Blog: Cutting Through the Noise

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...

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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)...

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Will the Banks Grow?

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on July 18, 2011

My last Globe column (Of Cash and Quality Stocks) prompted a reader to ask, “Do you believe Canadian Banks will be able to grow their dividends at a healthy clip going forward? Is the growth of the Canadian Banks over?” In the past, I've underestimated...

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Mind the Gap

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on July 14, 2011

In a post last week, Larry Swedroe wrote about one of our favourite topics – the behavioral gap. I’m referring of course to investor behavior, not child rearing or post-Stanley Cup rioting. In an investment context, the term refers to the gap in returns between mutual funds and the investors that buy them. In study after study...

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Peace, Love and Better Returns

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on June 28, 2011

Canadian Couch Potato posted an interesting blog yesterday. Dan Bortolotti, the author of this highly-rated blog (in a recent Globe and Mail contest, it was voted the best investing blog in Canada), thinks we need to stop fighting about which is better...

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The F-Bomb

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on June 22, 2011

Fund (as in mutual) has become a dirty word. I was reminded of this the other day when Tom was lamenting over all the negative connotations associated with mutual funds. What was once a beautiful concept – investors pooling their money in a shared vision...

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Digging Ourselves Out

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on June 20, 2011

In his June 6th letter, Tim Price of PFP Wealth Management in the UK provides a thoughtful take on our debt burden. “From a narrowly financial perspective, government debt is an asset class, albeit an asset class now offering vast potential for capital...

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Get Human

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on June 16, 2011

We’ve all dealt with it and it drives us insane. Calling a toll-free number and following an automated voice prompt. Just give me a damn human voice! Pretty much every big business uses them. Yet, I don’t know of a single person who likes responding to synthetic...

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Banking on an Icon

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on June 14, 2011

When I was an analyst on the brokerage side of the business (1980’s ... I was a teenager), there were a few iconic people that we all looked up to. Hugh Brown, who was with Burns Fry (now part of BMO), was one such person. He was the guy on...

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Say it Ain't So

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on May 31, 2011

I learned last week that the HealthShares Dermatology and Wound Care ETF has been shut down. A shame, really. Seemed like a solid backbone for a portfolio. Investors who like their ETFs sharp and narrow need not fret, however, as the Direxion Daily Daily Agribusiness Bear 3X Shares ETF is still around (for the time...

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Fund Company Calls 'The Cleaner'

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on May 10, 2011

“If I’m curt, then I apologize. But as I understand it, we have a situation here and time is of the essence.” - Newman. I’m a Seinfeld junkie. One of my favorite episodes was “The Muffin Tops”, in which Elaine’s former boss (Mr. Lippman) decides to open...

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Are Client Returns Secondary?

Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on May 4, 2011

There was news today that two private equity firms, Berkshire Partners LLC and OMERS Private Equity, are buying Husky International from Onex, another private equity company. This secondary buyout (defined as one private equity firm buying a company...

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