Unintended Consequences

Sionna believes in the power of incentives. But what about unintended consequences like the cobra effect? By their very nature these situations are difficult to avoid since the outcomes are never intentional.

Looking for Eldorado

Throughout history, humans have sought the mythical city of gold, Eldorado. Explorer, Sir Walter Raleigh essentially spent his life searching for it, but never succeeded. Eldorado represents something much sought after, but something that may not even exist. For centuries, humans have also been searching for a perfect investment vehicle. There is a long history of fads and fashionable new strategies that, at the time, offered a seemingly simple, dependable solution. Often these fads have led to overuse (manias) and then disillusionment.

In the World of Disruptors, Sionna Investment Managers say buy the “Pro Active” Management Teams (Financial Post)

At a luncheon organized by Sionna Investment Managers and held in Toronto on Tuesday, three portfolio managers from the institutional investment firm were asked what steps they had taken to protect Sionna’s assets against the disruptors, those companies with new business models that threaten the established order.

A Post-Truth World?

With all of the recent media coverage regarding the current President of the United States, one wouldn’t be surprised by the following excerpt from a recent article in the New York Times President’s Misstatements Getting Less Attention

A Contrarian Value Opportunity Revealed

As a value manager, we know that value picks don’t always perform right away; the best returns tend to be seen over the long term. The contrarian value opportunities are in stocks that are either overlooked, underfollowed or in some kind of trouble.

The Middle Way

Buddhists have a term, middle way, which refers to the human tendency to explore extremes (for example, austerity versus indulgence) until centeredness is found by achieving a balance between the two. It suggests the path to wisdom is to aim for the middle way, and it is this path of moderation that leads to insight. It's a caution against indulging extremes.

How have we seen this practice apply itself to financial markets?

Claire Carter

Claire joined Sionna in 2017 as a Coordinator on the relationship management team. Claire brings several years of experience in the industry, including trading operations positions at Northern Trust Bank and Toji Trading Group. Most recently, she was a member services consultant for a large trade association. Claire attended Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, where she earned her Bachelor of Business Administration, with concentrations in finance and marketing and a minor in psychology.

Scratch the Surface…or Dig Deeper

At Sionna, we believe that investing is very similar to chess; we need to think long term when choosing to take a course of action – it’s not just about the next move, but a number of moves ahead. To succeed in chess and investing, it’s important to harness our ability to think deeply and concentrate in an undistracted environment.

The Costly Gender Gap in Canada’s Fund Business (The Globe and Mail)

By almost any standard, the Canadian fund business has a huge gender imbalance. Compared to other professions, and even compared to mutual funds globally, female fund managers in Canada are vastly outnumbered by men, according to new Morningstar research reinforcing long-standing trends.

The Winds of Change

In any period of change there are winners and losers. Some react with fear and loathing, others with enthusiasm and hope. We have a choice which stance to take. In the investing world, we see that uncertainty can diminish confidence and cause stock prices to weaken, even those of high-quality companies. But it can be during times of uncertainty that rational investors have an opportunity to take advantage of temporary weaknesses. At Sionna, we are mindful of challenges, but focus our energies on the potential opportunities.