BMO Investorline

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Springbok
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BMO Investorline

Post by Springbok »

One weakness at BMO Investorline was that background info on Canadian companies was often not available - This seems to correct that weakness:

"Enhanced company information powered by GlobeInvestor GOLD New!

We have partnered with Globeinvestor to enhance our company fundamental data such as Company Profile, Estimates and Financials and provide you with comprehensive coverage of over 9,000 North American companies.

Company Financials include annual and quarterly balance sheets and income statements, annual cash flow statements and annual ratios for both US and Canadian companies. Data is updated daily. Visit Quotes+ today to take a look at our new enhancements!"
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Post by Nemo2 »

Great. After reading your post I logged on to check it out.............although the test symbol I entered showed N/A across the board, it's a good start. :)
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Post by Springbok »

Nemo2 wrote:Great. After reading your post I logged on to check it out.............although the test symbol I entered showed N/A across the board, it's a good start. :)
I had better luck - I tried SGF - a smaller exploration company and it provided good detail. Which symbol did you try?
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Post by Small Investor Activist »

Exactly what does GlobeInvestor GOLD offer?
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Springbok wrote:I had better luck - I tried SGF - a smaller exploration company and it provided good detail. Which symbol did you try?
FTN. 'Estimates'.
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Post by Springbok »

Small Investor Activist wrote:Exactly what does GlobeInvestor GOLD offer?
This:
http://gold.globeinvestor.com/home1.html

But so far as BMO Investorline is concerned, just the items mentioned in BMO's message -see first message in thread.
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Post by Springbok »

Nemo2 wrote:
Springbok wrote:I had better luck - I tried SGF - a smaller exploration company and it provided good detail. Which symbol did you try?
FTN. 'Estimates'.
Because FTN in a "split" it would not likely have analyst coverage like a stock or trust would. Same is likely true for all diversifieds made up of multiple stocks/trusts.

I have been using this feature this morning and found it so much easier to review the stock data without having to switch out of BMO INVL which has a habit of timing out whenever I am on another site :(
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Post by Nemo2 »

Springbok wrote:Because FTN in a "split" it would not likely have analyst coverage like a stock or trust would. Same is likely true for all diversifieds made up of multiple stocks/trusts.
Thanks/Dankie
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Post by yielder »

Nemo2 wrote:
Springbok wrote:I had better luck - I tried SGF - a smaller exploration company and it provided good detail. Which symbol did you try?
FTN. 'Estimates'.
Yabbut analysts don't follow synthetic securities. You'd find estimates for any of the underlying stocks.

For those with a TA bent, BMO carries a few more indicators than TDW. TDW on the other hand carries a large chunk of GlobeinvestorGOLD, most of it in fact.
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Post by Small Investor Activist »

It amazes me by now retail investors still don't have access to Bloomberg or similar terminals in brokers offices although I've been told they have a watered down version of what professional traders and other institutional players receive. I wouldn't vote for Michael Bloomberg as Mayor or Thomson (analytics) to the order of Canada based on years in my opinion of restricting small investors access to material information. Maybe regulators should step in and force them to open up their systems at a reasonable cost.
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Small Investor Activist wrote:It amazes me by now retail investors still don't have access to Bloomberg or similar terminals in brokers offices although I've been told they have a watered down version of what professional traders and other institutional players receive. I wouldn't vote for Michael Bloomberg as Mayor or Thomson (analytics) to the order of Canada based on years in my opinion of restricting small investors access to material information. Maybe regulators should step in and force them to open up their systems at a reasonable cost.
It's not restricted. They can pay for it. Reasonable cost???? Hell, most people won't pay 150 bucks a year for GlobeinvestorGOLD. Bloomberg and Thomson spent hundreds of millions developing these systems and many millions more maintaining and enhancing them. And you want them to give it away. These are research systems; most retail investors' idea of research is ROBTv or CNBC.
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

yielder wrote:These are research systems; most retail investors' idea of research is ROBTv or CNBC.
Exactly. What would 99.9% of retail investors do with Bloomberg access if they could get it for free?

(Answer: For all too many, transfer their assets to their broker's name at an even faster rate than they do now.)
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Post by yielder »

Bylo Selhi wrote:What would 99.9% of retail investors do with Bloomberg access if they could get it for free?
They would be totally and absolutely swamped by the information stream available to them. ISTM that the problem the retail investor faces is not lack of information but too much information. The challenge has moved from finding information to managing information.
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Post by Arby »

Nemo2 wrote:
Springbok wrote:I had better luck - I tried SGF - a smaller exploration company and it provided good detail. Which symbol did you try?
FTN. 'Estimates'.
You can get research on FTN and many other splits (only the Preferred portion of the split) through DBRS. Log onto www.dbrs.com and type "financial 15 split" in the search box. If you register at DBRS, you can access their research reports free for a month. Without registration, you can only access to the press release which provides a brief overview of the research.
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Post by Small Investor Activist »

yielder wrote:The challenge has moved from finding information to managing information.
Despite the internet the quality of information available hasn't improved as much as some suggest, an example would be Melynk's Biovail insider selling, 500 trades, where was that disclosed. It's as hard as ever to make a sound investment decision. I guess the advisory community is relatively satisfied, more confused clients means more interest in their services.
yielder wrote:most retail investors' idea of research is ROBTv or CNBC.
most retail investors are aware of the fluff and many have given up looking for an alternative source choosing instead to stay out of the market.
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Small Investor Activist wrote:Despite the internet the quality of information available hasn't improved as much as some suggest, an example would be Melynk's Biovail insider selling, 500 trades, where was that disclosed. It's as hard as ever to make a sound investment decision. I guess the advisory community is relatively satisfied, more confused clients means more interest in their services.
The Internet has nothing to do with a Biovail situation. This kind of thing pre-dates the Net. The Internet makes for less confused clients if they so choose. They have access to forums like this and others, to company info online, to historical data, to software, to independent research, etc.
most retail investors are aware of the fluff and many have given up looking for an alternative source choosing instead to stay out of the market.
Nonsense. Your biases are showing again. :wink:
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

previously Small Investor Activist wrote:It amazes me by now retail investors still don't have access to Bloomberg... Maybe regulators should step in and force them to open up their systems at a reasonable cost.
now Small Investor Activist wrote:most retail investors are aware of the fluff and many have given up looking for an alternative source choosing instead to stay out of the market.
In which case why would "most retail investors" need a Bloomberg (at any cost)?
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Post by Small Investor Activist »

yielder wrote:The Internet has nothing to do with a Biovail situation. This kind of thing pre-dates the Net.
Melnyk sold his Biovail stock before the internet :?
yielder wrote:The Internet makes for less confused clients if they so choose. They have access to forums like this and others, to company info online, to historical data, to software, to independent research, etc.
I'm not sure how valuable company data is given that auditors are not liable for their work. Even before the net you could grab data thru the mail, by fax somewhere relatively easily offline.

Independent like Accountability Research which costs thousands of dollars or some little brokerage house that calls itself independent while selling shares for insiders. As far as I know there's little quality affordable independent research for the retail investor. I'm talking about the kinda stuff you can really count on. RBC has a deal with www.veritascorp.com
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Small Investor Activist wrote:
yielder wrote:The Internet has nothing to do with a Biovail situation. This kind of thing pre-dates the Net.
Melnyk sold his Biovail stock before the internet :?
Hehehe. When you connect the dots that way, it's no wonder you have an anti-investment bias.
I'm not sure how valuable company data is given that auditors are not liable for their work.
Most of the company data is reliable. Sure, there are crooks but they are in the minority.
As far as I know there's little quality affordable independent research for the retail investor.


TDW carries a fair bit - Argus, Ford, S&P. This is also buy side research, ie, there's no underwriting going on. There are plenty of reasonably priced newsletters - many of which are tracked by Mark Hulbert.
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Post by Small Investor Activist »

There aren't too many successful investors who use research alone. It's sad to think how many investors use newsletters to make life saving investment decisions.

It amazes me how few people get what drives stocks, the true facts, unfortunately obtaining them is the hard part. This is what I'm talking about, getting retail investors the most accurate facts before it moves the market. You're not going to find that in a Argus report. Investors should be aware that insiders and bankers are always looking for ways to curry favour, research shops are a prime target.
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Small Investor Activist wrote:There aren't too many successful investors who use research alone. It's sad to think how many investors use newsletters to make life saving investment decisions.
Your anti-investment biases are showing again. The only successful investors are those who use research alone. Those who use insider information are not successful; they are cheats.
It amazes me how few people get what drives stocks, the true facts, unfortunately obtaining them is the hard part. This is what I'm talking about, getting retail investors the most accurate facts before it moves the market. You're not going to find that in a Argus report. Investors should be aware that insiders and bankers are always looking for ways to curry favour, research shops are a prime target.
More nonsense. What are your so-called true facts? As for Argus being suspect because of insider and banker influence, either prove your statement or retract it.
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Post by Small Investor Activist »

yielder wrote:Your anti-investment biases are showing again. The only successful investors are those who use research alone. Those who use insider information are not successful; they are cheats.
You are naive. While good research alone can be affective I'd be very surprised if big investors such as KKR and Warren Buffett don't know what's going on inside a company before they invest a large sum, sometimes they make mistakes. I'm not suggesting small investors be updated by insiders before they invest, just that the clarity of information needs to improve greatly.
yielder wrote:Investors should be aware that insiders and bankers are always looking for ways to curry favour, research shops are a prime target.

More nonsense. What are your so-called true facts?
Biovail's "$4 billion U.S. action claims shares were sabotaged by misleading reports"

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/new ... f8&k=53367
yielder wrote:As for Argus being suspect because of insider and banker influence, either prove your statement or retract it.
Where did I incriminate Argus.
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Post by kris »

Small Investor Activist wrote:There aren't too many successful investors who use research alone.
I have to disagree. I think that there are tons of successful investors (in fact, I'd be inclined to suggest the majority) who employ publically-available research in making stock decisions. The crux of the issue, though, is that you have stated your hypothesis using terminology that is too vaguely-defined. It's hopeless to debate this issue until you attach firm quantitative figures and provide factual references.
It's sad to think how many investors use newsletters to make life saving investment decisions.
Why is this "sad"? Given that there are several well-written investment newsletters (which have achieved excellent historical returns through diversified portfolios of low-risk stocks), I would suggest that they could be very useful tools in helping investors to make investment decisions.
It amazes me how few people get what drives stocks, the true facts, unfortunately obtaining them is the hard part.
Fama & French would likely agree with you that information (along with market capitalization and "value") drive stock prices. But your statement insinuates that the information available to investors, for some reason, isn't "true" (or is often misleading). While there have definitely been some historical examples of incorrect or corrupt auditing, I am skeptical that such a general statement could be applied to the majority of companies. Perhaps you could provide some factual studies/references that would support your thesis?
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Post by yielder »

Small Investor Activist wrote:You are naive. While good research alone can be affective I'd be very surprised if big investors such as KKR and Warren Buffett don't know what's going on inside a company before they invest a large sum, sometimes they make mistakes.
When Buffett or KKR take a position in a publicly traded company, they are like you or me in that they have access to the same information. Obtaining information that is not also available to the public breaks the law. Do they break the law? I don't know. Neither do you.

When Buffett or KKR make an offer for a publicly traded company, yes they get to see the fine print. That doesn't break the law.
just that the clarity of information needs to improve greatly.


Exactly what needs to be improved? What is not clear?
Biovail's "$4 billion U.S. action claims shares were sabotaged by misleading reports"
There are crooks; I acknowledged that. That does not mean that the research firms are colluding with them which you imply.
Where did I incriminate Argus.
You said: "This is what I'm talking about, getting retail investors the most accurate facts before it moves the market. You're not going to find that in a Argus report. Investors should be aware that insiders and bankers are always looking for ways to curry favour, research shops are a prime target." Re-phrasing, you are not going to find the most accurate facts in an Argus report because they are the target of insiders and bankers looking for ways to curry favour.

OK so you aren't critical of Argus. If Argus provides the most accurate facts and is not a prime target of insiders and bankers, then say so or retract your statement. Either they are or they aren't but don't subject them to innuendo when you have nothing to back up the statement other than vague anti-investment rhetoric.
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Post by Small Investor Activist »

yielder wrote:There are plenty of reasonably priced newsletters - many of which are tracked by Mark Hulbert
kris wrote:
It's sad to think how many investors use newsletters to make life saving investment decisions.
Why is this "sad"? Given that there are several well-written investment newsletters (which have achieved excellent historical returns through diversified portfolios of low-risk stocks), I would suggest that they could be very useful tools in helping investors to make investment decisions.
BruceCohen wrote:Hulbert Financial Digest has been monitoring US newsletters for 20 or 30 years and has hard data on their track records. Bear in mind that founder/editor Mark Hulbert has often said that very, very few investment newsletters are worth their cost.
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