Cutting Through the Noise
March 8, 2012
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...
Read MoreMarch 3, 2012
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...
Read MoreFebruary 29, 2012
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...
Read MoreFebruary 23, 2012
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...
Read MoreFebruary 21, 2012
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...
Read MoreFebruary 18, 2012
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...
Read MoreFebruary 4, 2012
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...
Read MoreJanuary 21, 2012
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...
Read MoreJanuary 17, 2012
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...
Read MoreJanuary 10, 2012
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...
Read MoreJanuary 7, 2012
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...
Read MoreDecember 23, 2011
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...
Read MoreDecember 19, 2011
“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...
Read MoreDecember 10, 2011
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...
Read MoreDecember 2, 2011
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.
Read MoreNovember 30, 2011
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...
Read MoreNovember 26, 2011
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...
Read MoreNovember 14, 2011
November 12, 2011
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...
Read MoreNovember 4, 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...
Read MoreNovember 3, 2011
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...
Read MoreNovember 1, 2011
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...
Read MoreOctober 31, 2011
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...
Read MoreOctober 29, 2011
“Creep.” The dictionary defines it as a "slow and stealthy movement." To me, it’s something you don’t notice while it’s happening, but later when you do, you go "Wow!" If you think about our lifestyle, we've slowly moved to a place where jeans are...
Read MoreOctober 28, 2011
Oracle, which is a holding in the Equity Fund, announced a takeover bid for RightNow Technologies this week. In the past, Oracle has proven to be an effective and disciplined acquirer, but there is talk on this one that they paid too much – over 5 times sales...
Read More