Cutting Through the Noise
August 27, 2012
Bacon is everywhere these days. It’s in chocolate, ice cream, jam, scented candles and even toothpaste. Fast food chains, while no strangers to bacon, are jumping on the bandwagon by introducing such items as bacon sundaes (Burger King) and milkshakes...
Read MoreAugust 22, 2012
“Stock rally defies fears of a slumping economy.” That was the title on an article in today’s Report on Business. To me, it’s further evidence of the macro mania that I wrote about in last weekend’s Globe article. Investors are looking at the big picture (Spain...
Read MoreAugust 21, 2012
We try to limit how often we write about fees because we have an axe to grind (is more than 50 times a year too much?), but … David, Chris and I have come across a few situations in the last two weeks that caught our eye. In each case, the investor had a...
Read MoreAugust 13, 2012
I went for pizza the other week at a small restaurant in a seedy, though gentrifying part of town. The menu was written on a chalkboard and consisted of only 5 or 6 options. The wine was served in jars. The seating was communal. Nothing on the menu...
Read MoreJuly 6, 2012
June 28, 2012
There is lots to worry about these days. Rob Arnott, of fundamental indexing fame, talks about the 3D hurricane - debt, deficits and demographics. As part of the hurricane, I’ve been questioning how sustainable U.S. corporate profit margins are, given...
Read MoreJune 21, 2012
It was announced this week that Yamana Gold is buying Extorre Gold Mines for $395 million. Yamana is one of the power houses in the mining industry, while Extorre is a smaller company that’s struggling to finance and develop a large silver mine in...
Read MoreJune 15, 2012
A friend of mine forwarded me a quote today from Credit Suisse (allegedly) that says it all: "The market is currently like a strapless bra; half of us are wondering what is holding it up and the other half are waiting for it to drop so they can grab the opportunity...
Read MoreJune 7, 2012
The Castlerock funds, which were formerly the Hartford funds, are becoming CI, Cambridge and Black Creek funds. Got it? This confusing reorganization is the result of another round of mergers in fundland. It’s CI’s turn this time, as they plan to...
Read MoreMay 23, 2012
I find the kerfuffle about the Facebook initial public offering (IPO) interesting. I don’t know if anything nefarious went on behind the scenes, but it seems to me that what played out on this overhyped and highly priced IPO (the $38 issue price equates to over 20x revenue) fell within the range of possible outcomes. Facebook...
Read MoreMay 17, 2012
In this space, we talk a lot about transparency, and we try our best to walk the talk. There was a piece by Barrie McKenna in the Globe and Mail this week about the Federal government’s transparency around financial reporting. The conclusion: If the...
Read MoreMay 16, 2012
We don’t spend a lot of money advertising at Steadyhand (at the end of the day, investors pay for it). If we did, you might see something similar to IA Clarington’s latest campaign on Active Mind. But with a Steadyhand spin, of course. As part of their campaign...
Read MoreMay 3, 2012
iShares fixed income turns 50. The global leader in exchange traded funds (ETFs) recently launched their 50th U.S.-based fixed income ETF (iShares offers 22 fixed income ETFs in Canada). Investors can access a wide array of products, including 8 different...
Read MoreApril 25, 2012
Last Sunday, while flying to the hottest housing market in Canada (Toronto), my airplane reading surfaced a couple more statistics about Canadian housing, both of which point towards caution. In their quarterly report, Mawer Investment Management noted...
Read MoreApril 4, 2012
The investment banking league tables came out this week and they showed that Scotia Capital was at the top of the equity list. BNS was lead underwriter on $2.4 billion worth of deals in the first quarter. What pushed them to the top was a $1.66 billion stock...
Read MoreMarch 8, 2012
Early in my career, the banks all looked and behaved alike. They battled for retail market share (cozily) and pursued copycat strategies – for instance, they all bought brokerage firms and trust companies within a few years of each other. At that time, Canada...
Read MoreFebruary 29, 2012
I still see a number of strategists and portfolio managers citing the U.S. housing market as a risk for 2012. I don’t get it. The slump is almost six years old. Housing starts are down to an unsustainably low level of 600,000 per year. The U.S. economy is...
Read MoreFebruary 23, 2012
For years I’ve been reading reports published by Southeastern Asset Management. The firm manages the Longleaf mutual funds and is chaired by legendary value investor, Mason Hawkins. The year-end report is interesting for a couple of reasons, the...
Read MoreJanuary 17, 2012
This week the 2011 sales numbers came out for Canadian ETFs (exchange traded funds). For the year, $7.6 billion flowed into ETFs (net of outflows) and total assets in the 200 plus funds finished at $43 billion. While the number of funds exploded in 2011...
Read MoreJanuary 10, 2012
I just finished listening to Chris talk with a client about her RRSP transfer. He told her that the paperwork had been sent to the relinquishing institution and we would be monitoring its progress. Chris tried to set reasonable expectations, “Given our...
Read MoreDecember 29, 2011
Michael Nairne, president of Tacita Capital, wrote a good piece in the Financial Post last weekend, titled A Gift From Risky Markets, which looks at historical stock market returns and valuations (dating back to 1825) and provides some perspective on the...
Read MoreDecember 22, 2011
From today’s Globe and Mail: “Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says Canada will not move ahead with its proposed Securities Act in light of the Supreme Court of Canada's decision to declare it unconstitutional ... The Supreme Court unanimously declared the...
Read MoreDecember 19, 2011
“Tom, I agree with your view on stocks, and boy, you’re so right about how negative people are, but ... I can’t help but wonder if it’s different this time.” It’s different this time. I’ve been trained to never utter these words. They’re the most dangerous four...
Read MoreDecember 2, 2011
As readers will know, Steadyhand has ranked highly on Morningstar's annual Stewardship Grades. That status was reinforced last night when we won the Best Stewardship Initiative Award at the Canadian Investment Awards.
Read MoreNovember 30, 2011
While Scott finds it ironic that the low-fee fund firms come out of high-cost Vancouver, I find it equally ironic that two of the highest fee firms in the industry come out of my home town. Winnipeg, which is known as the wholesale capital of Canada...
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