Blog

Cutting Through the Noise


March 21, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Tie Breaker

In his column in today’s Financial Post ('Doing all of the Right Things'), Jonathan Chevreau reviews Steadyhand. The article is a book end of sorts, because Jonathan was the first one to write about us in the summer of 2006, just as our business model...

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March 17, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Real Estate as an Investment? Look Elsewhere

As an active manager of stocks and bonds, we’ve always considered our biggest competitor to be the market indexes. Over time, our clients expect us to beat them. These days, however, we’re facing another formidable foe. It’s called real estate. Investors...

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March 8, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Can I Join the Club?

Early in my career, the banks all looked and behaved alike. They battled for retail market share (cozily) and pursued copycat strategies – for instance, they all bought brokerage firms and trust companies within a few years of each other. At that time, Canada...

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March 3, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Dividends Obsession Distracts Investors From Big Picture

Would you rather see your portfolio earn 3 per cent per year and provide monthly distributions of 5 per cent, or earn 5 per cent with irregular payments totalling 2 to 3 per cent? It may seem like a ridiculous question, but it’s reflective of the choices being...

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February 29, 2012

By Tom Bradley

U.S. Housing - Risk or Opportunity?

I still see a number of strategists and portfolio managers citing the U.S. housing market as a risk for 2012. I don’t get it. The slump is almost six years old. Housing starts are down to an unsustainably low level of 600,000 per year. The U.S. economy is...

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February 23, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Longleaf versus Fairfax

For years I’ve been reading reports published by Southeastern Asset Management. The firm manages the Longleaf mutual funds and is chaired by legendary value investor, Mason Hawkins. The year-end report is interesting for a couple of reasons, the...

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February 21, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Introducing the Founders Fund

Yes, we’re introducing a new addition to our lineup - the Founders Fund. The fund is a balanced mix of our income and equity funds (it is a fund of funds) that best reflects my views on market fundamentals, valuation and ultimately asset mix. The fund’s...

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February 18, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Lose Those RRSP Blues: The Benefits of Saving are Certain

The RRSP season ain’t what it used to be. In the 1980s and ’90s when investing was fun, it was a focal point on the investment calendar. You couldn’t open the newspaper or walk a block without seeing an advertisement. Banks stayed open late to...

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February 4, 2012

By Tom Bradley

For Money Managers, Small Can be Beautiful

Boyd Erman wrote an article before Christmas titled “Squeeze Is On For Smaller Investment Firms.” When I saw the headline, I shuddered a little. Was he going to talk about firms that don’t have billions of dollars under management? Was he going...

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January 21, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Your Portfolio Performance Needs a Regular Check-up

A meeting I had with a prospective client a few years ago has always stuck with me. She told me her adviser had done well for her in the previous five years, but had been letting her down more recently. After reviewing the data, we discovered the...

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January 17, 2012

By Tom Bradley

ETF Sales - Underwhelming and Disappointing

This week the 2011 sales numbers came out for Canadian ETFs (exchange traded funds). For the year, $7.6 billion flowed into ETFs (net of outflows) and total assets in the 200 plus funds finished at $43 billion. While the number of funds exploded in 2011...

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January 10, 2012

By Tom Bradley

First Rant of 2012: RRSP Transfers

I just finished listening to Chris talk with a client about her RRSP transfer. He told her that the paperwork had been sent to the relinquishing institution and we would be monitoring its progress. Chris tried to set reasonable expectations, “Given our...

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January 7, 2012

By Tom Bradley

Five Keys to Staying on the Long-term Track

My holiday reading included two journal articles that challenge the notion that investing for the long term reduces risk. The message: It’s all well and good to recommend that an investor take the long view and not worry about short-term market dips...

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December 23, 2011

By Tom Bradley

A List to Santa That'll Make the Investing World a Better Place

I came out of the “me” generation (have I told you about my latest injury?), so even though this time of year is about giving, I’m mostly into receiving. In our household, my wife Lori goes for quantity at Christmas, while I’m all about quality. When I wrote...

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December 19, 2011

By Tom Bradley

Different This Time?

“Tom, I agree with your view on stocks, and boy, you’re so right about how negative people are, but ... I can’t help but wonder if it’s different this time.” It’s different this time. I’ve been trained to never utter these words. They’re the most dangerous four...

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December 10, 2011

By Tom Bradley

In a World of Negatives, Search for What Could go Right

It’s a remarkable time to be an investor and investment professional. After decades of overspending, we’re watching Europe melt down and the American empire decline faster than anyone expected. The debt burden has accelerated the power...

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December 2, 2011

By Tom Bradley

Taking Stewardship Initiative

As readers will know, Steadyhand has ranked highly on Morningstar's annual Stewardship Grades. That status was reinforced last night when we won the Best Stewardship Initiative Award at the Canadian Investment Awards.

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November 30, 2011

By Tom Bradley

Now That's Ironic – Part II

While Scott finds it ironic that the low-fee fund firms come out of high-cost Vancouver, I find it equally ironic that two of the highest fee firms in the industry come out of my home town. Winnipeg, which is known as the wholesale capital of Canada...

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November 26, 2011

By Tom Bradley

Check Your Emotions at the Border, the U.S. Looks Good

A year ago, I wrote a column inspired by a holiday in Arizona (my in-laws have that effect on me). The piece attempted to level a rather tilted picture of the United States, one that was firmly focused on dismal economic and political news. I suggested that from...

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November 14, 2011

By Tom Bradley

Old News

“I think the future of equities will be roughly the same as their past; in particular, common-stock purchases will prove satisfactory when made at appropriated price levels. It may be objected that it is far too cursory and superficial a conclusion; that it...

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November 12, 2011

By Tom Bradley

When Dividend Investing Doesn't Pay Dividends

I recently watched a promotional video that outlined the reasons for owning dividend-paying stocks – tax-efficient income, lower volatility and you get paid to wait for markets to recover. I agreed with all the fund manager's points, but he failed...

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November 4, 2011

By Tom Bradley

Robert Hager, 1937-2011

Few icons of the investment industry are celebrated outside the confines of Bay Street, but Bob Hager is one. Bob, who died on Oct. 7, was a driving force in building one of Canada’s most successful asset managers. In 1965, he and partners Art Phillips and Rudy North, started a fledgling firm called Phillips, Hager & North. By...

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November 3, 2011

By Tom Bradley

Further Creeping

As a follow-up to my ‘Creep’ column last week (The Dangerous Rise of an Obsession with Safety), we’ve come up with a few more items for the list. As a reminder, we defined creep as a ‘slow and stealthy movement’. One you don’t notice while it’s happening...

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November 1, 2011

By Tom Bradley

Growth Please

In his letter this month, Bill Gross of Pimco talks about the cure to all our ills – growth. As he says, “No country has enough of it.” In discussing the prospects for economic growth, Mr. Gross does a good job of capturing the challenges we face. “The lack of...

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October 31, 2011

By Tom Bradley

Background on the Fee Increase

We painfully announced last week that we’re raising the fee on four of our funds. [LINK to press release] This post provides some background. As our clients know, we have a unique and attractive fee structure. Our ‘One Simple Fee’ captures everything that we...

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