Blog: Cutting Through the Noise

Questions about Europe?

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on May 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...

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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...

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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...

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Book Review: The Big Short

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on April 27, 2010

Michael Lewis has a talent for writing about financial issues in a provocative and colorful manner. Having worked as a bond salesman for Salomon Brothers in the 1980s, he leans on his experiences and lessons learned on Wall Street to bring his readers...

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Slipping out the Door

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on April 22, 2010

George Morgan joined Mackenzie Financial in January 2009 as a Senior Vice-President and Portfolio Manager for the Mackenzie Cundill American Class Fund. Mackenzie issued a public announcement at the time. Here are a few excerpts: "George is an...

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Podcast: First Quarter Review

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on April 12, 2010

In this podcast, Tom and I highlight some of the key messages from our Quarterly Report. We also discuss our three-year performance (Steadyhand marked its third anniversary in the quarter) and provide an overview on the advice we are currently providing to clients. You can subscribe to our podcasts via iTunes...

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Podcast: Small Talk with Wil Wutherich

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on April 6, 2010

Wil Wutherich, the manager of our Small-Cap Fund, was in town last week on a research trip. We snagged a morning of his time to review the fund and get some further insights on some of the stocks in the portfolio. Listen now, or subscribe to our podcasts via...

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Podcast: Behind the Scenes - Quarterly Manager Calls

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on March 29, 2010

Toward the end of every quarter, we get on the phone with each of our fund managers and review their portfolios (our funds). This is a formal process that we go through with CC&L (the manager of our Savings Fund and Income Fund), CGOV (Equity Fund), Edinburgh Partners (Global Equity Fund) and Wutherich & Company (Small...

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Nalco

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on March 10, 2010

The Steadyhand Equity Fund consists of no more than 25 stocks. This is one of the manager’s (CGOV Asset Management) disciplines that we love. It ensures that we’re only getting their best ideas. Nalco is one of these ideas. The Nalco story is a...

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Active Share

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on February 24, 2010

The notion of “active share” is in the news again. Coined by a pair of Yale professors in 2007, active share is a measure that indicates just how actively managed a fund really is. In other words, it is a gauge of how much a fund looks like, or overlaps, a certain...

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Olympic Observations

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on February 16, 2010

It’s Day 5 of the Games. As we’re lucky enough to be in the heart of the action here in Vancouver (or unlucky enough depending on your viewpoint), it’s time for a few observations: Canadians are bursting with pride and patriotism. Which is a good thing, no matter how you look at it. There have been a few early disappointments for the home team (Manny Osborne-Paradis...

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Hunters or Farmers?

Excerpt from Scott Ronalds's blog on February 10, 2010

Seth Godin is a renowned author, marketer and blogger. He has great insights and observations on human behavior and the business world. In a recent blog, Hunters and Farmers, he examines the differences between the two types of individuals. In Seth's...

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