Blog: Cutting Through the Noise

Postings

When in Doubt, go BIG

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on May 5, 2009

A writer in the Financial Times this morning suggested that BMW and Mercedes need to worry about scale. With Fiat and Porsche playing the role of consolidators, the auto industry is going to have fewer, larger players. Therefore, as the logic goes...

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Size a Liability in Nimble Field of Stocks and Bonds

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on May 3, 2009

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business. Published May 2, 2009. Last week I was at the Richard Ivey School of Business speaking to an investing class. It is part of the Benjamin Graham Centre for Value Investing, which has grown in international...

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The Silly Season is Here

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on April 29, 2009

The 2009 Lipper Awards have been announced and the ads and emails have started. There will be a rush of fund firms announcing the loot they've collected. Last year we had some fun with our industry's 'silly season'. We announced our own LIPPY Awards...

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Recession or Depression?

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on April 27, 2009

Michael Nairne and his partner (in all respects) Joanne Swystun started a firm called Tacita Capital in 2006. It is a family office for “exceptionally affluent families.” Tacita publishes research pieces from time to time, the latest of which was recently...

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Podcast: Active vs. Passive Management

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on April 22, 2009

Many studies on active vs. passive management draw the conclusion that the latter strategy (more commonly known as ‘indexing’) is superior because it generates higher returns. Notwithstanding the ‘sloppiness’ of some of these comparisons, it is true that many...

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Confessions of a Melancholic Money Manager

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on April 18, 2009

The Globe and Mail, Report on Business. Published April 18, 2009. Let me set the scene. A generic portfolio manager enters a psychiatrist's office and starts talking. Let's be a fly on the wall. Thank you for seeing me, doctor. Sure, I can lie down on the couch...

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Bond Trades - What am I Paying?

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on April 17, 2009

There was great news today. The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) released a proposal to enhance disclosure requirements for over-the-counter (OTC) trades, including bonds. IIROC is one of two regulatory bodies for...

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The World Has Changed

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on April 15, 2009

More and more commentators and experts are acknowledging that the world has changed. The framework for the future that Pimco’s Bill Gross laid out recently - namely de-levering, de-globalization and re-regulation - encapsulates what I'm reading...

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Podcast: First Quarter Review

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on April 13, 2009

In this podcast, we review the first quarter of 2009 and discuss how our funds have fared in the current market environment. While it was another ugly quarter for equities in general, there were some bright spots, with some stocks posting strong gains...

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Steadyhand NHL Playoff Pool

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on April 12, 2009

Dig out the white towel and put the razor away. It’s playoff time. Get in on the action by entering the Steadyhand NHL Playoff Pool. Entry is free, and the winner will walk away with a team jersey of their choice. Tom would suggest a Mats Sundin Canucks jersey, of...

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'It Will Sell': Feedback from the Trenches

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on April 8, 2009

My last posting on packaged investment products generated a lot of feedback. There were some great comments posted on the blog, but I received many more emails from readers of the Saturday Globe and Mail. Below are snippets from some of the emails...

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'It Will Sell': A Tipoff for Bad Investment Products

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on April 6, 2009

As the wealth management industry works through this bear market, investment products that promise certainty and limited downside risk are going to be popular. With guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) offering minuscule yields, stock-market...

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