As stock pickers in the developed world, we find unicorns high-quality businesses with sustainable growth opportunities and deeply discounted prices to be rare. Identifying one requires not only the skill and resources to break through the noise obscuring that value, but also sufficient noise to fool the rest of the market in the...

As investors review their tax returns at this time each year, they are reminded that taxation of investment income varies depending on the type of investment and the type of account. Interest income, dividend income, foreign income, and capital gains all attract different levels of tax and investors are well-advised to structure their...

The market decline in October got us thinking. Thinking about the “big picture” of the market’s direction, as we spend some small portion of our time doing, and about the “smaller pictures” – the collection of little stories and themes that capture our attention (or not) and ultimately feed into newspaper headlines. We...

The 2018 budget marked the culmination of a tumultuous year in which we saw the proposal of the most significant tax changes in the last 45 years, many specifically targeted at professionals including dentists, lawyers, and doctors. Through the budget, the federal government confirmed it would be moving forward with changes regarding income...

John D. Rockefeller, the world’s first billionaire, once famously remarked, “Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure? It’s to see my dividends coming in.” 1 Dividend-paying stocks represent a key element of a long-term total return approach, so it is important to understand the role they can play in portfolios...

There was a day a few years ago when my cottage was much simpler to look after. I used to drive to Muskoka on the first long weekend in the summer and, in a total of 12 minutes, have the place ready to go. It was called a tent, and it came with...

Being a “value” investor through a growth market cycle requires patience and discipline, and this past decade has required a bigger dose than usual of both. But a look at the many factors that have driven this growth run and how they have been rapidly changing of late makes a compelling case that...

It’s human nature to avoid thinking about the fallibility of our bodies – that we might one day lose the use of our legs, or our eyes, or our minds. Perhaps it is in our DNA, an automatic suppression of the consequences of our natural decay, like the fading memory of a first...

In managing our clients’ wealth at Leith Wheeler over the past 36 years, we’ve worked with many families as they have developed intergenerational tax and estate plans. Our role is to ensure that our clients own their assets in the manner that will meet their long-term objectives, on an after-tax basis. As part...

An old sailing adage states that “the time to reef is when you first think of it.” Reefing is the practice of reducing the area of your sail in anticipation of rough weather. You will seldom regret reefing early and you will almost always regret reefing late. In our view, this metaphor is...

I was recently reflecting on the many lessons I have learned over my career as an equity analyst at Leith Wheeler. I thought I would describe the following four lessons as well as some of the mistakes I have made over the years.Lesson 1: The stock market is a para-mutual betting system. This...

Thank you for reading the inaugural edition of our Planning Matters report. Our intention is to offer insight into areas outside of the investing topics that we explore each quarter in our Investment Outlook. The world of “ Personal Finance ” is very large and we will be tapping into the minds of...