Cutting Through the Noise
November 28, 2012
Connor, Clark & Lunn, the manager of our Savings Fund and Income Fund, produces an outlook every month on the economy and capital markets. Their recent commentary on Canada is particularly clear, candid, and sobering. CC&L’s views on the US and...
Read MoreOctober 23, 2012
Our Global Equity Fund has had a rough three years. Nonetheless, it’s our view that foreign stocks will be an important contributor to client returns and portfolio diversification in the coming years. In this post, I’ll provide some background on the fund...
Read MoreJuly 25, 2012
We’ve been vocal about our aversion towards federal government bonds. We noted in our Q2 Report that the Government of Canada 10-year benchmark bond yield dropped below 1.6% in June, and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields sit below 1.5%. Both Canadian and U.S...
Read MoreJune 19, 2012
There are many headline-grabbing risks in today’s investment climate: Greece and the teetering European financial system; slowing growth in China; debt issues and the pending fiscal cliff in the U.S. Investors can’t be blamed for feeling concerned...
Read MoreMay 31, 2012
Don Cranston and Sheila Norman, both partners at CGOV (the manager of our Equity Fund), stopped by our office this week to give us a review of the fund. We’ll report on the portfolio in detail in our Q2 Report (early July), but in the interim we felt it would be...
Read MoreMay 14, 2012
We’re in one of the greatest bear markets of all time. In natural gas, that is. The commodity’s price has fallen from over $10 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) in July 2008 to about $2.50 today. Last month, it touched $1.90, representing a decline of roughly 85% from peak to trough. Natural gas is used to heat and cool homes and...
Read MoreMarch 27, 2012
This was the heading on a slide that Connor, Clark & Lunn showed us this morning during our quarterly review of the Income Fund. The chart (below) shows the path of a Government of Canada 10-year bond yield compared to the commonly-used indicator of inflation in Canada, the Consumer Price Index. After 31 years of declining...
Read MoreFebruary 24, 2012
Morningstar published an article today on Brian Eby, the head of fixed income at Connor, Clark & Lunn. CC&L is the manager of our Income Fund and Savings Fund. Along with highlighting Brian’s background and experience, the piece sheds some light on...
Read MoreSeptember 7, 2011
We often remind our clients that they don’t need to do much once their portfolios are set up, as our managers do most of the heavy lifting. While it may sound like lip service, it’s a phrase that carries weight. In times of heightened volatility, such as the past two...
Read MoreAugust 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 MoreJune 13, 2011
Our Global Equity Fund has had a poor stretch of performance since early 2010. The fund’s manager, Edinburgh Partners Limited (EPL), is the first to admit this. While they don’t manage the fund with a close eye on what the index is doing, any sustained period of under-performance...
Read MoreMay 19, 2011
In Connor, Clark & Lunn’s latest outlook, they assess the recent pullback in commodity prices. After a sharp run-up that began in early 2009, many commodities have been in retreat recently. Silver has grabbed the headlines, falling over 30% since late April, but...
Read MoreApril 18, 2011
The following is a recap of Edinburgh Partners Limited’s (EPL) investment in Carlsberg. It’s an example of a turnaround opportunity, which is a common theme in our Global Equity Fund. To re-state the obvious, the recession and credit crisis of 2008/09...
Read MoreMarch 17, 2011
While it’s still premature to evaluate the impact that the tragedy in Japan will have on businesses and the economy, Edinburgh Partners (the manager of our Global Equity Fund) has conducted a preliminary assessment. Before addressing specifics, EPL notes...
Read MoreMarch 16, 2011
As the Japanese disaster unfolds, we are dealing with many cross-currents in the capital markets. The pictures, dramatic news stories and unknown nuclear dangers are all part of a mix that has the potential to create an overreaction by investors. In our case...
Read MoreFebruary 24, 2011
At our recent client presentations, there was a subtle shuffling of feet and an air of unease when the topic of Japan came up. Japanese stocks have been an area of increasing interest for our global manager (Edinburgh Partners) and we laid out the reasons why: Japanese stocks are cheap on several measures; the proverbial...
Read MoreFebruary 16, 2011
The manager of our Equity Fund, CGOV, recently published a short piece that addresses a timely topic – inflation. With commodity prices rising across the board, investors may be curious as to how certain companies are affected by this trend...
Read MoreFebruary 9, 2011
Morningstar’s David O’Leary recently wrote a research report on our Small-Cap Fund. The piece, titled There’s a Lot of Potential in this Obscure Fund, is available on Morningstar’s website for subscribers to their premium service. Morningstar also...
Read MoreJune 24, 2010
In his latest interview with Independent Investor (a U.K. publication), Sandy Nairn, the CEO of Edinburgh Partners (the manager of our Global Equity Fund), provided his views on the global economy and capital markets. After being cautious in late 2007...
Read MoreMay 27, 2010
Last week I met with Edinburgh Partners Ltd (EPL), the manager of our Global Equity Fund, on their home turf. Here are the highlights. EPL has been in existence for almost 7 years and has been very successful. They manage C$11.4 billion for corporate...
Read MoreMay 25, 2010
I recently attended a luncheon hosted by Connor, Clark & Lunn, the manager of our Savings Fund and Income Fund. The session focused on the economy. Larry Lunn, the firm’s chairman and co-founder, was the keynote speaker. Larry is an experienced...
Read MoreMay 12, 2010
First it was swine flu. Now it’s fragile economies. Seems like pigs can’t catch a break these days. The southern European nations of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain (PIGS) are garnering plenty of attention in the media, as investors fear these countries may...
Read MoreMarch 18, 2010
It’s always great to visit Montreal, but last Thursday was particularly timely for reasons beyond the sunny, warm weather. It is the home turf for Wil Wutherich, the manager of our Small-Cap Fund, a fund that has just turned three years old (along with the rest...
Read MoreMarch 15, 2010
David and I met last week with Ian Cormack and Cathy Alsop from Edinburgh Partners (EPL) in Toronto. EPL manages the Steadyhand Global Equity Fund. The meeting reinforced the depth and experience of the firm (they announced two senior additions...
Read MoreMarch 10, 2010