Cutting Through the Noise
September 5, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business, Guest Column Published September 2nd, 2006 If I had to choose one word to describe the investment industry, I'd pick ‘perverse’. It is like no other industry I know. That word came to ...
Read MoreAugust 30, 2006
Since my column on principal-protected notes was published in the Globe & Mail on August 1st, I've had lots of e-mails. Almost without exception, they've been supportive of my view. Stuff like: "right on" ... someone needs to take a ...
Read MoreAugust 23, 2006
Jonathan Chevreau of the National Post is known for continually pounding away on the fee issue. He had lots of ammunition this week when he got his hands on a U.S. academic study called "Mutual Fund Fees Around the World". ...
Read MoreAugust 17, 2006
I was golfing with a friend of mine a couple of Friday's ago. At the 19th hole, we got talking investments, which led us to the PH&N Bond Fund. He's owned the fund for years and has been very happy ...
Read MoreAugust 16, 2006
Originally published: October, 2004 (Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report). Context of the article: There's more investment information on the Internet and in the press than ever before. It's overwhelming. This article tries to help the individual investor ...
Read MoreAugust 16, 2006
Originally published: January, 2005 (Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report) Context of the article: In 2005, Principal Protected Notes (PPN's) were again big sellers during RRSP season and were garnering a lot of attention amongst individual investors. The ...
Read MoreAugust 16, 2006
Originally published: April, 2004 (Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report) Context of the article: Being successful at investing is hard. It takes discipline, patience and courage. If investors don't possess those traits, they should consider other alternatives. The ...
Read MoreAugust 16, 2006
Originally published: July, 2004 (Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report) Context of the article: In the spring of 2004, the Globe & Mail did a series of articles on the mutual fund industry. The tone was pretty damning. ...
Read MoreAugust 16, 2006
Originally published: October, 2003 (Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report) Context of the article: There are rules of thumb in the investment industry that get established despite the fact that they aren't necessarily correct. This article discusses four ...
Read MoreAugust 16, 2006
Originally published: July, 2003 ( Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report) Context of the article: In 2003, there was a lot of press on the conflicts of interest that are inherent in the investment industry. At that time, ...
Read MoreAugust 16, 2006
Originally published: April, 2003 ( Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report) Context of the article: The stock market had been going down for three years. Three year returns for the Canadian and U.S. markets (Cdn $) were -11% ...
Read MoreAugust 16, 2006
Originally published: July, 2002 (Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Quarterly Report) Context of the article: In the summer of 2002, we were well into a bear market for equities. This article is build around the fact that when everyone ...
Read MoreAugust 11, 2006
With all the performance data from the June 30th quarter-end piled up on my desk and getting staler by the minute, I thought I'd better get at it. I was going through the SEI Pooled Fund survey (which reviews the ...
Read MoreAugust 4, 2006
In today's National Post, Jonathan Chevreau writes about Steadyhand Investment Funds in a story entitled: ' A tough way to start a fund '. This article certainly reminds Neil and me of the challenges we face in selling directly to ...
Read MoreAugust 3, 2006
It's been a couple of weeks since Westjet settled with Air Canada for $15 million. As you may remember, Air Canada was suing Westjet for commercial espionage. Westjet was caught illegally stealing data on flight loads from Air Canada's data ...
Read MoreAugust 3, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business, Guest Column Published August 1st, 2006 As I contemplate starting a new investment company, I've had to assess what form it will take. Specifically, I've been trying to decide whether the good ol' ...
Read MoreAugust 1, 2006
I mentioned in my last posting that Neil Jensen and I (along with a few other like-minded people) are starting a new mutual fund company, Steadyhand Investment Funds Inc . We are at the stage now where one of those ...
Read MoreJuly 31, 2006
Us - that's who! I am partnering with Neil Jensen and a few other like-minded people to start Steadyhand Investment Funds . We're hoping to open the doors in the first quarter of 2007, although the date will be highly ...
Read MoreJuly 27, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business, Guest Column July 21 2006 There are big decisions being made in the resource sector these days, as there are in the housing market, and at their core, the decisions are very similar. ...
Read MoreJuly 27, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business, Guest Column July 12 2006 In April, 2003, when everyone was felling pretty beaten up after three years of falling stock markets, I wrote an article in the Phillips, Hager & North Quarterly ...
Read MoreJuly 12, 2006
As I contemplate starting a new investment company, I've had to assess what form it will take. Specifically, I've been trying to decide whether the good ole mutual fund is still a valid investment vehicle, or is it going the ...
Read MoreJuly 4, 2006
"If something isn't worth doing, it isn't worth doing well." This is one of my favourite Charlie Munger lines and I think it's very applicable for those of us who manage money, for clients or just for ourselves. Specifically, I'm ...
Read MoreJuly 4, 2006
I can't help but feel that the move by Phelps Dodge to buy (or merge with) Inco and Falconbridge will turn out badly. I admit, I'm not a bull on commodities. I think record high prices will stimulate significant growth ...
Read MoreJune 28, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business, Guest Column April 12 2006 A while back, Ira Gluskin recommended the new Barton Biggs book, Hedgehogging , in his column. I've enjoyed reading Mr. Biggs since his days at Morgan Stanley and ...
Read MoreJune 28, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business, Guest Column March 17 2006 As I sat and watched the Neil Young movie Heart of Gold last week, I was reminded how great it is to be Canadian. Throughout the movie, Neil ...
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