Blog: Cutting Through the Noise
Industry News + Views
Management Fee Deductibility - Clearing the Air
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on July 8, 2010
In our discussions with investors, we’ve found there are a few misconceptions surrounding the deductibility of investment management fees. The most common misunderstanding is that mutual fund investors are at a disadvantage (from a tax...Read More
The Back Hand - Shaking it Up
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on June 25, 2010
Below are some observations and musings on the week that was – a new feature that we’ve aptly coined The Back Hand. The world’s eyes are on Toronto this week as the G20 Summit nears. While the thought of a weekend of politics and bureaucracy...Read More
Stewardship Soap Opera?
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on June 22, 2010
Financial Post journalist Jonathan Chevreau wrote an interesting piece yesterday on Morningstar Canada’s new Stewardship Grades. The article highlights an attempt by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) to discourage Morningstar from...Read More
Morningstar Stewardship Grades
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on June 17, 2010
Morningstar Canada, a mutual fund research firm, recently introduced Stewardship Grades for over 25 fund companies. In their words, the Stewardship Grade “goes beyond the usual analysis of strategy, risk and return. It is intended to assess...Read More
TFSA Over-contribution Nightmares
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on June 16, 2010
The Globe and Mail recently reported on an issue that all investors who own a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) should be aware of – over-contribution penalties. Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has informed 70,000 investors that they may have to...Read More
Small is the New Beautiful
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on June 14, 2010
Small funds produce better returns. This is the conclusion of a recent study, titled Pension Fund Performance and Costs: Small is Beautiful, which looked at the performance of U.S. pension funds from 1990-2006. Published by a trio of...Read More
Know Your Advisor
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on June 2, 2010
Preet Banerjee is an industry insider who runs a blog titled Where Does All My Money Go? (his blog was ranked Canada’s #1 investing blog by the Globe and Mail last month). Preet recently developed a resource for investors called the Know Your...Read More
ETFs Gone Wild
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on May 31, 2010
It was announced last week that BMO is adding 8 new ETFs to its lineup. It now offers 30 ETFs, up from zero a year ago. With every new offering, BMO is getting narrower in its focus. The current batch gives the investor specific exposure to junior oil stocks, junior...Read More
Submission to the Task Force on Financial Literacy
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on May 17, 2010
The Task Force on Financial Literacy is a federal government initiative aimed at strengthening the financial literacy of Canadians. The Task Force, which is comprised of 13 members, was appointed in June 2009 (as part of the federal budget), and will...Read More
All Quiet on the PPN Front?
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on May 5, 2010
In the media and this blog, it’s been pretty quiet when it comes to principal protected notes (PPNs). Regular readers will know that we have been critical of these bank-issued products and have written about them often. I don’t have a sense of how...Read More
A Step in the Right Direction
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on April 29, 2010
There’s an old saying that mutual funds are sold, not bought. Canada’s mutual fund industry is a perfect example. The majority of financial advisors are paid commissions by fund companies for selling their funds and keeping clients invested in them. Up...Read More
Bad Math
Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on April 28, 2010
Rob Carrick’s column in today’s Globe and Mail looks at big, expensive mutual funds. He identifies the funds with the most assets under management and the highest management expense ratios (MERs). The 23 funds on his list all have more than...Read More
