(February 21, 2003) Advisors weighed in on both sides of the Ontario Securities Commission’s ruling that prominent financial commentator Brian Costello gave advice without being licenced. While some thought the OSC was overextending its reach, others called for even tighter scrutiny of unlicenced commentators. “This kind of decision will give them further proof that they […]
(February 18, 2003) With declining interest rates, seniors are getting less of their retirement income from private investments and more from registered savings, whether in a Registered Retirement Savings Plan or a Registered Pension Plan, says Statistics Canada. In a report released last week, Statistic Canada analyzed the sources of retirement income from 1990 to […]
(February 18, 2003) Retirement savers got a mixed tax break in federal Finance Minister John Manley’s first budget. RRSP contribution limits will go up but not as high as many expected. Still, the budget offered a glimpse of potential future tax assistance for retirement savings even as its focus was directed more toward small businesses […]
(February 17, 2003) Contributions to mutual funds and total assets were both down in January, for the 10th straight month but the fund industry expects to see a turnaround in February, says the Investment Funds Institute of Canada. Mutual funds have been in net redemption since last April. In January, Canadians pulled $469 million out […]
(February 11, 2003) For fund companies struggling to staunch the outflow of money from mutual funds, advertising is out and meeting advisors directly is in. That shifting outreach reflects more than investor disappointment, however. It acknowledges that funds are sold, not bought, and advisors hold the key to sales. More than that, the balance of […]
(February 6, 2003) Canadian wealth managers — banks, insurance companies, investment counsellors and mutual fund distributors — foresee future growth in better stock market performance, not by buying rivals, a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers reports. The survey, which polled 25 wealth managers with a total of $1.4 trillion in assets, found that 40% of wealth managers […]
(January 29, 2003) The Ontario Securities Commission is consolidating two staff groups working on investment funds policy into a new branch and putting them under a new director. Susan Silma is the new director of the Investment Funds Branch at the OSC. A lawyer with an MBA, Silma was general counsel for Working Ventures, which […]
(January 23, 2003) Faced with disappointing returns over the past three years and the prospect of sideways equity markets, investment advisors are increasingly reaching out for alternative investment approaches. But they are approaching them gingerly, until they know what the risk-reward trade-off is. Strategy Institute, a Canadian specialist in hedge fund conferences, is using its […]
(January 15, 2003) John Bogle, founder of Vanguard Group, one of the largest U.S. mutual fund companies and a pioneer in index investing, thinks the fund industry has changed for the worse since he first began following it in 1949. Most notably, he feels that U.S. mutual funds have moved from stewardship to salesmanship, with […]
(January 14, 2003) Younger people are more worried about suffering a severe illness such as a stroke, cancer or heart attack than middle-aged or older Canadians. And Canadians who have a financial advisor want their advisor to tell them about their options, according to a poll by Ipsos-Reid and RBC Insurance. The survey, conducted in […]