Of wooden shafts and a 12 handicap
It’s spring and an old man’s thoughts turn once again to golf. I first played the game, so to speak, at the age of 14,…
It’s spring and an old man’s thoughts turn once again to golf. I first played the game, so to speak, at the age of 14,…
Like most financial predators, Paul O’Connor was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. From 1995 to 2001, the 56-year-old stockbroker worked at a sub-branch of DPM…
Call it centennial crazy, but the entire province is going mad over the celebration of Saskatchewan’s 100th anniversary as a province this year.There are centennial…
Martin deschamps has long nursed an ambition to restore Quebec rock to its former glory and, for at least one night last month, he succeeded…
It may be too early to write the final word on the fate of the Paul Martin government. But a couple of things are certain.Martin,…
Newly public ing Canada Inc. — the country’s biggest property and casualty insurer even before it bought most of Allianz AG’s Canadian operations in December…
Many adults find the games kids play in more than 40% of North America’s basements incomprehensible and noisy. But those kids, in fact, are fueling…
Bond rating agencies are becoming more vigilant about the effect of an aging population on companies and countries alike
All the hype about a super-charged Chinese economy has meant very little to foreign investors in recent years because the country’s stock market has not…
Here is a starting-point for choosing among large-company stocks: basic valuations of the stocks in the S&P/TSX 60 index. The figures in the accompanying table…
From housing to health care, the “flower power” crowd will present unique challenges to advisors
Canadian dealers are expected to co-operate with foreign securities regulators in their efforts to govern their markets
Jane Dunker found her niche when she became a financial advisor 10 years ago
Solid financial management is key to operating a successful practice, authors say
A virtual office will help you streamline, safeguard and economize
Whether you’re shopping for a new computer or a new car, it pays to research on the Web
Whirlpool baths and hardwood floors no longer qualify as medical expenses
An initial “thumbs up” from the federal government on a tax scheme doesn’t necessarily mean the decision is carved in stone
Prolonged exposure may have a negative impact on male fertility
The Schiavo case highlights the need to put medical care directives into writing in the event that you can’t act for yourself
Individual pension plans provide more income and tax savings for some entrepreneurs and professionals
A woman’s purse is more than an accessory. Advisors need to understand the special challenges many women face, particularly in retirement planning
Learning about a prospect beforehand will make the first meeting easier
Large and small firms alike must learn the ropes of how to handle workers whose performance is hurt by drugs or alcohol
Low-price strategies have to be matched by a corresponding low-cost structure
While brokerages value experience over youth, they’re ramping up training for both rookies and veterans
Most feel a strong connection, but managers often walk a fine line between producing and managing
Advisors place consumer sites low in importance but dealers promote them
Bank-owned dealers upgrading and heading into next technology cycle
Different business models attract different advisors; when the fit is good, they laud their firms
How investment advisors ranked their dealers in 2005: Includes main chart
Advisors tell us these are the qualities they hold dear
Client-service capabilities, strong client focus, motivation and, of course, ethics are important requirements
TD Waterhouse and ScotiaMcLeod show improved scores and more positive remarks from their advisors
Trend toward fewer but higher net-worth investors has accompanied a rise in assets and productivity
But firms structure in equity or profit participation to enhance appeal
Almost all the firms have plans to grow their sales forces over the next few years
Brokers rated succession planning low in importance but their firms are concerned about a smooth transition of assets
Advisors consider ethics highly important; firms take compliance “very seriously”
CIBC has announced unitholder approval of the merger of eight mutual funds, effective April 28: CIBC Canadian Fixed Income Index Fund has merged into CIBC…
Unitholders of Cartier U.S. Equity Fund and Cartier Global Leaders RRSP Fund will vote this month on a proposed merger that would see the two…
Toronto-based Assante Asset Management Ltd. appointed Epoch Investment Partners Inc. and Trilogy Advisors LLC, both of New York, as sub-advisors to its Assante U.S. Equity…
Toronto-based Mavrix Fund Management Inc. has announced fee changes to its Mavrix Strategic Bond Fund. Effective April 14, the management fee is reduced to 1.00%…
It’s spring-cleaning time at Toronto-based Mackenzie Financial Corp. Following the closure of Mackenzie Universal Canadian Tactical Fund in April, the firm is proposing changes to…
Standard Life Assurance Co. of Canada has added Protecta 65 to its lineup of critical illness insurance products. Protecta has guaranteed level premiums until age…
Companies, investors and regulators have a stake in improving integrity
Canada’s “soft dollar” rules must be consistent with those of the global market
Mortgage lenders are becoming increasingly creative in their efforts to attract borrowers in a heated housing market that shows no sign of simmering down. One…
Japanese stocks performed relatively well in 2004, with the median fund returning 5.9%, but conditions are proving to be much tougher this year. Fund managers…
Hold a portfolio of low price/book value stocks, and you’ll beat the market
With his recent appointment as manager of AGF American Growth Fund, Tony Genua has landed an important role in the strategy to turn around the…
Dynamic Focus + Balanced and CI Harbour Growth & Income have both outperformed the average balanced fund
Segregated fund sales have visibly increased since the first of the year. Manulife Financial Corp. reports an increase of more than 15% from Jan. 1,…
It was fitting that banners displaying the theme of this year’s Juno Awards — “the flatter the land, the harder the rock” — were still…
Jean st-gelais, a soft-spoken man of 45, does not intend to rock any boats in his new job as chairman of the Canadian Securities Administrators.…
John montalbano, newly appointed president of Vancouver-based Phillips, Hager and North Investment Management Ltd., foresees an increasingly competitive arena in the money management business, and…
In the five months since Richard Nesbitt took the helm at TSX Group Inc., he has set an ambitious and aggressive agenda for Canada’s largest…
It didn’t take long for the New York Stock Exchange to react to a Securities and Exchange Commission decision that increases the importance of electronic…
The business of trading securities has changed dramatically in the past few years and the forces of corporate ambition, competition and regulatory preoccupations almost certainly…
Toronto-based Ernst & Young LLP signed an agreement April 22 to sell Ernst & Young Investment Advisers Inc. to a management-led financial group. The new…
By the end of may, the first privately owned Canadian bank plans to be in the loan business — the car loan business.General Bank of…
Toronto-based ppi Financial Group is betting that the high net-worth market is far from being overcrowded by sales-hungry advisors and, instead, remains a largely untapped…
Twenty years ago this month, the Independent Financial Brokers first staked out its position as the voice of independent insurance brokers across Canada. A shift…
Directors of the now-halted Crocus Investment Fund are accused of permitting sales and redemptions of units for more than three weeks after they had been…
The pool of money available to smaller-scale businesses in Nova Scotia just got deeper. The province has become the first on the East Coast to…
All signs point to “business as usual” for First Asset Management Inc. and its affiliates following its recent acquisition by Massachusetts-based asset management firm Affiliated…
The office of the superintendent of Financial Institutions seems a throwback to the days when a mere finger wag by a regulator was sufficient to…
The office of the superintendent of Financial Institutions seems a throwback to the days when a mere finger wag by a regulator was sufficient to…
When something appears to go seriously wrong in the financial services industry there’s always going to be blowback hitting the rest of the industry. In…
Many economists expect the Canadian economy to chug along at 2.5%-3% this year, but there are a number of threats
Big ideas, by their very nature, have to overcome big obstacles — from practical economic objections to tradition and entrenched interests. They all conspire to…
Although a june federal election would nullify the measures introduced in the recent federal budget, financial advisors and investors can be pretty confident that the…
Unusual ideas may fail but still succeed in challenging ingrained thinking
Who better to ask about the brokerage industry than those who work in it? That’s the philosophy of Investment Executive when we invite hundreds of…
