New Fund Rating System Launched in 2015
When I first started providing a rating on mutual funds back in 2002, I developed a formula that considered a number of key performance and risk metrics. It looked at absolute return, relative return, volatility and relative volatility. It also took into account the length of track record of a fund when determining the rating for a fund. It seemed to work very well over the years, but its biggest drawback was that it was complicated to explain. Whenever an advisor or investor would ask about my rating system, I could never explain how I...
read moreWRAP Funds Report – October 2014
Fund of Fund or WRAP funds have consistently led the mutual funds sales stats in the past few years. Investor and advisor interest in the products are at an all time high, given the unprecedented levels of market volatility and uncertainty that is prevalent in the markets today. To help you zero in on the best WRAP funds available, we have created our new Monthly WRAP Funds Report that will be published on a monthly basis. If there is a WRAP fund that you would like to see added to this report, please contact us and we will add it for our...
read moreSocially Responsible Investing Report – February 2014
With environmental and human rights concerns becoming more important to people, interest in the Socially Responsible Investing segment has never been stronger. In an effort to help keep investors and advisors informed on the SRI funds available, we have created our monthly Socially Responsible Investing Fund Report, which will be published on a monthly basis. You can download the February 2014 Socially Responsible Investing Report here.
read moreWRAP Funds Report – January 2014
Fund of Fund or WRAP funds have consistently led the mutual funds sales stats in the past few years. Investor and advisor interest in the products are at an all time high, given the unprecedented levels of market volatility and uncertainty that is prevalent in the markets today. To help you zero in on the best WRAP funds available, we have created our new Monthly WRAP Funds Report that will be published on a monthly basis. If there is a WRAP fund that you would like to see added to this report, please contact us and we will add it for our...
read moreSocially Responsible Investing Report – October 2013
With environmental and human rights concerns becoming more important to people, interest in the Socially Responsible Investing segment has never been stronger. In an effort to help keep investors and advisors informed on the SRI funds available, we have created our monthly Socially Responsible Investing Fund Report, which will be published on a monthly basis. You can download the October 2013 Socially Responsible Investing Report here.
read moreWRAP Funds Report – October 2013
Fund of Fund or WRAP funds have consistently led the mutual funds sales stats in the past few years. Investor and advisor interest in the products are at an all time high, given the unprecedented levels of market volatility and uncertainty that is prevalent in the markets today. To help you zero in on the best WRAP funds available, we have created our new Monthly WRAP Funds Report that will be published on a monthly basis. If there is a WRAP fund that you would like to see added to this report, please contact us and we will add it for our...
read moreMackenzie announces a dramtic overhaul of their fund lineup
Yesterday, the fine folks at Mackenzie announced their plans for a major overhaul of their product shelf. According to the press release (http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1150831/mackenzie-investments-simplifies-and-strengthens-product-lineup), they are simplifying and strengthening their product lineup. I’ll give them simplifying, but I’m not totally sold on the strengthening. You will get no argument from me that Mackenzie’s product lineup is rather cumbersome. There are a lot of brands; Ivy, Cundill, Universal, Saxon, Sentinel, Symmetry,...
read moreCundill Recovery Fund
Q – What is your opinion of the Cundill Recovery Fund? A – The timing of this question couldn’t be better, given that elsewhere in this edition we highlighted the new IA Clarington Sarbit Activist Opportunities Class. This fund is in a similar space in that it has the mandate to invest in companies that are undergoing some sort of recovery situation such as reorganization, coming out of bankruptcy protection, a change in ownership or other crisis. The company must also meet the very disciplined Cundill investment criteria....
read more2013 Budget Impact
Flaherty cracks down on Income Conversion and LSIFs On March 20, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered the 2013 Federal budget. By most accounts, it is described as a “modest budget” in that it contains very little in the way of new spending initiatives and keeps the government on track to eliminate the $26 billion deficit over the next two years. For investors, there were a few changes that will have an impact on their portfolios. Perhaps the biggest is the plan to eliminate a fund’s ability to convert interest income into capital gains....
read moreMarket Commentary – April 2012
After posting strong gains in the first quarter of the year, equity markets retreated in April as investor concerns over the European debt crisis returned. The MSCI Europe Index dropped by nearly 3% after credit ratings agencies downgraded Spain’s debt with a negative outlook, hinting that further rating cuts may be coming. Spain paid a heavy price for this downgrade with the MSCI Spain Index plummeting by more than 13% in the month.
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