Investments

Large cap growth managers on top in Q4

New data from the Russell Active Manager Report shows Canadian large cap growth managers in Canada gained 11.1% in the final quarter of 2010, their highest return since the first quarter of 2009. This also beats the S&P/TSX Composite Index’s return of 9.4% and the median value manager’s return of 9.1% during the same period. […]

By Staff |February 2, 2011

4 min read

Products

Clean tech, an investment in the future

Alternative energy, clean tech, and new energy tend to conjure up different definitions — for good reason. The industries and technologies that comprise clean tech are extremely diverse, ranging from jatropha plantations for bio-diesel to advanced battery technologies. In essence, clean tech is composed of industries using newer or cleaner technologies to generate or use energy better — a noble pursuit, given the evidence that our world’s reliance on dirtier fossil fuels is leading to a gradual warming of our planet.

By Craig Basinger |February 1, 2011

6 min read

Industry

GMP launches junior oil and gas index

GMP Securities has launched a new index tracking small- and mid-cap companies in the energy sector. The GMP Junior Oil and Gas Index is designed to provide investors with an investable index of 48 companies that are publicly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. “This is the first time GMP Securities has been involved in […]

By Staff |February 1, 2011

2 min read

Products

The benefits of ETF fee transparency

ETFs present a special challenge to the advisor when it comes to generating revenue: they act like a mutual fund, but don’t pay a trailer. They’re exchange-traded and commission-based, but have lower turnover than individual stocks. That said, the more actively traded the ETFs, the more a commission-based model can work.

By Guy Lalonde |February 1, 2011

6 min read

Opportunities for long bond investors

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke continues to stand against allowing the U.S. economy to enter a period of deflation, an economic condition he believes would spell long-lasting financial hardship for Americans. His solution — the centrepiece of a monetary control philosophy often referred to as the Bernanke Doctrine — is to open the valves of the U.S. money supply and let the dollars flow into the economy. The availability of so much cheap money, the theory goes, would stimulate spending in all corners and give the economy a much-needed nudge towards a renewed era of sustained growth.

3 min read

Long bond investors see opportunities

3 min read

Segregated funds offer protection

Financial advisors must make investment decisions for their clients based on whatever information is available at that moment, not unlike the physician who must make a diagnosis with limited information about his patient’s condition. The best advisors ask lots of questions and keep copious notes. Most advisors rely on the standard financial planning dictum of […]

By Rod Tyler |February 1, 2011

5 min read

Keep emotion in check, portfolio balanced

In at the top, out at the bottom, the stock market is an expensive place to get to know yourself. J. Matthew Beckerleg, partner and portfolio manager at Pembroke Management Ltd., says investors should remove emotion from the process.

By Vikram Barhat |January 28, 2011

5 min read

Commodities rally continues

It may come as no surprise, but 2010 was a very strong year for commodity prices. How strong? The Scotiabank Commodity Price Index, which tracks the price of 32 commodities, surged 17.8% on the year. The index capped the year with a hefty month-over-month gain of 5.5% in December. Since the cyclical low, reached in […]

By Steven Lamb |January 27, 2011

3 min read