Industry News

Regulated alpha

Hedge funds have more than a trillion dollars under management and promise an alpha, or excess return over benchmarks, on the order of 5% — or some US$50 billion. Is this plausible? And, in these days of scandal, are such promises overstated by lack of regulation? Douglas Cumming, an associate professor at York University’s Schulich […]

By Scot Blythe |January 2, 2009

4 min read

Gaining volume

Over the past couple of years, ETFs have gained traction among advisors, as offerings have been rounded out. But how many ETFs can Canada support? We took this question to Som Seif, president of Claymore Investments. Q: What’s the volume share of ETFs trading on the TSX? A: At the beginning of the year it […]

By Mark Noble |January 1, 2009

10 min read

ABCP resolution within sight

A new agreement on the restructuring of the $32-billion third-party asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) market has brought investors within reach of their money and one step closer to turning the page on one of Canada’s longest-running financial sagas. A new agreement to swap the illiquid commercial paper for new bonds replaced the one struck in […]

By Jody White |December 31, 2008

2 min read

Advocis fund nearing $3 million

A forgotten cabinet minister, the attractiveness of a tax deduction and the prospect of feel-good treatment have combined to boost the Advocis Century Initiative to nearly $3 million in pledges in its quest to raise $5 million in voluntary contributions from members. The Century Initiative (CI) begins 2009 with over $2,919,679.05 in pledges, and $1,640,130.48 […]

By Al Emid |December 31, 2008

3 min read