In a recent article, Globe and Mail columnist Rob Carrick tackled the important issue of global stock diversification. He surveyed several investment advisors and portfolio managers for their recommended allocations between Canadian and...
As the concept of fiduciary is being discussed more in the media and among Canadian securities regulators, we believe it is important to address this concept as it’s all about putting the investor-client interests first! We view...
All year I’ve been wanting to write an article urging advisors and individual investors to prepare for the next bear market. When stock markets hit a pothole in late summer and early fall, it struck me as an opportune time to refresh this...
Many DIY investors act as ‘family money managers’. Most that I’ve met are men married to spouses with little or no interest in investing. These DIY investors often risk predeceasing their novice-investor partners. So with...
So-called ‘Bond King’ Bill Gross made headlines with his recent decision to leave PIMCO – the firm he founded more than 40 years ago – to join Janus Capital Group. How best to deal with manager changes and whether investors...
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System – aka CalPERS – announced plans to liquidate its $4 billion hedge fund portfolio. It’s big news because CalPERS is considered a well-run pension plan. It’s huge...
Aggressive marketing of investment products is nothing new. Throughout my career I have expended plenty of energy pointing out what I believe to be misleading or overly aggressive marketing initiatives and advertisements. More than four years...
A prospective client recently brought an index-linked guaranteed investment certificate (GIC) to our attention – an investment that he found very attractive. He asked for our thoughts on this product. This GIC that pays interest linked to...
Floating Rate Debt (FRD) is getting an increasing amount of attention. Over the past year, several new products have been launched focusing on floating rate debt such as leveraged loans and so-called senior loans. All pay floating rates of...
I have been writing about Monthly Income funds for more than a dozen years. In my 20-year career, none of my articles or comments have generated as much feedback (or as much anger) as my critiques of Monthly Income funds. Capital market activity...