Investments

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Market Insights

Falling oil threatens investment

After years of strong returns, the commodity sector has taken a serious beating the last few months. Crude prices in particular have been hit hard, with a barrel of oil falling from a peak of $145 in July to around $58 in mid-November. With one of Canada’s most prized growth areas suddenly stalling, what’s going […]

By Bryan Borzykowski |November 14, 2008

6 min read

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Market Insights

Energy and commodities listed as value trap hot-beds

Energy and commodity prices reached unprecedented heights only a few short months ago; now their rapid decline has value investors kicking the tires. A new report from Merrill Lynch in the U.S. issues a buyer-beware warning on these sectors, calling them value traps. Traditionally a term used to refer to individual stocks, “value traps” are […]

By Mark Noble |November 10, 2008

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Hedge funds face image problem

If you mentioned the names Bear Stearns, Ospraie and Sowood to investors a year ago, their eyes would likely have lit up with dollar signs flashing across their retinas. These hedge funds were powerful players, making big returns and helping investors get rich. But utter a word about these companies to investors today and you’ll […]

By Bryan Borzykowski |November 7, 2008

6 min read

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PPNs fall out of favour with investors and issuers

When Desjardins Group announced Monday that it was closing two lines of its principal-protected notes (PPNs), it was just another nail in the coffin for the once-popular investment vehicle. Over the last few years it seemed as if everyone was offering PPNs, but lately that hasn’t been the case; Sun Life, for one, hasn’t issued […]

By Bryan Borzykowski |October 31, 2008

6 min read

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Market Insights

Active managers fare better in bear market

According to the recently released Russell Active Manager report, 65% of large cap Canadian equity active managers beat the benchmark during the extreme volatility of the third quarter of 2008. According to the report, this is the highest rate of outperformance since the first quarter of 2007, with the number of active managers beating the […]

By Romana King |October 29, 2008

3 min read

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Market Insights

Reaffirming PH&N

The Royal Bank of Canada’s February announcement that it had agreed to acquire Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd. (PH&N) was a bombshell that took even the savviest members of the mutual fund community by surprise. PH&N had been rejecting overtures from various financial institutions for years, so more than a few eyebrows were […]

By Brian O'Neill |October 28, 2008

4 min read

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Market Insights

Help your clients get back to planning basics

(October 2008) Everyone knows that market volatility and retirement preparation can make for an unhappy combination. It’s bad for the advisor, but even worse for clients. However, the unfortunate fact is that we are in a period of extreme market volatility, and no one knows exactly how long it will last. When markets are as […]

By Peter Drake |October 22, 2008

5 min read

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Market Insights

Investors turning to the Middle East to find untapped opportunities

(October 2008) Flip through any travel magazine and you’ll see bright, glossy photos of a majestic Dubai, one of the Middle East’s most sought-after tourist destinations. The port city, which is part of the United Arab Emirates, boasts a population of about 1.4 million, but it’s the local tourism industry, which attracts about 5 million […]

By Bryan Borzykowski |October 17, 2008

6 min read

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Market Insights

Is this what capitulation feels like?

Everyone seems to be looking for it. Panic is in the air. Was that it? No? How about that? Will it be the volume that tells us it’s here? What about some trusty technical indicator? Will there be some sort of extraneous event that marks it? Is it going to come this afternoon or tomorrow? […]

By Matt Stiles |October 14, 2008

3 min read

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Market Insights

Commodities on a bumpy, but profitable road

Investing in resources is not going to be for the faint of heart, over the mid- to near term. But thanks to continuing fundamental demand from emerging markets, the long-term prospects for commodities remains strong. Canadian investors have lucked out in many ways, because the domestic stock market is heavily weighted in producers of arguably […]

By Mark Noble |October 10, 2008

6 min read

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