I was at a conference recently and I bumped into my old friend Ellen Bessner, author of “Advisor at Risk”. We began chatting about the business. Even though we generally agree on the ‘lay of the land’, we had an interesting discussion about business models. Specifically, we were wondering if an asset-based fee or a […]
Here’s an idea for some intrepid entrepreneur: beat the consumer-ignoring Canadian regulatory system at its own game. When Melanie Aitken and her people at the Competition Bureau are through with real estate agents and their monopolized access to MLS, they could do something similar regarding mutual funds. The way things are structured now, most discount […]
Marketing is so pervasive these days that it is often hard to distinguish between truth and the self-serving positioning. The financial services industry has long played a tacit game regarding costs, where product manufacturers and distributors downplay the importance of cost in order to maximize revenues. The inescapable truth is the more a product or […]
Many people have approached me in the past suggesting that I am unduly critical of active products and strategies. Perhaps not too surprisingly, I counter that perhaps it is THEY who are unduly critical of passive products and strategies. I wouldn’t mind active strategies at all if they were as cheap, pure, broadly diversified and […]
Many advisors I know recommend picking stocks or picking actively-managed mutual funds as their specialty and their exclusive way of building a responsible portfolio. While I respect their decision and acknowledge advisors should be able to recommend whatever products or strategies they think are best for their clients, I also believe a substantial element of […]
It seems all stakeholders want to go on record in favour of the principle of disclosure. Of course, many of those same interests will often obstruct meaningful progress on the grounds that the disclosure reforms being suggested are too cumbersome. Full, true and plain disclosure is hard to agree on in tangible terms, it seems. […]
Your advisor may recommend a long-term approach, but how many funds follow that advice? One thing that I find intriguing about the mutual fund industry is how often it contravenes its own collective advice. Comparing word and deed can lead to some fascinating insights. A practical example I would offer is in regard to portfolio […]
(November 2005) Suppose you have your neighbour’s teenage son mow your lawn every Saturday for $20. Assume one Saturday he couldn’t make it, so you had to mow the lawn yourself. Would you send yourself a bill for $20 and pay tax on the income? Hopefully, we can all agree that paying yourself for services […]