By: Sunni Schneider Nuge Schneider would have turned 87 years old today. While he never knew this firm would be created, I am certain he would be proud to know that I am a founding force behind it. I have many fond stories about my dad, but there is one in particular I wanted to […]
Rogers v. Rogers investigates the power struggle that tore apart one of Canada’s wealthiest telecommunications families. Journalist Alexandra Posadzki details the 2021 boardroom battle between Edward Rogers and his family over the company’s leadership. It serves as a compelling look at how family drama and unique corporate governance can trigger a public crisis. The book […]
While both the S&P 500 and S&P/TSX Composite Index are flat so far this month, December is historically a great month for stocks. In fact, over the last hundred years, the only decade to post a negative median return during December was in the 1930s. All decades since — from the 1940s until the 2020s […]
When our clients first became shareholders of South Bow (SOBO) on September 25, 2024, it wasn’t by choice. The new company was a spinoff from TC Energy. To be frank, we weren’t expecting much. (Disclosure: Jeff Pollock and Sunni Schneider directly and indirectly hold a financial interest in South Bow as shareholders.) Expanding SOBO’s Keystone pipeline […]
Over the past few months, we’ve met with many prospective clients who often share similar questions. We’ve collected the most common ones to provide a clear view of how we operate. When did you start the company? We were first registered on February 1, 2022. Currently, we are registered to do business in Ontario, Alberta, […]
We anticipate the U.S. Supreme Court will invalidate President Trump’s tariffs early next year, sending markets higher. The legality of widespread tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) is now before the United States Supreme Court. The question is whether the law intended for specific emergencies allows the President to levy unbounded […]
On September 17, we wrote a blog highlighting Western Copper and Gold (“WRN”), a Canada-based company we’re bullish on. Since then, WRN’s stock has gained approximately 33%. (Disclosure: Jeff Pollock and Sunni Schneider directly and indirectly hold a financial interest in Western Copper and Gold as shareholders.) With a market capitalization of about US$435 million, […]
Last week, both the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve cut their benchmark interest rates by a quarter percentage point. Though we’re two separate countries, both central banks are contending with challenges that monetary policy alone cannot fix. In Canada, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem emphasized that the 25-basis-point cut, which brings […]
For clients who didn’t already own it, we added Nvidia (NVDA) to suitable portfolios back in April, during the market sell-off triggered by tariff worries. We purchased the Canadian Depositary Receipt to avoid currency swings, but for context, U.S. shares traded roughly between $102 and $105 on April 23—the day of our purchase. Today, NVDA […]
President Donald Trump is once again floating the idea of cutting the number of corporate earnings reports in half — from four to two per year. The proposal, first raised during his presidency in 2018, would have U.S. public companies report every six months instead of quarterly. While it may sound like a way to […]
I have trouble keeping up with the reasons why Bitcoin moves in either direction. It seemed correlated with the Nasdaq coming out of the pandemic; then was compared to “digital gold”; and recently it was a hedge against government mismanagement. Its bull case seems to change each day and I’m not embarrassed to say that […]
It’s not often that a stock jumps almost 7% in a single day because of an analyst upgrade. Nevertheless, that’s what happened on October 1 when Desjardins published a note about Algonquin Power & Utilities (“AQN”). (Disclosure: Jeff Pollock and Sunni Schneider directly and indirectly hold a financial interest in AQN as shareholders.) “We are upgrading […]
Much like the Internet changed the world, so too will artificial intelligence. But with stock prices on fire lately, many are asking if we’re in a bubble that is ready to burst. When people foresee a bubble, anyone that owns stocks is wise to listen up. Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan famously warned about “irrational […]
Last spring, shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH) lost over half their value. The stock even dropped 18% on May 13, its worst single-day plunge since September 2008. (Disclosure: Jeff Pollock and Sunni Schneider directly and indirectly hold a financial interest in UNH as shareholders.) With over 50 million people enrolled, UNH is the largest health […]
Last month, at a Rotary Club meeting, I found myself sitting next to someone I hadn’t met before. After asking about my profession, he leaned in a few minutes later and said, “Is it true that to get rich, you should only buy Canadian banks?” Well, I know of at least one person who rode […]
To my surprise, Maple Leaf Foods (“MFI”) has been our strongest performer this year, up nearly 80%. (Disclosure: Jeff Pollock and Sunni Schneider directly and indirectly hold a financial interest in MFI as shareholders.) On February 26, 2024, we started buying MFI for clients at $22.82. At the time, the stock was about as unpopular […]
September has historically been a weak month for stocks, and this year’s sentiment will hinge on Jay Powell’s speech tomorrow at Jackson Hole Students aren’t the only ones uneasy about September—stocks often dread it too. Historically, it’s the worst month for the market. Since 1930, the S&P 500 has fallen about 55% of the time […]
Mutual funds are marketed as safe and simple. But in reality, they often accompany hidden costs and conflicts of interest. We recently reviewed a portfolio managed by another institution. The Management Expense Ratio (“MER”), which is the total cost of owning a mutual fund and is embedded in its price, was much higher than its […]
Anyone who lived through 2008 (or studied the 1930s) knows how frightening banking crises can be. The financial system runs on confidence, and once that’s shaken, restoring trust can take significant time. In 2023, the U.S. regional banking sector faced its own crisis. It started in March with the abrupt collapse of Silicon Valley Bank […]
Someone once said that if Al Capone had turned his talents toward legitimate enterprise, he could have been the CEO of General Motors. Today’s fraudsters are no different—highly organized, intelligent, and using sophisticated tools. Unfortunately, they’re applying those skills to deception, not innovation. My Close Call Recently, I received a phone call that appeared to […]
