Blog

Cutting Through the Noise


August 21, 2023

By Tom Bradley

7 reasons why investing is different from everything else in your life

A look at what makes investing different from every other aspect of your life, and how you can embrace its peculiarities to your advantage.

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August 8, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Case of the missing recession and other misunderstood investing trends

Observations about trends being overlooked, misunderstood, or in transition.

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July 24, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Falling for the forecasting fallacy will cost investors in the long run

Speculating about something can be entertaining. Debating how the Jays will do, or the number of goals Connor McDavid will score, is fun and totally harmless. Everyone knows there’s no way of determining what will happen. Any outcome is possible. The investment industry’s preoccupation with predicting the stock market is another matter. The people making the forecasts actually believe what they’re saying. Their seemingly well-reasoned projections also have entertainment value but, unfortunately, lead to poor investment decisions.

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July 20, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Advisers are trained to look for inefficiencies, but miss the most important one of all: investor behaviour

A lightly edited version of a speech that Tom Bradley gave at a Portfolio Management Association of Canada dinner for the 2023 PMAC Awards for Excellence in Investment Journalism on June 21.

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July 11, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Determining your portfolio's strategic asset mix can be an invaluable starting point

Why you should stay glued to your target asset mix unless there are good reasons to do otherwise.

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July 10, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Bradley's Brief — Q2 2023

Tom Bradley's quarterly letter to clients.

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June 26, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Why liquid versions of illiquid assets can pose problems for investors

Capturing a liquidity premium can make sense for your portfolio, but there's no free lunch with this type of risk — as holders of some real estate and mortgage funds today will attest.

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May 29, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Don't trust anything you can’t prove and other lessons learned from an investing legend

It’s not often you get a chance to talk to someone who’s been involved in a profession for more than 70 years. But the Vancouver investment community has such a person — Michael Ryan. Behold some nuggets of wisdom from the veteran money manager.

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May 15, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Market changes in progress, gaining steam, and still to come

It’s a fascinating time to be analyzing businesses, the economy and the market. In his latest Financial Post article, Tom Bradley identifies a list of important trends that are going through profound change or just starting a transition.

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May 1, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Investors believe advisers know more than they do

Investors sometimes believe their advisers know more than they do. That’s a mistake, and it’s important, because it creates unrealistic expectations for an endeavour where realistic expectations are a must.

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April 20, 2023

By Tom Bradley

The ultimate composable brand

A composable brand is one that different people use in different ways. Like Spotify or Starbucks. Everyone has their own playlist and unique coffee order. Steadyhand, too, is a composable company — perhaps the ultimate in our industry. Here's what we mean.

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April 17, 2023

By Tom Bradley

7 world headlines investors should pay attention to, and 1 to ignore

Election polls and Fed announcements are for day traders. Important factors such as inflation and China are the ones long-term investors should try to understand. Tom Bradley expands in his Financial Post column.

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April 11, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Bradley's Brief — Q1 2023

Tom Bradley's quarterly letter to clients.

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April 3, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Market volatility making your head spin? Here are 4 key things to remember

The market’s speed and volatility has surged in recent years, but are gifts for those who have a good sense of value and can keep their head from spinning.

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March 23, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Taking economics too far

Economists can have great insights, but be careful to not get too caught up in their short-term market forecasts. They're not worth the paper they're written on — no matter who writes them.

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March 20, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Banks traded at low multiples with a howling wind at their backs, so what happens now?

Last week’s banking scare in the United States goes a long way to explaining why bank stocks trade at lower valuations than other companies with less impressive track records.

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March 13, 2023

By Tom Bradley

A crisis of confidence in the banking sector

We find ourselves in another banking crisis. The word ‘crisis’ may seem like an overstatement at this stage, but when it comes to banking, confidence and trust are crucial. Right now, there’s a crisis of confidence.

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March 6, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Investing is fraught with the challenges of ‘turbo lag’. But here’s how you can stack the odds in your favour

One of the thrills of driving an electric car is the pasted-in-your-seat acceleration. Unfortunately, investing isn’t like that. There's more of a turbo lag — think of an old Volvo. Tom explains in his Financial Post column.

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February 27, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Memories fade and scars heal. In investing, just a little too fast

A good read from Joe Wiggins on investor behaviour.

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February 21, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Things that should make investors worry they're not on the right track

A good rule of thumb is that if something doesn’t seem to make sense, it probably doesn’t. Right now, there are more things than usual going clink, clink ... clunk.

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February 6, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Three important terms that confuse investors to their detriment

An attempt to clarify the meaning of diversification, volatility and fees.

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January 23, 2023

By Tom Bradley

3 reasons why investing now is better than in the go-go days of 2021

Why we like the lay of the land for bonds, price-to-earnings ratios and investor sentiment.

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January 10, 2023

By Tom Bradley

Bradley's Brief — Q4 2022

Tom Bradley's quarterly letter to clients.

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January 9, 2023

By Tom Bradley

How investors can turn last year’s mistakes into their future advantage

Last year was a tough one for investors. We can all take to heart some lessons, however, that shouldn't be wasted.

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December 12, 2022

By Tom Bradley

Questions to ask when looking at companies that have yet to turn a profit

Investors are less starry-eyed about tech and growth companies in 2022 and want to see real earnings, or at least a credible plan to get there. Here are the questions to ask when looking for the next future profit machines.

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