Mawer Insight
Our investment professionals provide in-depth articles on a variety of current investment themes.
Mawer Insight 39 - Canada's Crude Awakening
Ed Ylagan
North America's surging oil & gas supply; The technology that's leading to greater output; The transportation challenge
Mawer Insight 38 - The U.S. Debt Dilemma
Jamie Hyndman, CFA
In Theory; The Size of the U.S. Debt; The History; Options
Mawer Insight 37 - Business Matters
Jeff Mo, CFA
Stocks or Businesses; The Core of a Good Business; The Output
Mawer Insight 36 - China: Thoughts from the Silk Road
Peter Lampert, CFA
Miracle or Disaster?; Cranes and Handbags; Bubbles and Riots; A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats
Mawer Insight 35 - Diversification: The Long and the Short of Diversification in Equity Markets
Gavin Preston, CFA
Gimmie Shelter! Does diversification work in market corrections?; Historically Speaking: Does it work over the long-term?
Mawer Insight 34 - Inflation: The Influence of Inflation on Equity Returns
Gavin Preston, CFA
The Basics; is inflation bad for equity returns; developed market stock returns vs. inflation rates; what is a good inflation hedge; developing market stocks vs. inflation rates; is deflation bad for equity returns
Mawer Insight 33 - Emerging Markets: Which door would you choose?
Steven Visscher, CFA
Exciting opportunities; many risks; a solution
Mawer Insight 32 - The Importance of Corporate Culture
Michael Mezei
Corporate culture and why it matters; bringing culture to life: the good, the bad and the ugly; the importance of culture to investment management teams
Mawer Insight 31 - Do the Right Thing
Jamie Hyndman, CFA
Integrity challenges in the investment industry; our visionaries; regaining lost ground
Mawer Insight 30 - Progress, Prosperity and Profits
Steven Visscher, CFA
The short-term bias that media propagates; reasons for societal advancement; implications for the capital markets
Mawer Insight 29 - Gold - Just a Shiny Yellow Metal?
Jamie Hyndman, CFA
The usefulness of gold; its investment track record; might it replace fiat currency?
Mawer Insight 28 - Asset Mix Revisited (Nov 2009)
Steven Visscher, CFA
Why asset mix matters; important factors to consider; framing asset mix in a new way
Mawer Insight 27 - Noisrevni: The Art of Inversion (Sep 2009)
Paul Moroz, CFA and David Ragan, CFA
A unique way to look at investing; what to do to guarantee poor returns; a step-by-step process
Mawer Insight 26 - Could You Forecast the Weather in Calgary? (Aug 2009)
Desmond Martin CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
Understanding what you can control is imperative to investment management; tools of the investment trade; increasing the chances of being right
Mawer Insight 25 - Back to School (Jun 2009)
Jamie Hyndman CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
Learnings from the recent market correction; painful reminders that it wasn't different this time; discipline is the key
Mawer Insight 24 - Be Careful What You Wish For (Apr 2009)
Jamie Hyndman CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
Why financial crises are here to stay; why excess regulation is not the answer; improvements that can be made to the financial system
Mawer Insight 23 - The Anatomy of a Financial Disaster (Mar 2009)
Steven Visscher CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
How the credit crisis developed; who is to blame; what has been learned
Mawer Insight 22 - It's In the Numbers (Feb 2009)
Desmond Martin CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
Understanding publicly-released financial numbers; what are the issues? making the numbers useful
Mawer Insight 21 - What Good is a Bridge in Detroit? (Jan 2009)
Gavin Preston CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
The modern history of government interventionist economic policy; recent developments in economic stimulus theory; the appropriateness of monetary versus fiscal policy
Mawer Insight 20 - The CIA Has Found Mawer! (Dec 2008)
Olivia Woo CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd
History of the Canadian Investment Awards; the process for selecting winning managers; Mawer's achievements in 2008
Mawer Insight 19 - Mawer's Bond Investment Philosophy (Nov 2008)
Steven Visscher CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
The importance of bonds; three aspects of Mawer's philosophy; current snapshot and results
Mawer Insight 18 - Mawer's Equity Investment Philosophy and Process (Oct 2008)
Steven Visscher CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
Many approaches to managing equities; the philosophy that Mawer follows; our step-by-step process
Mawer Insight 17 - Post-Olympia: Does the Dragon go back to bed? (Sept 2008)
Jeff Mo, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
Examining China from within; mentality of the Chinese; post-Olympic outlook
Mawer Insight 16 - Words of Wisdom (June 2008)
Quotes on investing from industry legends and luminaries
Mawer Insight 15 - The Lost Decade? (May 2008)
Steven Visscher CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
Challenging times for U.S. equities; an explanation of the issues; reasons for optimism
Mawer Insight 14 - Ben's Report Card (Apr 2008)
Paul Moroz CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
The current credit crisis; is US Federal Reserve policy correct? A comparison with policy during the Great Depression.
Mawer Insight 13 - Sovereign Wealth Funds: Ready or Not, Here They Come ... (Mar 2008)
Steven Visscher CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
The emergence of Sovereign Wealth Funds; Cause for concern? Predicting how SWFs may impact the capital markets.
Mawer Insight 12 - Inflation Fixation (Feb 2008)
Jamie Hyndman CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
The reality is that there are several ways to calculate inflation and many adjustments are made to each method to try and improve its accuracy.
Mawer Insight 11 - Lookout for Outlooks (Jan 2008)
Jim Hall CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
What is the outlook for Canadian equities, the price of oil, and the Loonie? Will banks crumble under the weight of the sub-prime crisis? Will the Alberta Government's new royalty rates change the fortunes of Alberta's economy?
Mawer Insight 10 - Global Small Cap Investing (Dec 2007)
Steven Visscher CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
In the discussion to follow, we will examine Global Small Caps in more detail and comment on why we think this is a compelling opportunity for long-term investors.
Mawer Insight 9 - The Fishing Trip (Nov 2007)
Jamie Hyndman CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
It was unfair to the fish that such a group would come calling. Not because the four were professional fishermen, for they were not...
Mawer Insight 8 - Bad Behaviour (Oct 2007)
Jamie Hyndman CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
The extreme market volatility we experienced this past August was a good reminder that psychology plays a significant role in the direction of capital markets.
Mawer Insight 7 - Going, Going...Gone: Are We Really Auctioning Away Corporate Canada? (Sep 2007)
Steven Visscher CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
The size and frequency of recent takeovers has raised concerns that Canada’s corporate community is being auctioned off to foreigners. Some fear that if we continue to allow foreigners to acquire Canadian businesses, and then potentially make decisions that do not align with Canada’s best interests, the future economic independence of Canada may be endangered.
Mawer Insight 6 - The Flight of the Loonie (Jun 2007)
Jamie Hyndman CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
The Canadian dollar has become topical again. With its recent ascent to over US$0.94 from an all-time low of US$0.6192 on January 21, 2002, Canadian investors have started to question their approach to currency.
Mawer Insight 5 - It's a Small World After All (May 2007)
Jamie Hyndman CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
Yes, the world is smaller, but the enormous impact that globalization has had on our daily lives, our jobs, our institutions and even our psyche argues for a much more thorough explanation...
Mawer Insight 4 - The Idiosyncrasies of Indices (Apr 2007)
Steven Visscher CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
Let’s attempt to better understand how indices are constructed and examine the shortcomings of those that are most frequently referenced...
Mawer Insight 3 - Lessons from the Edge - The LTCM Experience (Mar 2007)
Jamie Hyndman CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
Complacency is a dangerous trait to have in this business because you won’t have time to get your portfolio ready for a surprise! The Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) story...
Mawer Insight 2 - What Lies Beneath? (Feb 2007)
Jamie Hyndman CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
A study of the oil industry clearly reveals one thing: this commodity is absolutely crucial to today’s society...
Mawer Insight 1 - China's Miracle (Jan 2007)
Jamie Hyndman CFA, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
With so much being written about China these days, I thought it would be useful to review what has been termed the “China Miracle”...