Market Insights

Waiting for the end Fallback Image Decorative pattern

Market Insights

Waiting for the end

In the run-up to the U.S. elections, investors might have been forgiven for thinking the worst of the bear market was behind them. The S&P 500 had bounced off of its low of about 840, set on October 27, to above 1,000 by November 4, 2008 – Election Day. The choice of Illinois Senator Barack […]

By Staff |December 22, 2008

5 min read

Market busters Fallback Image Decorative pattern

Market Insights

Market busters

When markets tank – even though a correction, or even a bear market, was long overdue – investors usually have difficulty staying the course. That’s not news for fi- nancial advisors. Risk tolerance morphs into loss aversion as the enduring fact of market cycles is learned one more time. Are market cycles avoidable? There’s no […]

By Scot Blythe |December 22, 2008

8 min read

Rewarding risk Fallback Image Decorative pattern

Market Insights

Rewarding risk

Portfolio and fund managers have short time horizons when investing. Their compensation promotes asset gathering and short-term performance. That means managers are paid for hot annual numbers, trade more frequently than is sometimes prudent, and subject clients to unnecessary costs. Managers will deny it, but they all try to “time markets,” a notoriously difficult and […]

By Ioulia Tretiakova |December 22, 2008

5 min read

Southern saga Fallback Image Decorative pattern

Market Insights

Southern saga

What’s up down south? Over the past year, we’ve witnessed the re-emergence of a presidential candidate who in August 2007, with a campaign in tatters, was counted out. We’ve heard about pigs and lipstick. We’ve met Joe the Plumber. We’ve been witness to unprecedented natural and financial disasters. We’ve seen what for many Canadians have […]

By Terry Ritchie and Brian Wruk |December 12, 2008

5 min read