I say that with tongue firmly planted in cheek. The month of June has been one long road trip for me. I’ve spent a grand total of 6 days at home this month. It was one of those months where my work obligations and responsibilities to CAAMP converged at the same time. Mission accomplished, and I’m going to be grounded for a while. For those of you that don’t have to travel for occupational reasons, I can honestly say professional travel isn’t very glamourous. Being away from family, living out of a suitcase, and eating way too much crappy food catches up with you. The worst part of traveling today is the air travel. Most people are less than thrilled about air travel today. The destination you’re going to is great, but it’s the getting there that’s a pain. Air travel changed after 9/11.

The need for security is real, but some of the security practices at airports seem to be an exercise in optics. Really, A woman’s lipgloss was confiscated going through security! I know, many a plane has been taken down by lipgloss. Admit it, I think we all believe that whatever is confiscated at security is later divvied up amongst the security staff. Protestations to the contrary by the airport, well, I don’t buy it. But on a positive note, at least when you’re going through that security shakedown the security staff makes the experience pleasurable. It must be due to all that extensive training they received. I believe the classroom training consisted of the following; “Everyone’s a threat, treat them accordingly. Congratulations, you’ve just completed your training”. I get it, nothing about that job seems enjoyable. But no one forced these people to take the job.

I would be remiss not to mention the role that the airline staff could play in making air travel a little more tolerable.

I primarily fly Air Canada because, well, brokers aren’t the only one’s who want to earn status.

I’m sure we will all remember the AC strike of 2011. No, you don’t remember it? That might be because the strike only lasted 3 days. I flew twice with AC during the strike and can honestly say that I didn’t notice any difference in service levels. I’m thinking that if employees withhold their services, and no one notices, they have a problem. I have a suggestion for AC employees when they negotiate their next contract with management. Create a new bonus structure. For example, the employees would receive a 50 cent bonus for every time they say the following to a passenger; “good morning, good afternoon, good evening, thank you, you’re welcome, hello, goodbye, please let me know if I can be of any further assistance, it’s wonderful to have you back with us”. Oh, and maybe there could be an additional 25 cent bonus if an airline attendant didn’t treat you like you were a member of a sleeper cell because your seat wasn’t in the full upright position prior to landing.

Until next time

Cheers

This was a term we were all too familiar with back in August and September of 2008. It is also the name of a new HBO movie which chronicles what transpired at the beginning of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown. HBO assembled an outstanding cast, and given the subject matter the movie was rather entertaining. I would highly recommend watching the movie. It is a good reminder to all of us that the term boom and bust is as applicable today as it always has been.

In typical Hollywood fashion, a liberal bias amounting to revisionist history, the movie tried to blame George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan for the meltdown, and all other evil things. The truth is you can go back to the Jimmy Carter administration, and the passing of the Community and Reinvestment Act. That work of art stated that home ownership was a right, and not a privilege. This is where the slippery slope began. Then old Slick Willie, aka “which way are the political winds blowing today because that’s what I’ll stand for”, Bill Clinton, put that program on steroids. Suffice to say the responsibility for the meltdown, and the nuclear fueling of the problem, is equal parts Republican and Democratic.

The movie is a great reminder of how perilously close we came to an economic meltdown. How our standard of living was at the precipice. If you think this is hyperbole, because this was really a US issue, the reality is that this carcinogen (sub-prime mortgages) infected world markets. I can’t help but to think about the auto worker in Windsor and Detroit, the welder in Germany, the machinist in France, all, asking the same question: “Tell me again why my pension has taken a hit because of some mortgage problem?” No one from Wall Street could explain what happened in laymen terms. The average person cares little about default swaps, derivatives and mortgage-backed securities. All the layman cares about is finding out who the hell let this happen. That question has still gone unanswered.

The movie doesn’t deal with the who. The movie played up of the part about the moral dilemma the government faced. Who did the government decide to bail out, AIG, and who did they allow to fail, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. All very fascinating and dramatic. But after watching the movie I couldn’t help but ask myself the following question: “How the hell has no one gone to prison over this?” I’m all for a free market system, and the pursuit of wealth, but reckless endangerment of our economy and standard of living should not go unpunished. There were individuals and institutions who knew full well they were passing on toxic assets. They were passing on the risk so they didn’t care. They could care less about the consequences. Yet none of the perpetrators of this ingenious fraud has ever been charged or convicted. You would think at least a couple of them should be experiencing the joys of being passed around in prison for a carton of smokes.

Until next time

Cheers

I suspect by now that you have heard the news that the Macquarie Financial brand will no longer be available in the broker market. To be clear, because there seems to be some confusion in the broker market, Macquarie Financial is not exiting the Canadian market place. They will continue to operate other lines of business in Canada, as well as support multiple brands in the broker space. But the big “O” (Macquarie Logo) will in time disappear from the broker landscape. However, their legacy, and the enormous amount of talent they assembled, will carry on. Macquarie’s success in the broker space will reverberate for years to come.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was sitting in my office at Merix, and across my computer screen came the official press release that Macquarie had purchased a lender, and that they were committed to a trailer fee model for mortgage brokers. Even though Merix was the pioneer and present day champion of trailer fees, Macquarie’s entrance into the market gave me a sense of relief. I was relieved because another entity would preaching the same story as ours. More importantly a recognizable brand such as Macquarie’s legitimized what Merix was attempting to accomplish, change the way an industry does business. We still have a ways to go before we reach our final goal, but I think it’s safe to say that trailer fee’s today are no longer viewed as that great unknown. Everyone knows today the value of trailer fee’s. Everyone knows today that they should have some portion of their book of business with a trailer fee lender. That in it self is a significant accomplishment relative to where the market was six years ago. The psychology of something new is critical relative to acceptance, and Macquarie contributed to the acceptance of trailer fee’s. For that I would like to publicly thank all the staff and management at Macquarie Financial.

As for Merix, we will always be the torch bearer of trailer fee’s. We believe to our core that it’s the right model for mortgage brokers. As for other lenders who may decide to offer compensation models which reflects what Merix has to offer, I will be the first to congratulate these lenders when they finally do so. I look forward to the day when other lenders join our cause, i.e. creating future wealth for mortgage brokers. Now’s a good time as any.

Until next time.

Cheers

My work requires that I travel a fair bit, and during my travels I’ve spotted numerous celebrities at the airport. I’ve never had the compulsion or desire to walk up to them and engage them in conversation. They do what they do, and I do what I do.  Besides, I think it’s a Canadian thing to be respectful of other people’s privacy, and we allow them to be.  But there’s something about Donald S. Cherry (aka Grapes) that makes the rational part your brain freeze, and a voice in your head says go over and say hello. So, that’s exactly what I did.  I was at the Vancouver airport walking to the gate to catch a flight to Toronto. In the corner of my eye I spotted Grapes talking to few people and they were getting their pictures taken with him. I’ve seen Grapes in airports many times, and I’ve always find myself walking over to say hello. This time was no different. With the one exception that after I shook his hand, and told him I was fan of his work on Coaches Corner, he said thank you very much and would like a picture. Ah, yeah, sure. So out comes my Blackberry, and another man standing close to Grapes says I’ll take the picture.

After the man took the picture and was handing my blackberry back to me, I realized it was Ron Maclean who took the picture.

I think the uniqueness of Grapes is that people view him has the every day man.  He came from a humble background, and there’s nothing pretentious about him. He’s always honest and speaks straight from the gut. At times that offends people but his attitude is too bad, deal with it. That’s so refreshing. Today it’s all about carefully crafted messages, and god forbid if you’re not politically correct. I admire the fact that he puts it out there, and let’s the chips fall where they may.

What’s also interesting is that this is the same man who will shed a tear on national television when honoring our brave men and women in the armed forces who sacrificed their lives for Canada. I’ve seen him choke-up on many occasions on Coaches Corner.  His reaction is sincere and that’s why he connects with the viewer.

By the time Grapes made it to the gate to catch his flight, I would say at least 100 people stopped him to get their pictures taken with him. Not once did he say no. He smiled, he shook hands and he gave his famous pose for every picture, the thumbs up. The man gets it, and so did Dominion Lending Centres.

Until next time.

Cheers

I suspect this is how Vancouver Canuck fans are feeling today. The feeling comes from the realization that the journey is over before you had chance to reach the destination. It’s the feeling you get when something is taken from you which was so close. That something is the memory of your favorite team winning the Stanley Cup.

I have no allegiance to either the Vancouver Canucks or the Boston Bruins. I have no emotional attachment to either team but I have many friends and colleagues who do. I lived in Vancouver for eight years, and I call tell you that Canuck fans are as passionate as they come. I had a chance to witness that passion thanks to Debbie and Grant Thomas, owners of TMG and close friends of mine. They graciously invited me to be their guest for game five and seven. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity because being from Toronto a Stanley Cup final is fantasy. The only pre-condition Grant made was that I must wear a Canuck jersey to the game. Being a Leaf fan that was difficult to do but the picture is proof positive that I’m no idiot. Let’s see, wear the jersey and go to the game. Don’t wear the jersey, watch the game on TV. Woohoo, Go Canucks Go!

Just wearing a jersey doesn’t make you a fan. I went to the game as a casual observer, and what a spectacle it was. The capacity crowd in the arena last night, as well as the legion of Canuck fans watching on TV, there was nothing casual about their emotional attachment to the game. That’s why Canuck fans are feeling empty today. They’re all spent. You can only go from euphoria to nail biting to bitter disappointment for so long, and now it’s over. I feel for my friends and colleagues who are big Canuck fans. But the important thing is your team gave it a good shot and they provided you with so much excitement.

Ah, that’s a bunch of bullshit!  This isn’t play day where everyone gets a ribbon for participating. This is professional sports where the only thing that matters is winning. Losing sucks! But what’s worse for real Canuck fans they now have to deal with the embarrassment of a city coming unglued after defeat. Smashed windows, violence, burning cars, tear gas, flash bombs have nothing to with hockey. Yet now that’s the story, what a shame.

Until next time,

Cheers