Investments

The REIT choice

We started referring to bad stock market years as Annus Horribilis at the end of 2001. But bad times are a necessary precursor to good ones, and with a bit of luck and planning, we’ll soon see our Annus Mirabilis (year of wonders). At the beginning of 2003, this is how we summarized our view […]

By John Nicola |April 30, 2009

5 min read

Can the hype

There’s a lot of talk these days about TFSAs, to the point where it seems they’re more heavily advertised than RRSPs. I, for one, am somewhat lukewarm on the benefi ts of TFSAs. And I fear they’re destined to be over-hyped and under-utilized. For both clients and advisors, they require paperwork to set up; a […]

By Warren Baldwin |April 30, 2009

3 min read

Reducing Risk (Q&A)

Risk tolerance is something many investment firms have routinely overlooked. But ravaged by recession, they are desperately looking for ways to create a better risk model. AER spoke with Meir Statman, the Glenn Klimek Professor of Finance at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University in California, and one of the world’s foremost […]

By Mark Noble |April 29, 2009

10 min read

Active or Passive

The mutual fund industry is inundated with misleading numbers. In particular, you’ve likely read an article or two that refers to some study that has shown how most actively managed funds have failed to beat their benchmarks over the long term. The inevitable conclusion would have been that everyone should buy low-fee, index-tracking exchange-traded funds […]

By David O'Leary and Brian O'Neill |April 29, 2009

5 min read