August 2015

Focus on Products

London, Ont.-based Highstreet Asset Management Inc. has assumed portfolio-management responsibilities for AGF Dividend Income Fund. AGF Investments Inc. was the fund’s original portfolio manager. The…

Calgary-based Aston Hill Financial Inc. subsidiaries Aston Hill Asset Management Inc. and Aston Hill Capital Markets Inc. are proposing to reorganize three funds. The asset…

A new exchange-traded fund (ETF) now is available from Toronto-based FT Portfolios Canada Co. (First Trust Canada). First Trust Tactical Bond Index ETF is meant…

Calgary-based Mawer Investment Management Ltd. has introduced Mawer Global Bond Fund, which is designed to provide investors with diversification by way of currencies, countries, yield…

Toronto-based Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. has launched a new balanced mutual fund, Franklin Bissett Monthly Income and Growth Fund, which focuses primarily on the Canadian…

New barometer shows outperformance of passive management

Global equities markets, stoked by cheap money, have been shaken in recent months

Building Your Business

When Peter Letkeman, formerly a professor of chemistry at Brandon University, lost his sight, he remained positive. He took steps to become a financial advisor…

You should be prepared to assist employees who are experiencing mental health problems. Your workplace should be a safe environment in which team members can…

Developing a niche means saying no to some clients and becoming the go-to financial advisor for a specific group. Advisors who specialize say the rewards…

When an advisor in your branch is working below par, you can take steps to identify the root of the problem and possible corrective action.…

A pediatrician and his wife, an interior decorator, want to ensure their high joint income creates a comfortable retirement for themselves and security for their…

The early struggles of a now successful advisor - and several academic studies - show how admitting to small mistakes can improve your credibility

Comment & Insight

The capital strike against Alberta’s New Democratic Party government began the morning after the May 5 election. I know this because a private oil company…

Major capital projects with heavy government support are boosting the local ecnonomy and creating hundreds of jobs - for now

The province has a grand new plan to boost shipping and commerce on the St. Lawrence River. But many hurdles remain

It usually takes two elections to knock out an unpopular majority government, which has a home court advantage

Investment research

Volatility-related ETFs purport to offer exposure to daily changes in the value of the CBOE VIX cash index

Global banks have been slow to recover from the financial crisis, but rising rates - and confidence - may boost growth

Insurance Advisors’ Report Card

As MGAs excel in providing training, dedicated agencies are falling woefully behind

Firms excel at having a rich variety of products and providing advisors with freedom to choose products that suit clients best

Advisors prefer direct managers whom they consider to be partners and do what's necessary to help

The correlation between the support advisors receive from - and the ratings they gave — their firms and MGAs is no coincidence

The percentage of advisors and clients who have signed engagement letters has risen over the past year

Despite praise for some firms, most advisors were dissatisfied with the tech tools, CMS and financial planning tech available

Advisors with Freedom 55 and GWL were livid with their application processing, while other firms do a solid job

Front Page

No results from project launched in 2013

Investments gain greater importance

Some provincial regulators targeting sales of incidental insurance

News

Canada to join the global effort to make money laundering tougher

Questions remain about the sudden departure of former CIO and executive vice president Dennis Mitchell

Senate committee urges a "light regulatory touch" on currencies such as Bitcoin to protect innovation

Many comments suggest that 120 days is too long to keep the bid period open