Catalyst – A Four Letter Word

Sionna is always investigating areas of the market that are unloved and out of favour in search of great bargains. Individual companies, industries and even entire sectors can become inexpensive from time to time.

2012’s PROFIT/Chatelaine W100 (Profitguide.com)

The entrepreneurs honoured in the 14th annual PROFIT/Chatelaine ranking of Canada's Top Female Entrepreneurs run firms that are among the country's most thriving businesses.

Shale Oil: Not So Crude?

The last 12 months have witnessed price declines in a number of energy company stocks. While part of this attrition can be attributed to continued weakness in natural gas prices, that theme is not new, and has been a factor for a few years now.

Appetite for REIT Yields Alive and Well (Financial Post)

It’s one indication of the large and continuing demand by retail investors for yield, especially the yield generated by real estate investment trusts.

The 6% Solution (and there is a good chance it could be 9%!)

History tells us sideways markets are far more common than secular bull runs. Sideways trends occur immediately after a bull market and last for at least 15 years.

The Attraction of Natural Gas Stocks to Value Investors (Financial Post)

It must be a value investor thing.

For the second time in a short period of time, a high profile manager who has a value investing style has opined on the merits of buying shares of companies that produce natural gas, a commodity that is trading at price levels not seen in many years.

Equity Risk Premium Signals

The Equity Risk Premium (ERP) is defined as the return in excess of the risk-free rate that an investor requires as compensation for taking on the added risk of being exposed to the stock market. It is an important measure because it informs us of how optimistic (or not) the market is at various points in time.

Who’s Afraid of the Stock Market? – Revisited

In 2007, I wrote \"Who is Afraid of the Canadian Stock Market\" to suggest to investors that the then-current mania for non-domestic equity exposure was overdone. History suggested that during a sideways market, Canada was likely to be a relative outperformer. As history predicted, Canada has consistently performed in the top third of the 18 major markets every year since 2000.

The Poetry of Dividends

Dividends are not typically the subject of poetry, but given how the current stock market is waxing eloquent about yield, we would not be surprised to see dividends surface in modern prose.

Cautious on High Yielders in Sideways Market (Financial Post)

Following major market mania conditions, stocks historically capitulate then move sideways in an incredibly volatile manner for at least 15 years. Kim Shannon, chief investment officer at Sionna Investment Managers, believes we are in year 12 of just such a market.