Blog

Cutting Through the Noise


November 8, 2006

By Tom Bradley

A Trick and a Treat

My colleague, Scott Ronalds (last seen on the beach in Hawaii), has written some comments on the tax changes of last week. Here they are: Finance Minister Flaherty's Halloween announcement that income trusts will lose their tax advantaged status by ...

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November 6, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Best Foreign Money Managers may be Right Here

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published November 3, 2006 Until recently, I'd never heard of Alex Becks. I thought it was because I lived on the left coast and wasn't plugged in enough to the Toronto investment network, ...

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November 3, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Unconventional ... or Twisted?

Here's a picture of our Manager of Research & Communications, Scott Ronalds, reading David Swensen's Unconventional Success while on holiday in Hawaii.We're hoping all of our future employees are as dedicated as Scott. ...

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November 2, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Income Trusts II - There's Still Stuff to Worry About

The attention will be focused on the government's tax announcement for a while to come, but we shouldn't forget that there are other things to think about with regard to the income trust market. The tax changes have certainly shaken ...

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November 1, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Wow! Where Did That Come From?

Last week I praised Finance Minister Flaherty with regard to his comments on the fiscal surplus. There aren't many people praising him today. The changes to the taxation of income trusts have, and will continue to, generate lots of commentary ...

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October 26, 2006

By Tom Bradley

The Straight Goods from our Finance Minister

The lead story in yesterday's paper was "Ottawa Awash with Surplus Cash." Five months into this fiscal year, the Federal government is $6.7 billion into the black and they only forecast a surplus for the year of $3.6 billion. The ...

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October 21, 2006

By Tom Bradley

We're Hiring

We're looking for some good people to fill out our team in Vancouver, specifically an Investor Specialist and an Administrative and Marketing Associate. If you know of anyone, please let them know. ...

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October 21, 2006

By Tom Bradley

A Good Money Manager is Brave Enough to Say "I don't know"

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published October 21st, 2006 There are plenty of sports analogies that are appropriate to investing, but I find golf provides the most fertile ground. With both golf and investing, it takes only a ...

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October 18, 2006

By Tom Bradley

An Evolving Asset Class - "Not-so-private" Equity

Every few weeks there is news of a takeover in the Canadian market. Increasingly, the buyers are private equity firms rather than other industry players. Of course, this is just part of a worldwide phenomenon. Private equity firms are hungry ...

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October 9, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Diversify or Prepare to Suffer the Fallout

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published October 6, 2006 This column represents an anniversary of sorts. It's the tenth column of my burgeoning writing career with the Report on Business. Of the previous nine, the best reaction I've ...

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October 6, 2006

By Tom Bradley

PPNs III: Believe Me. I'm Not Making This Up

I promised myself that I wouldn't do any more postings on structured products for at least a few weeks, but I can't resist this one. The Financial Post had a small item on Monday about CIBC coming out with a ...

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October 6, 2006

By Tom Bradley

PPNs II - Why Would Anyone Buy the BMO/Saxon Note?

I thought that Rob Carrick's article in the Saturday Report on Business was excellent. It did a side by side comparison of the Saxon Balanced Fund and the BMO Saxon Balanced Protected Deposit Notes (another new PPN with a brutal ...

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September 27, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Steadyhand Investment Funds Update

This is just a quick update to let people know where we're at on the startup of Steadyhand Investment Funds. First of all, I want to thank those who sent us their best wishes and encouragement after our initial announcement. ...

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September 22, 2006

By Tom Bradley

The Agony and Ecstasy of the Absolute-return Manager

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published September 22nd, 2006 Because I'm starting a new mutual fund company, I've had the opportunity to sit down and talk to a lot of money managers over the last few months. I've ...

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September 21, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Sleepless in Kitsilano

I woke up way too early this morning (against my will). I decided not to fight it and instead used it as a chance to catch up on the reading that has been piling up. Part of the pile was ...

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September 15, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Business Startup Reality Check I - The IRC

I went to a seminar yesterday sponsored by the law firm, Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG). It was about setting up an "Independent Review Committee" (IRC) for a mutual fund company. Going forward, each company must have a committee of independent ...

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September 5, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Investment Industry's Perverse World: Pray for Bad News

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business, Guest Column Published September 2nd, 2006 If I had to choose one word to describe the investment industry, I'd pick ‘perverse’. It is like no other industry I know. That word came to ...

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August 30, 2006

By Tom Bradley

PPNs - The Investment Industry's Vioxx

Since my column on principal-protected notes was published in the Globe & Mail on August 1st, I've had lots of e-mails. Almost without exception, they've been supportive of my view. Stuff like: "right on" ... someone needs to take a ...

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August 23, 2006

By Tom Bradley

You're Paying Too Much If...

Jonathan Chevreau of the National Post is known for continually pounding away on the fee issue. He had lots of ammunition this week when he got his hands on a U.S. academic study called "Mutual Fund Fees Around the World". ...

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August 17, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Unrealistic Expectations I

I was golfing with a friend of mine a couple of Friday's ago. At the 19th hole, we got talking investments, which led us to the PH&N Bond Fund. He's owned the fund for years and has been very happy ...

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August 16, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Users' Guide to the Business Media

Originally published: October, 2004 (Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report). Context of the article: There's more investment information on the Internet and in the press than ever before. It's overwhelming. This article tries to help the individual investor ...

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August 16, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Are Investors Buying Too Much Insurance

Originally published: January, 2005 (Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report) Context of the article: In 2005, Principal Protected Notes (PPN's) were again big sellers during RRSP season and were garnering a lot of attention amongst individual investors. The ...

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August 16, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Discipline, Patience and Courage ... and a Little Cheating

Originally published: April, 2004 (Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report) Context of the article: Being successful at investing is hard. It takes discipline, patience and courage. If investors don't possess those traits, they should consider other alternatives. The ...

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August 16, 2006

By Tom Bradley

In Defense of the Lowly Mutual Fund II

Originally published: July, 2004 (Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report) Context of the article: In the spring of 2004, the Globe & Mail did a series of articles on the mutual fund industry. The tone was pretty damning. ...

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August 16, 2006

By Tom Bradley

Just Plain Wrong

Originally published: October, 2003 (Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report) Context of the article: There are rules of thumb in the investment industry that get established despite the fact that they aren't necessarily correct. This article discusses four ...

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