEO of Bank ...
Read MoreAugust 25, 2008
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published August 23, 2008 For a while now I have been trying to buy my neighbour's property. He hasn't lived there for 15 years, but keeps it as an investment. When I broach ...
Read MoreAugust 21, 2008
Dan Lewin, a friend and former colleague, sent me an interesting piece last week. It is a letter to clients from Howard Marks, the Chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, a U.S. asset manager. It is all good, but I particularly ...
Read MoreAugust 20, 2008
Many great things come out of the Olympics. For two and a half weeks, the world turns its attention to stories of athletic passion, determination, and raw emotion. Billions of people will watch a man dive off a springboard, a ...
Read MoreAugust 11, 2008
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published August 9, 2008 This week, we saw another independent asset manager bite the dust. It was announced that IGM Financial, through its Mackenzie division, has made an offer to buy Saxon Financial. ...
Read MoreAugust 7, 2008
We started Steadyhand last year because we saw an opportunity to work with investors who know what they want, care about fees and are interested in beating the market over the long run. Our target clients make up a tiny ...
Read MoreJuly 30, 2008
Over the last month, my conversations (casual and business) have yielded an overwhelming consensus about the market. The consensus is that we are headed for a meltdown in the financial sector, high oil prices are here to stay, and it's ...
Read MoreJuly 28, 2008
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published July 26, 2008 Since my last column, I've been holidaying at the cottage. Normally I disengage from the investment world for these two weeks every year. The message to my partners and ...
Read MoreJuly 23, 2008
In this podcast, we sit down with Jay Menning, a senior member of the fixed income team at Connor, Clark & Lunn, to discuss the bond market and the Income Fund.
Read MoreJuly 22, 2008
This posting is a follow-up to The Steadyhand Diaries , which were published in the Globe Investor magazine in May. These postscripts are focused on things that didn’t get much space in the article. But let me start with a ...
Read MoreJuly 14, 2008
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published July 12, 2008 I've been reading Sports Illustrated for 40 years (since I was minus three years old). There are weeks when I don't get the Economist magazine read, but I never ...
Read MoreJuly 10, 2008
In this podcast, we review the second quarter of 2008 and touch on some highlights from our recently published Quarterly Report (available on the Forms & Documents page).
Read MoreJuly 6, 2008
I've long had an interest in formal business rules specifications and systems for managing enterprise business rules. Despite seeing the value in managing business rules explicitly, I've never been able to see how relatively small organizations like Steadyhand would have the ...
Read MoreJune 30, 2008
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published June 28, 2008 “We do our own independent research.” That's what all investment managers tell their prospective clients. It is a point of pride and is meant to distinguish them from other ...
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