Focusing Too Much on the Short Term Can Lead to a Short Career

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published February 7, 2009 I've been having trouble sleeping, so I dusted off a research report written by my friend, J.J. Woolverton, who is the chairman of Guardian Capital LP (he makes me ...

Going Soft on RIM

“The conduct at issue relates to stock options granting practices at RIM which, over a ten year period from December 1996 to July 2006 were inconsistent with the terms of RIM’s stock option plan and with RIM’s public disclosure.” - ...

Mining for Nuggets

I’ve written about our home team, Teck Corp., in previous postings.  This week Rio Tinto is in the headlines.  Its situation is similar in the sense that six months ago it was a leading resource company, perhaps the premier one ...

Buyer Beware: Leveraged ETFs

Gold was up roughly 1.5% in 2008 (as measured by the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index) - a good year relative to most other investments. If you used a slick new breed of leveraged exchange traded funds (ETFs), you could have doubled your exposure...

Podcast: Tom & Wil Discuss the Small-Cap Fund

In this podcast, Tom chats with Wil Wutherich, the manager of the Small-Cap Fund, about the fund's performance in 2008, the current opportunities in the market, and some of the fund's larger holdings...

Liquid and Lovin' it

As I was reading the year-end report from CGOV, the manager of our Equity Fund, I was blown away by the numbers.  We’ve talked in the past about the quality of companies in the fund, how well positioned they are ...

Five Misguided Mantras That Should be Put to Rest

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published January 24, 2009 Readers are quick to point out when they think I am naive, dismissive, misinformed or just plain wrong. No doubt there has been some loose analysis in this column ...

A Mountain of Cash in the Waiting

We've mentioned in recent blogs and podcasts that there's a lot of money sitting on the sidelines as tired investors have been pulling out of the market. With the year-end numbers now rolling in, here are some figures worth noting: ...

Jumping in or Averaging in - Which is Best?

I recently re-read a 2004 article from Bernstein Global Wealth Management entitled Taking the Fear out of Entering Equities .  It did an excellent job of addressing the issue of whether dollar-cost averaging is the best way to invest new ...

This Isn't the RRSP Season to Miss

As regular readers will know, I follow Jeremy Grantham and his colleagues at GMO with great interest.  Jeremy’s quarterly missives are always enlightening and the firm, which is based in Boston, has a great long-term track record.  One of the ...

Podcast: Fourth Quarter Review

2008 was an ugly year in the capital markets.  In particular, heavy losses were experienced in the fourth quarter, as widespread de-leveraging and indiscriminate selling took place.  Yet, every major market decline presents opportunities and investors should ensure their portfolios are well positioned for the 'other side of the valley'.

In this podcast we review the fourth quarter and provide our thoughts on the markets going forward.

Debt is the Pariah in the New Economic Order

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published January 10, 2009 When trying to explain what's going on in the stock market, we often draw comparisons to the housing market. It helps to put the mysteries of Wall Street into ...

Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs)

Starting this year, a new savings vehicle will be available to all eligible Canadians who are at least 18 years old.  Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) will enable individuals to invest money in a tax-free structure throughout their lifetimes. Contributions to TFSAs ...

Readers' Choice - Top Steadyhand Blog Postings of 2008

As 2008 comes to an end (thank god!), we’d like to thank all of the loyal readers of our blog.  We hope you’ve enjoyed our thoughts, opinions, commentaries, criticisms, musings and satires on investing and the industry that we call ...

Crystal-ball Gazing for 2009 - After a Less Than Stellar Shot at 2008

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published December 27, 2008 The year 2008 was a tough one for prognosticators. Certainly my previously impeccable record was severely tarnished. Last year's Christmas column had a few things right - Bill Holland ...

He Couldn't Carry Trevor's Bag

I’m a sports fan. I’m a Canucks fan. I was a Mats Sundin fan.  Until now. Mats’ little dance with NHL general managers is one of the most cynical things I’ve witnessed in sports - the NY Knicks signing of ...

Road of Least Recovery

I am on a list to receive a daily email advertisement from Advisor.ca.  I see a different product from a different company every day.  For me, it’s a great way to keep in touch with what products are being pushed ...

Podcast: Amid the Doom and Gloom, it's Time to Hatch a Strategy for Better Times

In this podcast, I expand on my latest Globe and Mail column, where I identify three reasons why investors should be looking beyond the doom and gloom: (1) stock and corporate bond valuations are very attractive, (2) investor sentiment is close to maximum bearishness, and (3) there's a mound of cash building up on the sidelines...

Amid the Doom and Gloom, it's Time to Hatch a Strategy for Better Times

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published December 13, 2008 “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” In a recent series of client presentations, we used these words from Iron Mike Tyson to segue from ...

They Say That Laughter is the Best Medicine

A little Saturday humour to perk you up in these troubling times. The market seems to keep dropping and dropping Because those damn Yankees couldn’t stop shopping Through their homes they’ve borrowed a ton of dough Now they’ve got no ...

Corporate Bonds Assuming Worse than the Worst

This posting is for the bond geeks in the crowd. The manager of our Income Fund, Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management, recently did the following analysis on corporate bonds.  If you passively buy a portfolio of 5-yr U.S. investment ...

Year-end Distributions

A quick reminder that with the exception of the Savings Fund, the year-end distributions of all our funds will be calculated on December 15th and paid on December 16th .  The distribution for the Savings Fund will be calculated on ...

A Lousy Destination

The latest take on principal protected products comes in the form of life cycle funds with capital guarantees.  For those unfamiliar with life cycle funds, they are simply packaged products that have a target end date and shift the asset ...

China Inc. - Buy, Hold or Sell

I think it’s a fascinating time for China watchers.  What am I saying?  It’s always an interesting time to be a China watcher. There has been an underlying assumption in the market that China will grow rapidly forever.  Government resources ...

No Laughing Matter

The other night Lori and I were drowning our sorrows with a bottle of red wine - markets, markets, markets...drink, drink, drink.  The wine, called Portfolio 2006 , was a diversified mix of Merlot, Cab, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit ...