Blog: Cutting Through the Noise
Postings
Steadyhand - As Seen on TV
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on September 23, 2009
A Steadyhand advertising campaign is starting today. It’s pretty extensive, but not all of you will see it. That’s because the magazine, newspaper, television and on-line ads are targeted at Southern Ontario (more on that later). I never thought we’d be advertising...Read More
Pillar #3 - Business Practices
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on September 21, 2009
In a nutshell, it all comes down to a few self-centered questions. Is this the way we want our money managed? Is this who we want doing it? Is this the way we want to be serviced, charged and communicated to? Call us selfish, but the answers to those...Read More
Complacency: A Major Misstep of Mutual Fund Investors
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on September 19, 2009
Individual investors (and their advisers) are far too patient when it comes to dealing with changes in their mutual funds. They're quick to make moves based on short-term trends and performance, but slow to recognize the impact of fundamental shifts in personnel...Read More
Turn off the Tap
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on September 16, 2009
I read that the recession is over. Both Ben Bernanke, the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman, and Mark Carney, the Bank of Canada Governor, have said so. I also read that out here on the wet coast, our provincial government has been dragging its...Read More
Equity Fund Update
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on September 9, 2009
On my recent trip to Toronto, I spent some time at the CGOV office, meeting with Gord O’Reilly, the manager of the Equity Fund, as well as other partners of the firm. Out of all the conversations, pizza and beer came very little that was new - even though...Read More
No One's Cornered the Market on the Best Strategy
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on September 5, 2009
I feel like I'm really up to speed right now. With the lousy weather in Ontario and Manitoba cottage country, there's been more time for reading. And while I still can't tell you what “quantitative easing” is, I've firmed up my view on all kinds of other topics...Read More
Everyone is an Economist III
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on August 27, 2009
In postings on March 31st and May 14th, I mused that the financial crisis and market meltdown had turned everybody into an economist. We all have a view on how deep the recession will be, where the dollar is headed and when the recovery will come...Read More
Who's Guaranteeing Who?
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on August 26, 2009
Be warned. I write this after a long day, a glass of wine and having just read an article on ‘Target Date’ funds in Monday’s Report on Business (Target-date Funds Miss Their Mark). Shirley Won’s piece on these packaged, marketing-driven, fee-laden...Read More
Temperament, not Technique, is Key for Managers
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on August 24, 2009
Being an analyst or portfolio manager means you are destined to make lots of mistakes. They say the great ones are right 60 per cent of the time, which means they're wrong 40 per cent of the time. There aren't too many professions where you're allowed...Read More
Small-Cap Equity Fund Update
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on August 19, 2009
The Steadyhand Small-Cap Equity Fund has been one of the top funds in its category since it started in early 2007. But in getting there, the fund has traced quite a different path compared to that of the market and other small-cap funds. That's because the...Read More
They Consolidate, We Smile
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on August 12, 2009
I walked into the office this morning to the news that AIC, the troubled fund company owned by Michael Lee-Chin, has been sold to Manulife. I smiled. I always smile when I hear that more consolidation has occurred in the wealth management industry. That’s...Read More
Clients Should Take the Reins in Setting Bonus Payments
Excerpt from Tom Bradley's blog on August 9, 2009
It may not be politically correct to admit it, but I have mixed feelings on the billions of dollars worth of bonuses being paid out on Wall Street. I'm always wary of hysterical, highly politicized issues that have only one side to them. But in this case, I've...Read More
