Blog

2014 Kicked Off With Too Few Bears

Feb 14 2014

In 2013, the financial markets began to put the fears rooted in the Financial Crisis behind them as investors began to sense that there was light at the end of the tunnel. Optimism seemed to replace fear and investors began a flight out of the safety of bonds and into equities. As last year drew…

The Challenges of Oversupply

Nov 07 2013

This edition of our newsletter takes a look at a topic that we think deserves more attention from investors and policy makers. Since the end of the last reces- sion, there has been much debate around the topic of why the global economy has not been more responsive to the more than 500 interest rate…

Submerging Markets – the downside of developing economies

Sep 08 2013

Over the last several years, investors became accustomed to the belief that the influence of the U.S. economy and its policies on the emerging markets nations was waning. The emerging markets countries include the well-publicized BRICs group of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) but also nations such as Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand and South Africa.…

Investors have a Taper Tantrum

Aug 06 2013

The financial industry rarely has a challenge when coming up with clever headlines to describe the markets. Our newsletter gets its title from recent investor reaction to the mere hint that the US Feder- al Reserve (the ‘Fed’) may reduce or ‘taper’ its monthly $85 billion bond purchase program. Since bond prices and interest…

Zoomer Magazine Interviews Pacifica Partners

May 15 2013

Zoomer Magazine interviews Pacifica Partners' Chief Investment Officer, AJ Sull in their March 2013 Smart Money Strategies issue. AJ provides his insight on investment strategies for the 50 something demographic. An excerpt of the Smart Money Strategies column is included below. Please visist everythingzoomer.com for more articles. Zoomer Magazine interviews Pacifica Partners' Chief Investment Officer,…

Canada & the USA, a Tale of Two Economies

May 14 2013

When two countries are as interconnected as Canada and the US, it is often the case that their respective economic circumstances are at least somewhat similar. For these two North American neighbors, however, their economies and stock markets have diverged considerably over recent months. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, as we…

Canada US Real Estate Chartbook

May 14 2013

Horace, the ancient Roman poet of the first century BCE wrote in his work Ars Poetica, "many shall be restored that are now fallen and many shall fall that are now in honor." We can say with absolute certainty that Horace was not referring to modern day North American real estate markets. However, his statement…

The buying power of Gold

Apr 18 2013

With a decade of surging gold prices behind us and a more recent period of weakness that has sent bullion back to mid-2011 levels, investors are left wondering what to do. This question actually consists of two real dilemmas. Firstly, for those owning copious amounts of bullion, gold-stocks, or other precious metals – do I…

Not all stock buybacks are created equal

Apr 11 2013

To an income oriented investor, today’s low interest rates are proving to be a challenge. The “easy money” policies of most central banks have driven interest rates “lower for longer” and created a demand for income oriented equities. The boards of many publicly traded companies have responded to the demand by promising to return cash…

Debt, Profits, Canada & more

Feb 18 2013

In the final hours of the 2012 trading year, the financial markets showed their relief that Congress and the White House had reached an agreement and the “Fiscal Cliff” would be averted. The collective attention of the markets is now turning to the Debt Ceiling talks which involve Congress signing off on yet another increase…