Saturday May 10, 2008
Latest Columns 
Get a reality check folks: Those low-risk big yields are history
Published: Saturday, May 3, 2008 12:00 AM Page B10
Where were you in August of '82?I will always remember. I was between my years at Western in what is now the Ivey School of Business and was riding my bicycle down the coast of Oregon with a buddy. Each day I would pick up a USA Today to find out how my beloved Expos had done the night before. Despite my focus on the sports section, I couldn't help but notice that there was a lot excitement about the stock market. It was finally going up.
The increasing complexity - and masked risks - of wealth management
Published: Saturday, April 19, 2008 12:00 AM Page B9
Purdy, what were you thinking? Didn't you know how complex and convoluted investment products have become? Didn't you know this would become a hornet's nest with many different interests at play and the big financial institutions playing multiple roles?
Odds can be stacked in your favour buying bank stocks for the long term
Published: Saturday, April 5, 2008 12:00 AM Page B9
A couple of times in recent months I've used the banks as a framework for talking about investing and the buy side of the street. I'm back at it.
In turbulent times, the wise investor should ignore fears and get a little greedy
Published: Saturday, March 22, 2008 12:00 AM Page B7
Between now and the time I publish my next column, you should receive a quarterly statement from your investment adviser or manager. Get prepared.Your net worth will have felt the effect of recent turbulence in the capital markets.
At its heart, investing is about risk, and stacking the odds in your favour
Published: Saturday, March 8, 2008 12:00 AM Page B8
During the RRSP season we were barraged with ads from the banks and insurance companies. In light of the recent market turbulence, the emphasis has been on their ''risk free' products, such as index-linked notes and principal protected notes (PPNs).
Mixed emotions: Sadness, fascination and excitement over the PH&N sale
Published: Saturday, February 23, 2008 12:00 AM Page B9
It appeared on my BlackBerry screen on Thursday afternoon. Word from the office that Royal Bank was buying Phillips Hager and North.My first reaction was to shrug and say ''this type of rumour goes around once a year.''
'Decoupling' theory plays down our integrated and leveraged world
Published: Saturday, February 9, 2008 12:00 AM Page B10
In 2007, the capital markets were defined by acronyms (CDO, ABCP, SIV, CDS), but the big new word doing the rounds now is ''decoupling''. Decoupling refers to an economic theory that says that even though the United States is in recession, the rest of the world will continue to grow and prosper. The decouplists contend that domestic growth in places like China, India, Brazil and Russia will allow the global economy to continue growing.
As winners and losers get sorted out, there's opportunity for gains
Published: Saturday, January 26, 2008 12:00 AM Page B9
I had a column written for this week on how investors should expect lower returns, lower than what they have achieved in the past 10 to 25 years. I decided to put it in the can, however, because it felt too much like piling on. The markets are providing enough bad news for one month.
Depleted, can Trimark still execute?
Published: Saturday, January 12, 2008 12:00 AM Page B8
It was a fairly quiet week for business news, so the departure of an AIM/Trimark portfolio manager got a lot of coverage. Tye Bousada, the talented and high-profile manager of the Trimark Fund, is leaving the company and going to set up his own firm.
The investment profession-versus-business tug of war
Published: Saturday, January 5, 2008 12:00 AM Page B9
Over the holidays I had a chance to read Michael Mauboussin's More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places. From his perch as chief investment strategist at Legg Mason Capital Management (home of Bill Miller), Mr. Mauboussin has written an insightful book on investing and investment management.
