The party invitations are arriving, the decorations are going up and everyone’s thoughts turn to overeating and overdrinking. The weather has even obliged with Toronto’s first snowfall of the season — a reminder that the holiday festivities are not far behind.

It’s that time of the year — time to get together with family and friends.

At Investment Executive, it’s also time to get together with your boss. Because along with Christmas and holiday parties comes our annual performance review. And like employees at so many organizations, everyone is thrilled with the opportunity to fill out this five- or six-page missive and discuss it with their immediate superior. Or, at least, that’s what they tell me.

Of course, it never hurts to take a look at the year gone by and take stock. And 2005 was an interesting year for IE. After years of talking about doing a conference, we found the right topic and launched our Advisors and Technology conference in conjunction with software columnist David Edey and event organizer Vorg Inc.

The idea was to show advisors how to use desktop tools and software to run a more efficient practice. About 350 advisors attended and seemed to enjoy it. The sponsors were happy and, contrary to earlier expectations, the IE team did survive.

We also recently completed the second annual Canadian Investment Guide, which is done in conjunction with the Canadian Investment Awards. This year — thanks to the feds removing the 30% foreign-content limit — we took as our theme “going global” and talked about the importance of sector and geographical diversification in reducing risk and improving investment returns. The Guide is included in this issue of IE. We hope you like it.

Another highlight of the past year was the opportunity to travel and talk to advisors from across the country. Attending conferences put on by industry associations is part of our continuing education program, too, but our education often comes from the advisors we talk to at our booth, in the sessions, over coffee or when grabbing a beer. As you know with your clients, face time is good. And we particularly like our face time with our readers.

This year, we visited Halifax, and the tour of the Keith’s brewery was a highlight — I mean, in addition to the Advocis program. The Investment Dealers Association of Canada annual conference gave us an excuse to go out West, and I took the opportunity to spend time in Calgary and personal time on the West Coast. I walked the miles of beach in Tofino on Vancouver Island in the company of my buddy Lynne and our four-legged friends, Duke and Savannah. I can’t escape being maudlin and pointing out what a great country we have — and it is not just the scenery that makes it that way; it is the people.

Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. It never is. IE lost two good friends in 2005: writer Mike FitzJames in April and Terry Melling, the IDA’s man in Calgary, in early fall. ALS claimed the brilliant and outrageously funny Fitz; a heart attack felled Terry, a kind and helpful man who took it upon himself to make sure we understood the world of Western independent dealers. Good men, both, and I know they are missed.

Then there is the year ahead. We will be back with our second ATX conference on May 15, and we are considering doing a second Guide in September that will be purely personal finance. And there are the conferences — four on the West Coast — that will give us the opportunity to learn.

Um, I guess I will have something to say when it comes time for my performance review. Tessa Wilmott, Editor-in-chief