Author Archive

Marketing is a critical component of every business, and the investment industry is no different.  But an industry trusted with the management of individuals’ life savings should be held to a higher standard. To an extent, it is.  Regulators...

Over the past several years, I met many investors who pulled money out of the market prior to the 2007-09 Financial Crisis. Their reasons for pulling out sounded logical.  Their profits were big while the market was low.  But these investors and...

In the world of investing, nothing turns my stomach more than when a member of the investment industry misleads investors and then directly benefits from said misinformation.  Usually only subtle trickery is at play.  And most often I have seen...

S&P Dow Jones Indices (SPDJI) publishes two reports annually comparing the performance of actively managed mutual funds against common financial market benchmarks. The recently-published mid-year SPIVA Canada Scorecard doesn’t paint a...

The measurement and communication of risk for investment funds is high on securities regulators’ radar. They continue to review this important issue and we’re awaiting their final decision. It’s striking how many years have passed, yet the...

Much has been written about newer investment advisory firms that dispense advice through user-friendly websites, called Robo-Advisors. This new breed of advisory firms offers many potential benefits but also faces many headwinds. Potential Benefits...

ETFs vs. mutual funds.  Indexing vs. active management.  Industry professionals and investors alike have staked their respective turfs on each of these issues with a level of passion usually reserved for religious or political debates.  Yet...

After mid-July 2016, CRM2 will require investment dealers to report personalized performance, charges and commissions annually to each client.  To their credit, many dealers are now providing performance reports. But two disturbing trends are...