Cutting Through the Noise
June 14, 2011
When I was an analyst on the brokerage side of the business (1980’s ... I was a teenager), there were a few iconic people that we all looked up to. Hugh Brown, who was with Burns Fry (now part of BMO), was one such person. He was the guy on...
Read MoreMay 31, 2011
I learned last week that the HealthShares Dermatology and Wound Care ETF has been shut down. A shame, really. Seemed like a solid backbone for a portfolio. Investors who like their ETFs sharp and narrow need not fret, however, as the Direxion Daily Daily Agribusiness Bear 3X Shares ETF is still around (for the time...
Read MoreMay 10, 2011
“If I’m curt, then I apologize. But as I understand it, we have a situation here and time is of the essence.” - Newman. I’m a Seinfeld junkie. One of my favorite episodes was “The Muffin Tops”, in which Elaine’s former boss (Mr. Lippman) decides to open...
Read MoreMay 4, 2011
There was news today that two private equity firms, Berkshire Partners LLC and OMERS Private Equity, are buying Husky International from Onex, another private equity company. This secondary buyout (defined as one private equity firm buying a company...
Read MoreApril 19, 2011
On the plane yesterday I was scanning the list of Canadian exchange-traded funds (ETFs). There were 145 funds on the list from four providers (BMO, Claymore, BlackRock and Horizons BetaPro). I know the numbers are higher now because I...
Read MoreApril 7, 2011
Irony n. incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs. My brother-in-law and I have an on-going banter going over the usage, or should I say incorrect usage, of the word irony (I lose regularly). Waking up this morning to an...
Read MoreApril 4, 2011
As managing director of a firm that manages US$1.2 trillion, Bill Gross’ words carry a lot of weight. Indeed, we blog on his writings often. In his April letter, he closes with a tight and powerful summary: “I am confident that this country [U.S.] will default on...
Read MoreMarch 31, 2011
There was an article in yesterday’s Globe on closed-end bullion funds that are trading at a premium to their underlying value. Unlike mutual funds, closed-end funds have a fixed number of units available (in the short term at least) and trade on the market like...
Read MoreMarch 21, 2011
When I was a stock analyst at Richardson Greenshields in the 1980’s, I was forced to spend more time analyzing the Federal Budget than I ever wanted to. Everyone in the research team had to determine how the Finance Minister’s words would affect the...
Read MoreMarch 11, 2011
As we watch the horrific destruction in Japan, we are well aware that our Global Equity Fund owns a number of businesses in that country. Roughly 20% of the fund is invested in Japanese stocks. At this time, we don’t have any information or insight to pass...
Read MoreMarch 10, 2011
Subsequent to posting my last blog (Hocus Pocus but no Magic), I came across some weighty comments that relate to the topic of fancy, highly-marketed investment products. In his latest piece, James Montier of U.S.-based GMO says, “If something seems too...
Read MoreMarch 7, 2011
I just read an article by Jade Hemeon in the February issue of Investment Executive, a trade magazine aimed at financial advisors. The piece was on a new product called BMO Lifetime Cash Flow. My experience with the article went something like this...
Read MoreMarch 1, 2011
Tom discussed Longleaf Partners’ annual letter to shareholders in a blog posting yesterday. Today, the grand-daddy of all shareholder letters is in the news – Warren Buffett’s. I’m beating Tom to the punch for a synopsis, as his posts in previous years...
Read MoreFebruary 28, 2011
While plowing through my research pile, I had the pleasure of reading the year-end report of the U.S.-based Longleaf Partners Funds. I’ve followed Longleaf, which is an extension of Southeastern Asset Management, for more than a decade and long...
Read MoreFebruary 21, 2011
A recent Angus Reid poll confirms what we have believed for a long time - many investors don’t know what they’re paying for their investment services (Steadyhand clients notwithstanding). The December 2010 poll revealed that 45% of respondents...
Read MoreFebruary 17, 2011
February 1, 2011
Tom Bradley was recently a guest on the Women’s Financial Learning Centre’s “Let’s Talk Money Podcast” with Karin Mizgala, a co-founder of WFLC. The topic of the show was transparency in the investment industry (or lack thereof). Tom and Karin...
Read MoreJanuary 12, 2011
For investors that own a monthly income fund of some kind, Dan Hallett’s article in the Report on Business today is a must read. As Dan says, “the industry has created numerous products that kick out generous amounts of cash each month...
Read MoreJanuary 6, 2011
It was reported this week that Goldman Sachs is investing $500 million in Facebook, which is a private company. Goldman’s 470 partners and select clients are also being given an opportunity to buy shares. One report suggested that this investment puts...
Read MoreDecember 8, 2010
"We’ve priced this product to do well in the marketplace … it’s the right product for the times …” - Martin Nel, vice-president of personal bank lending and investment products, Bank of Montreal. I’m sure there are readers who wonder why we write so negatively about...
Read MoreDecember 2, 2010
There was a story in the ROB today about how Prem Watsa’s investment acumen has made a huge difference to the Sick Kids Hospital Foundation. By reducing equities to 35% of the portfolio in 2007, the foundation held up well when markets were...
Read MoreNovember 20, 2010
Tom will be on Business News Network (BNN) on Monday morning (November 22) at 9:15 AM eastern time (6:15 AM PST). Later in the day, he'll be sitting in with Amanda Lang and Kevin O'Leary on The Lang & O'Leary Exchange, which airs at 7:00 PM...
Read MoreNovember 17, 2010
In response to my post last week, a friend and former partner, Dan Lewin of Lewin Capital Management, sent me a clip on gold. It came from a conversation between Ben Stein and Warren Buffett for Fortune magazine. When asked, "What about gold? Is this a classic bubble or what?", the Oracle of Omaha responded with the following...
Read MoreNovember 11, 2010
In his monthly letter, Bill Gross, the Managing Director of PIMCO and acclaimed ‘King of Bonds’, suggested that the Federal Reserve’s QE2 announcement last Wednesday (the second round of Quantitative Easing) “will likely signify the end of a great...
Read MoreNovember 10, 2010
When there is a message on voicemail for me to call my bank, I ignore it. I didn’t used to, but I do now. In the past, if I got one of those calls, it was because I was overdrawn or someone in Des Moines was using my credit card. There usually was something I needed to know or deal with. The urgency of the call was appropriate. In...
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