March 2005

Comment & Insight

When i was growing up, we were taught that money was a very personal subject. One would never discuss the mortgage or the mounting credit…

How mortifying. how embarrassing. How dreadfully old-fashioned. I have been using my cell phone the wrong way.No wonder people avoid me. And here I thought…

A system of provincial self-regulation would be a step backward in quest for securities reform

Oil and natural gas royalty trusts have had a simply fabulous run since crude prices recovered from their last slump in 1999. Their popularity, alongside…

It finally happened. the national Hockey League collapsed under the weight of its faulty economics. Sports fans — those who had been watching closely, those…

The idea that perception is reality is nothing new to anyone connected with politics. But no doubt it has new meaning for Prime Minister Paul…

Investment research

As advisors, we know about the different kinds of risk with which investors must contend. Business risk and liquidity risk are the two most common…

Tried-and-proven formulas, which involve balancing long- and short-term bonds against one another, can help clients’ yields

Investors should keep a steady watch on bond and treasury-bill yields in the next few months

If you have clients looking for a mutual fund with pure exposure to the rallying base metals sector, you’ll probably have to cobble something together…

It is a long way from cape Breton Island to the American Stock Exchange. Such a thought ran through Terry MacGibbon’s mind as he stood…

Elizabeth kirkwood doesn’t mind being called a follower. When shareholders ask why she would buy a mine deemed unprofitable by Falconbridge Ltd., she points to…

This may be the big year for zinc, the laggard of the base metal rally, which barely budged for the past two years while most…

Many of the deposits in major mining companies’ portfolios begin to look like dead weight as the firms grow bigger and more averse to risk.…

This time last year, it was difficult to find a mining analyst who was bearish on base metals. Demand for the metals, mostly by China,…

Focus on Products

Toronto-based Lawrence Asset Management Inc. has filed a preliminary prospectus for the offering of its most recent investment fund, Lawrence Conservative Payout Ratio Trust. The…

Toronto-based AGF Management Ltd. has appointed Tony Genua as senior vice president and lead portfolio manager of AGF American Growth Class Fund and AGF RRSP…

ScotiaMcLeod Inc. has chosen Boston-based Wellington Management Co. LLP as the new portfolio advisor for its Pinnacle International Equity Fund, effective March 21. Wellington replaces…

Toronto-based Fidelity Investments Canada Ltd. has changed the fiscal yearend of its global and international equity funds and its global asset-allocation funds. Effective immediately, the…

Toronto-based ClaringtonFunds Inc. has introduced Clarington Target Click Funds, a series of four “life cycle” funds managed by AMRO Asset Management Canada Ltd., the Canadian…

New studies cast doubt on whether average investors can make money

RRSP ads imply a trust between advisor and client that is often betrayed

If safety of principal is the dominant concern for an investor, bonds issued by the Government of Canada are a solid choice. But if the…