Cutting Through the Noise
January 5, 2007
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published December 29, 2006 I'm not one to make predictions on what the capital markets are going to do in the next year, or three years for that matter. But with my editors ...
Read MoreJanuary 2, 2007
Compared to the Enron / Worldcom blowups, the options pricing scandal we're going through now is very low key. Enron et al were front page news for a long time. The options scandal is strictly a page 8 item in ...
Read MoreDecember 22, 2006
I came across a wonderful quote yesterday. I was reading a piece I'd found on the Tocqueville Asset Management website (www. tocqueville.com) written by their Chairman, Francois Sicart. "I never invest in a situation in which I cannot lose money" ...
Read MoreDecember 18, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published December 15, 2006 I've been in the investment business since 1983 and I find that with each passing year simplicity becomes more and more appealing. And I don't think I'm alone; it's ...
Read MoreDecember 16, 2006
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal this week (December 13, 2006) which suggested that first-time buyers were starting to look at homes again. The reasoning was that prices had come down a little and affordability was better. ...
Read MoreDecember 7, 2006
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a great product. They provide exposure to the equity market for a reasonable price. If you buy the iShares XICs, you can be assured of getting the return of the S&P/TSX 60 for only 0.17%. That's ...
Read MoreDecember 1, 2006
December 1, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published December 1, 2006 I was talking to a friend last weekend about our new mutual fund company. After I took him through the fund lineup, he asked me what our hedging strategy ...
Read MoreNovember 17, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published November 17, 2006 "It's like a spotlight in the darkness... it focuses on what's moving and everything else is blotted in the darkness." Those words came from Eric Sevareid in a PBS ...
Read MoreNovember 8, 2006
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 ...
Read MoreNovember 6, 2006
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, ...
Read MoreNovember 3, 2006
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. ...
Read MoreNovember 2, 2006
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 ...
Read MoreNovember 1, 2006
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 ...
Read MoreOctober 26, 2006
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 ...
Read MoreOctober 21, 2006
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. ...
Read MoreOctober 21, 2006
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 ...
Read MoreOctober 18, 2006
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 ...
Read MoreOctober 9, 2006
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 ...
Read MoreOctober 6, 2006
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 ...
Read MoreOctober 6, 2006
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 ...
Read MoreSeptember 27, 2006
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. ...
Read MoreSeptember 22, 2006
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 ...
Read MoreSeptember 21, 2006
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 ...
Read MoreSeptember 15, 2006
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 ...
Read More