Cutting Through the Noise
February 18, 2007
One of my intentions for this blog is to expose some of the inner workings of Steadyhand, including the functions we outsource and the vendors we work with. A natural place to start is with this website and the firm ...
Read MoreFebruary 16, 2007
I’ve had some fun and interesting responses to my Globe column last Friday on the Canmore couple that owned 29 mutual funds ( RRSP Nightmare: Too Many Funds in Your Basket ). Adrian Mastracci of KCM Wealth Management in Vancouver ...
Read MoreFebruary 14, 2007
Yesterday was a big day for the team at Steadyhand. We filed our final prospectus and turned on our website. While our funds won’t be available to investors until April 10th, these are still big milestones for us. Also yesterday ...
Read MoreFebruary 13, 2007
Grizzly Facts, Part I The Grizzly population of North America is estimated to be between 40,000 - 50,000 B.C. is home to 1 of every 4 remaining Grizzly bears in North America Newborn cubs weigh less than a pound A ...
Read MoreFebruary 13, 2007
Here's a shot of our Manager of Research & Communications, Scott Ronalds, recovering from our last MFDA site visit in January. ...
Read MoreFebruary 9, 2007
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published February 9, 2007 We were driving to Whistler last weekend and out of the blue my wife Lori said “it's RSP season and you still haven't written that column”. It took me ...
Read MoreFebruary 7, 2007
This past weekend I came across an investment situation that I see quite often. It relates to the portfolios of super seniors (80 plus years). The situation is this: The senior has a regular income from a pension plan or ...
Read MoreFebruary 1, 2007
The January 20th issue of The Economist had a good article on the investment success that American university endowments have had. The article points out that these endowments have done better than other types of investors (pension funds being the ...
Read MoreJanuary 26, 2007
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published January 26, 2007 Do I follow my favourite manager to a new fund? There are probably a few investors out there who feel like they have a big "L" on their forehead. ...
Read MoreJanuary 22, 2007
Jonathan Chevreau's column in today's Financial Post provides more data on the Claymore ETFs of which I spoke in a recent posting ( ETFs' I've Seen This Movie Before ). The column reinforced some of the views I put forward: ...
Read MoreJanuary 18, 2007
I've been under the weather over the last week and have had lots of time to sit and read. Thank goodness I've had other things to read besides the newspapers, otherwise I'd be going crazy right now. For a few ...
Read MoreJanuary 18, 2007
Posted by Scott Ronalds For a while, my partner Tom Bradley has been talking about how Canadian investors are less diversified than they should be ( Feeling Comfortable? Maybe it's Time to Shake Up Your Portfolio ). At times, it's ...
Read MoreJanuary 12, 2007
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published January 12, 2007 The YWCA that I go to is always busier in the early part of January. This year is no exception. As part of our New Year's resolutions, we all ...
Read MoreJanuary 5, 2007
As of this week, there is a new mutual fund on the market called the Mackenzie Founders Fund. The fund will invest equally in four of Mackenzie's oldest funds. It will be automatically rebalanced to maintain an equal weighting in ...
Read MoreJanuary 5, 2007
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published December 29, 2006 I'm not one to make predictions on what the capital markets are going to do in the next year, or three years for that matter. But with my editors ...
Read MoreJanuary 2, 2007
Compared to the Enron / Worldcom blowups, the options pricing scandal we're going through now is very low key. Enron et al were front page news for a long time. The options scandal is strictly a page 8 item in ...
Read MoreDecember 22, 2006
I came across a wonderful quote yesterday. I was reading a piece I'd found on the Tocqueville Asset Management website (www. tocqueville.com) written by their Chairman, Francois Sicart. "I never invest in a situation in which I cannot lose money" ...
Read MoreDecember 18, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published December 15, 2006 I've been in the investment business since 1983 and I find that with each passing year simplicity becomes more and more appealing. And I don't think I'm alone; it's ...
Read MoreDecember 16, 2006
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal this week (December 13, 2006) which suggested that first-time buyers were starting to look at homes again. The reasoning was that prices had come down a little and affordability was better. ...
Read MoreDecember 7, 2006
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a great product. They provide exposure to the equity market for a reasonable price. If you buy the iShares XICs, you can be assured of getting the return of the S&P/TSX 60 for only 0.17%. That's ...
Read MoreDecember 1, 2006
December 1, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published December 1, 2006 I was talking to a friend last weekend about our new mutual fund company. After I took him through the fund lineup, he asked me what our hedging strategy ...
Read MoreNovember 17, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published November 17, 2006 "It's like a spotlight in the darkness... it focuses on what's moving and everything else is blotted in the darkness." Those words came from Eric Sevareid in a PBS ...
Read MoreNovember 8, 2006
My colleague, Scott Ronalds (last seen on the beach in Hawaii), has written some comments on the tax changes of last week. Here they are: Finance Minister Flaherty's Halloween announcement that income trusts will lose their tax advantaged status by ...
Read MoreNovember 6, 2006
The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Published November 3, 2006 Until recently, I'd never heard of Alex Becks. I thought it was because I lived on the left coast and wasn't plugged in enough to the Toronto investment network, ...
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