Market Research

According to this Bloomberg article, Michael Burry (a hedge fund manager and the main character of the novel and movie The Big Short) draws a parallel between Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs), whose disastrous flaws were partly responsible for the 2008 financial crisis, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and concludes that there is potential for a potential similar outcome in this market as well.

Exchange traded funds continue to grow in popularity and that’s making life difficult for Canada’s mutual fund industry. ETFs outsold mutual funds in Canada last year for the first time in a decade and the trend looks set to continue.

Like it or not, many ETF investors are about to get an extra dose of China in their portfolios this year, thanks in part to index provider MSCI. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio is certainly not a fan of their decision. He has recently written to MSCI’s CEO, looking for answers as to why the company has included China A shares in their emerging markets indexes.

Andrew Hallam wrote a post in 2018 assessing the performance of Dimensional Fund Advisors funds against what he proposed as comparable Vanguard funds. Hallam is not the first person to attempt this analysis.

At long last, the Ontario government is regulating who can use the titles of financial planner and financial advisor in the province.

Given the meagre interest rates paid by investment-grade bonds and GICs, it is only normal that people are interested in investments with a higher return. That includes advisors, as high-yield bond (HYB) exchange traded funds (ETFs) offered by BMO and iShares alone hold over $2 billion in assets.That’s not chicken feed.

Admit it. You’ve been reading about “low-volatility” or “low-beta” ETFs, and have wondered what all the fuss is about. Are you missing out on the next big thing?

A recent settlement involving two mutual fund advisors illustrates why Canada’s investment industry needs to be held to a higher standard of conduct.

The Ontario Securities Commission will hold two regulatory burden roundtables this month to gather feedback on its campaign to lighten the bureaucratic load on the investment industry and “improve the investor experience.”

We have recently learned of the death of British mathematician Edward H. Simpson (1922-2019). Simpson first distinguished himself during World War II as a code breaker for the Royal Navy, when he enabled the interception of numerous ships carrying supplies for the troops led by Germany’s General Rommel.