Products

Alt Assets: Name raiders

(March 2006) You use domain names every time you visit a website or google a term to find more information. But do you know what gives value to a name? Do you know how to assess that value? What you don’t know actually spells opportunity. Just as in financial markets, there are primary and secondary […]

By Pierre Saint-Laurent |March 10, 2006

4 min read

Perfect storm for U.S. mortgage-backed investors

(March 2006) Investors seeking yield were well compensated when interest rates fell; they received capital gains that in many instances gave them better returns than equities. In a rising rate environment, however, income investors find it more difficult to make an adequate return. Not only do rising rates usually result in lower bond valuations, but […]

By Michael Barrett |March 1, 2006

7 min read

Risk 101: Systematic versus unsystematic risk

(January 2006) I’m a firm believer in risk management. That’s a bit like saying “I’m a firm believer in breathing.” We are all risk managers whether we admit it or not. And if that’s the case, I’d rather be more precise about it than less. The absolute basis of portfolio risk management is diversification. It’s […]

By Pierre Saint-Laurent |January 23, 2006

4 min read

Are GICs securities?

(November 2005) Regulatory worries about the proliferation of principal protected notes (PPNs) may well spill over into the Guaranteed Investment Certificate market, at least index or market-linked ones, which have hitherto been exempt from securities rules. At issue is what might be called a series of “K’s” that follow from the Know Your Client imperative […]

By Scot Blythe |November 28, 2005

6 min read