Blog: Cutting Through the Noise
Postings
Tom on BNN: Approximately Right
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on August 25, 2011
Tom was on BNN this morning discussing how we think about asset allocation and portfolio positioning in volatile markets. It’s all about being ‘approximately right’ rather than exactly wrong. In other words, you’re never going to pick the top or bottom of...Read More
Stock Update: Nalco
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on August 24, 2011
Nalco, the world’s leading water treatment company, recently entered into a merger agreement with Ecolab (a provider of cleaning, food safety and infection prevention products and services). CGOV, the manager of our Equity Fund, sold the stock...Read More
When Fear Rules the Market, it's Time to Say 'Buy'
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on August 21, 2011
In light of the recent weakness and volatility in the stock market, both statements are particularly poignant. It’s easy to agree with the logic and simplicity of Warren Buffett, but not so easy to behave like him. My former partner's shaking hand reinforces...Read More
Buffett for President?
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on August 16, 2011
One of the richest men in the world wishes he was taxed more. Warren Buffett paid $7 million in federal taxes last year, which equated to 17% of his taxable income. Surprisingly, this was the lowest rate of any of the 20 employees in his office. In a...Read More
Why Standard & Poor's was Wrong
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on August 15, 2011
I came across a commentary in the Financial Times this week on the downgrade of U.S. government debt by the rating agency Standard and Poor’s. I highlight it because there’s a hate-on for the U.S. and we know all its warts. In arguing that S&P got it wrong...Read More
What Now? Part II
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on August 10, 2011
What are the stock market declines telling us (other than we’re temporarily poorer)? Are they signaling the end of the world as we know it or, as a veteran value manager suggested to me yesterday, are we entering “opportunity-laden times?” In my view...
Read More
The Danger of Being Spooked by Doom and Gloom Headlines
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on August 6, 2011
“Hey Tom, how was your holiday? The weather’s been great – skiing conditions must have been calm?” “Oh Ralphie, it was amazing. Two weeks of Crystal Lake at its best. I’m totally decompressed. But what about you man? You’re looking pretty ragged...Read More
Slow Growth, Debt Burdened ... What Now?
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on August 5, 2011
The Grip, which is our tool for expressing our overall portfolio strategy, was a new feature in the June Quarterly Report, but the cautious stance it signaled was not. Since January, we’ve recommended that clients be positioned conservatively and where...
Read More
Meet Bruce
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on August 4, 2011
Meet Bruce. He shares several traits of investors who we deal with every day. In many ways, he is representative of a typical Steadyhand client. In this blog series, we’ll follow his investing journey and provide periodic updates on the decisions and challenges he faces. Bruce is a married forty-something software engineer with two pre-teen kids. His wife, Courtney, works part-time in marketing and the couple makes a combined annual income of approx. $180,000. They own a house in North Vancouver worth roughly $750,000 ...
Read More
Simply Complex
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on July 27, 2011
I was reviewing a new client’s portfolio last week and I stumbled across the Manulife Simplicity Balanced Portfolio. It’s a fund-of-funds product, meaning it holds a basket of mutual funds. In this case, the Portfolio holds 18 funds (as of December 31, 2010)...Read More
Five Predictions for the Wealth Management Industry
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on July 23, 2011
I recently spoke at a conference about the future of the wealth management industry. It was a good audience, but a bad gig. No matter what I said, I was sure to be wrong about some things. As Yogi Berra said, "It1s tough to make predictions, especially...Read More
Sound Off
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on July 20, 2011
At Steadyhand, we think we’ve got the best business model and investment philosophy around. We offer investors access to talented and experienced investment managers (who are typically only available to the ultra-wealthy) and straight advice. We invest alongside our clients, charge low fees and provide timely &...
Read More
