HighView Blog

Debunking Beta

By Mark Barnicutt on October 3rd, 2010

One of the Financial Planners that we work with recently highlighted to me that in the September 2010 issue of Forbes magazine, there’s an article by David Dreman of Dreman Value Management, in which he makes the case that it’s time to...

Canadian regulators unlikely to ban commissions

By Dan Hallett on October 3rd, 2010

I have been asked more than a few times by advisors whether I think product commissions will be banned.  While we can never say never, I’ve had enough questions on this to warrant an article.  In the October issue of Investment Executive, I...

ETF industry mind-set: build it and they will come

By Dan Hallett on October 1st, 2010

The Globe & Mail recently reported that indexing giant Vanguard has surpassed Fidelity as the world’s largest mutual fund company.  The article poses the question of whether this event indicates a growing interest in index-investing.  I...

What Type Of Investor Are You? Return Seeker Or Risk Manager?

By Mark Barnicutt on September 29th, 2010

Today, we had the opportunity to meet for an update with one of our investment managers: Dixon Mitchell.  This Vancouver-based investment manager operates our Total Canadian Equity Mandate for our affluent families & institutional clients....

Gold’s investment merit

By Dan Hallett on September 27th, 2010

I recently challenged gold bulls to ask themselves tough questions before devoting significant dollars to the yellow metal.  A related topic – the investment merit of gold – was the topic of discussion on our panel on The Early Shift...

Buy local = saved jobs? Not so fast

By Dan Hallett on September 24th, 2010

Many subscribe to the buy local = save jobs mantra as a solution to the prevailing economic malaise.  While it’s intuitive, this notion that we only buy from our own city, province or country breaks down under closer inspection.  This was...

How to tilt the investing odds in your favour

By Dan Hallett on September 21st, 2010

My article in this morning’s Globe & Mail offers tips to help investors retain more of the performance available to them.  As I jotted down the first tip – write down your investment goals – I found myself writing down...

Is HXT’s 8 basis point savings enough to lure investors?

By Dan Hallett on September 18th, 2010

Most financial journalists in Canada charge that the Canadian investment fund industry lacks the kind of price competition we often see in the U.S. industry.  This is true.  But like the people, Canadian investment fund price wars exist though...

Family Offices Reject Private Banks

By Greg Rodger on September 16th, 2010

A recent article in Campden FB highlights a trend in Europe that we at HighView have been witnessing for many years in Canada.  The article focuses on a study done of family businesses and their family offices in Europe and concludes that over one...

Investment Counselling: Not A New Profession

By Mark Barnicutt on September 12th, 2010

 “My advice to investors (who cannot give full time to a study of investments) is to seek out some trusted investment counsellor. The emergence of this new profession of disinterested investment analysts, who have no allegiances and whose job...

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