Industry

Avoiding questionable expenses

How careful are you, as an advisor, in ensuring the business expenses you claim each year at tax time are appropriate, reasonable and properly documented? A recent tax case decided in April (Platis v The Queen, 2010 TCC 150) involved Toronto advisor Peter Platis, a commissioned commodities and foreign exchange broker employed by Refco Futures […]

August 16, 2010

1 min read

Great Depression lessons apply today

The basic challenge for equity investors hasn’t changed much over the last century: how do you assemble a portfolio of stocks that are likely to grow over time, at prices that allow for attractive returns relative to the level of risk? The answer lies in investing in high-quality companies for the long term, using fundamental […]

By Jeffrey Russell and Robert Swab |August 16, 2010

6 min read

MFDA issues reasons on four cases

The Mutual Fund Dealers Association has released reasons for decisions in four cases, involving allegations of churning DSC funds, selling outside of the dealer, conducting outside business activities, and borrowing from clients. Below are some cautionary tales of things you should avoid doing. MFDA Hearing Panel issues Reasons for Decision (Misconduct) in the Matter of […]

By Steven Lamb |August 13, 2010

2 min read

Advisors offer hot tips…on movies

Advisors find finance flicks amusing and frustrating. Frustrating because they perpetuate a cowboy image of the industry focused on greed with no concept of duty of care or responsibility to the client. Movies like these, they say, hurt the industry as they create an image that either detracts people from trusting advisors or makes them […]

By Vikram Barhat |August 13, 2010

3 min read