All posts by Sionna
published July 2016
posted in Insights

Big-Picture Thinking

When I first started in the industry, one of the more popular styles of investing was top-down stock picking; where you made an economic forecast, decided which sectors were going to benefit and then tried to buy the quality names within that sector. Effectively, this approach required investors to focus on the short term; they predicted what economic trends were underway and then adjusted their portfolio accordingly. Value managers generally didn’t, and still don't, believe that the economy could be accurately forecasted in general, and they definitely didn’t believe that it could tell you how to invest.

published May 2016
posted in Media

P&Cs use a Disciplined Approach (Investment Executive)

Property and casualty (P&C) insurers' stocks aren't on the radar of a lot of investors, but you and your clients might consider Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and Intact Financial Corp., both based in Toronto. These companies have good prospects and the shares are reasonably priced.

published May 2016
posted in Media

A Lesson in Value Investing from Sionna Investment Managers (Financial Post)

For those who attend investment seminars wanting to hear the speaker’s best five stock tips, this week’s presentation by portfolio managers at Sionna Investment Managers will have been disappointing. But for those who wanted to learn how a value manager goes about its craft, about how decisions are made at what must be the country’s most diverse money management firm, the event was a winner.

published April 2016
posted in Media

Life Insurers Weather Headwinds (Investment Executive)

Low interest rates and losses in the energy sector are putting downward pressure on the shares of large lifecos. These solid companies could offer investing opportunities.

published April 2016
posted in Insights

Tune Out the Noise

Recent volatile markets and accompanying daily negative news headlines are a constant reminder of just how much noise exists. Not all negative news is noise though. When there’s a fundamental change in an industry or a specific company, we need to listen and update our views accordingly. The challenge is to distinguish potential distractions from relevant information.

published January 2016
posted in Insights, Uncategorized

The Search for Sustainable Long-Term Investments

The topic of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing is one that continues to gain in popularity. ESG investing can have different meanings to individual investors, and ESG principles can be incorporated into investment processes in a multitude of ways. At Sionna, we thought it would be worthwhile to share our interpretation of ESG principles and how we apply them to our research process.

published December 2015
posted in Soundbites

Brothers Grimm: A Cautionary Tale

At Sionna, we go by the philosophy that it is better to know what may be hiding around the corner – this way you don’t panic and, in the investing world, you can prepare yourself so you don’t react irrationally. We know that markets are unpredictable, however the more informed we are, the better we can rationally respond to unanticipated events.

published November 2015
posted in Media

Sionna’s Kim Shannon Unveils the Case for Imperial Oil, One Clue at a Time (Financial Post)

There is a fair chance that Imperial Oil, which reported its third quarter financials Friday, is etched in the mind of Kim Shannon, founder and chief investment officer at Sionna Investment Managers.

published October 2015
posted in Media

Welcome Home, Kim Shannon (Rotman Asset Management Association)

I had had the chance to catch Kim Shannon speak the year before at a RAMA event. She had just published her book, The Value Proposition, which had brought a packed audience of faculty, alumni and industry insiders. The speech explained her incredibly unique approach to value investing. Her sensitivity to the Canadian market had allowed her to abandon the pure-blood value investing approach in favour of her own “relative value” method, which accounted for a country overweight in cyclical stocks.

published October 2015
posted in Insights

Harnessing the Power of a Misunderstood Tool

With the number of buybacks hitting record-breaking highs, share repurchases have increasingly become a popular topic on the news. Many commentators argue that the surge in buyback activity was an impending sign that the market was set for a correction. History, and recent market weakness, tells us that there may be some truth to this belief.