Today Cpl. Nathan Cirillo will take his final journey.  A motorcade will leave Ottawa at 1pm, and travel along the Highway of Heroes to his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario.  Members of Cirillo’s regiment, the Argyle & Sutherland Highlanders, will escort their fallen brother in arms.  A nation thanks Cpl. Nathan Cirillo for his service and ultimate sacrifice.  We thank you for serving our country with dignity, honour and distinction.  We thank you for becoming our new symbol in our ever changing world.  We will not be made to cower…by cowards.

 God Speed  

I’m attending a conference in Dallas, and I can’t tell you how exciting this Mortgage Servicing Conference is. Knocking back tequilas while talking about fractured services, portfolio analysis and vendor management.  Oh, I could go on but would rather not come across being braggadocios. All kidding aside, we’ve meet some wonderful people, and given the scale of their business, it’s a little humbling.  And of course, everything seems bigger in Texas.

For the short period of time that I’ve been in Dallas, I’m really impressed.  I’m sure locals could care less what I think, but they sure are friendly here.  There really is something about Southern hospitality.  It’s not just a figure of speech or a myth – it’s real, and it’s a shame it can’t be exported.

I’m attending the conference with a number of my colleagues, so there’s no shortage of laughter and bravado.  Like when we ask cab drivers, do they own a gun?  So far, no one has said no.  They love their guns down here. There are signs in most establishments stating it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon without a license (the operative word being unlicensed).  Every time I’m in an establishment in the U.S. I can’t help but wonder how many people are packing heat. That does impact behavior.  When I drive in Florida, I never suffer from road rage.  I don’t go off the deep end while driving at home but I’m the model of calm and tranquility when driving in Florida. No point in flipping someone the bird when they might have a handgun ready under their seat.  I was reading USA today that Georgia just changed their gun laws to now permit weapons to be carried in some government buildings, schools and bars. What could possibly go wrong with that?

I would never be presumptuous enough to preach to American’s that their love of guns is folly.  It’s their country, and their right.  It’s just so different from what we’re used to.  Now, what isn’t different is the taste of Grey Goose and soda.  One awaits me, and a really cool looking pocket protector.

Until next time,

Cheers.

Who doesn’t like an underdog? I think we all do. Be it in business, sports or on the playground. The individual who defies the odds, the business which flourishes amongst the behemoths or the sports team deemed to have no chance, yet finds a way to victory. The underdog’s story can be compelling, can teach us life lessons, can shock us, and at times give us hope.

I was thinking about the lesson in perseverance that I learned from a Canadian downhill skier, Larisa Yurkiw. Larisa’s story came to my attention by way of Brian Nason, a respected broker, avid skier, and a good man. Brian was doing some shilling on behalf of Larisa. He asked me if MERIX would donate some prizes for a fundraiser to help Larisa realize her dream, to represent Canada at the Sochi Winter Olympics. We exchanged emails and spoke a few times about Larisa and I became intrigued. Like most people, if we were really honest, we only seem to pay attention to Olympic sports, other than hockey, once every four years. For two weeks we wrap ourselves in the Canadian flag and cheer on skiers, the maniacs who compete in the luge races, and every other Canadian athlete we pay little attention to during non-Olympic years. Our Olympic athletes can compete with the best in the world and many have to overcome insurmountable odds.

Larisa Yurkiw is an example of overcoming the odds. She suffered a devastating injury on the slopes, and she was cast aside and cut off by the Canadian Olympic Association. Wining can be ruthless, and no pun intended, a very cold business. There are only so many dollars to go around, and athletes that are hurt, and deemed not to have chance, well, they’re left to their own marketing abilities to raise money in the hope to represent Canada. In this day and age of mega professional sports contracts, billion dollar broadcast deals, it seems strange to hear an athlete ask for money so they can train properly. It’s jaw dropping when the same athlete says that depending on the amount of the donation she will personally knit you a toque. I’m not kidding.

It was a little over a year ago Merix decided to get behind Larisa’s cause. We reached out to our mortgage originators and asked for their support. Ahem, that’s code for money. Our combined efforts and generosity resulted in a five thousand dollar contribution so that Larisa could peruse her dreams. And that dream of representing Canada became a reality. Left to her own devices she not only qualified to represent Canada at the Sochi Winter Olympics, she is now ranked 6th in the world.

To all our supporters and staff who contributed and supported Larisa, thank you. A big thank you goes out to Larisa as well. Larisa, thank you for reminding us what perseverance can accomplish, that odds can be overcome, and that it’s cool to chase a dream. Here’s to gold, watching our flag rise, and singing our national anthem so loudly at the medal ceremony that you’ll be able to hear us in Sochi.

Until next time,

Cheers

"Whatever your plans are for summer, enjoy and be safe...we could all use some pleasure and fun."

Canada Day and the 4th of July marks the beginning of summer. At least it does for me. I love this time of year and as a matter of fact, I wish the summer weather could last all year round. I know, the changing seasons are nice and the fall is beautiful so-on and so-on. But I would give up the beauty of the leaves changing colour for not having to scrape ice off the car windshield, shovel the driveway or layer on clothing because you have to endure minus 30 degree weather. I would have no problem going to hockey games wearing shorts and flip flops. I’ve done it many times to watch the Lightning play in Tampa. Trust me, you could get used to it.

Alas, summer is short in Canada, and I think that’s why we will all try to pack in so much over these next few cherished months. From enduring traffic for hours to reach the cottage on a Friday night to the simple pleasure of sitting on a patio somewhere enjoying a few cold one’s with friends. Whatever your plans are for summer, enjoy and be safe. As for me? It’s work and pleasure, with a good measure of pleasure. Based on the first six months of the year, we could all use some pleasure and fun. Looking forward to the dog days of summer.

Until next time

Cheers

“Shareholders are rethinking their position in Facebook”

On some level we all believe that certain companies and brands are a sure thing.  We think this way without doing any in depth financial analysis.  What influences our thinking is our perception of  these companies and brands.  If companies have been around long enough, and they master the art of brand awareness through advertising, we naturally assume these companies and brands are money makers.  We can all name three companies, without damaging any brain cells, that we believe are a sure thing, Apple, Coke-Cola and McDonald’s.  No deep contemplation required, it’s right there at the tip of the tongue.  The reality is these companies have a storied history, and in Apple’s case, a history of ineptitude or at the very least questionable business decision making.  Hard to imagine today by there was a time when you could point to Apple as an example of what not to do as a business.  Clearly that’s not the case today, and Apple today is one of the most successful and recognizable brands in the world.

 In today’s world brand recognition and awareness does not guarantee a sure thing.  There’s been two recent examples of companies who bought into their own brand appeal, and concluded that investors would over-pay for the right to have a piece of the action.  I enter into evidence Facebook as exhibit “ A”, and Manchester United as exhibit “B’.

One of the most anticipated IPO’s in recent memory was Facebook.  Investors were salivating at the opportunity but not nearly as much as the principles of Facebook.  Investment bankers representing Facebook believed that the  Facebook brand would lead investors to set aside sound investment principals.  It was assumed that investors would pay a premium because it was the Facebook brand.  Hubris?  Hype? Greed?  They all played a part in Facebook initial IPO and present day values.  Facebook stock took a major hit last week, and shareholders are rethinking their position in Facebook.  Goldman Sachs has a stake worth $900m in Facebook, and they along with Microsoft can sell their stake as of August 16th.  What to do?  Well, they’ll have to think about Facebook loosing $38.8 billion in market value since the IPO.  It’s also estimated that over the next 9 months about 1.9 billion shares will become available as compared to the the fewer than 500 million shares available today.  Does the strength of the brand trump supply and demand principals?  You don’t have to be Warren Buffet to come up with the right answer.

Is there a sporting franchise with greater brand recognition than Manchester Untied?  Soccer may not have the appeal in North America that it does on every other continent but there’s a good chance that even the uninitiated to the wonders of the beautiful game would recognize the name Manchester United.  It’s been estimated that United is the most valuable franchise on the planet, get ready for this, worth an estimated $2.3 billion.  As sure a thing as it gets. Almost.  Manchester United debuted on the New York stock exchange on Friday, anticipating share value to range between $16 to $20.  The market spoke and settled in at $14.  A partly $100m less than what the owners anticipated, and they’ll have to settle on the $230m which was raised in the IPO.  No one is going to shed any tears for the owners of  Manchester United and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL, the Glazer family.  Other than the Glazer family maybe, a debt load of $661m for the soccer team alone is a big number to crack every month. 

 So what will we make of Facebook and Manchester United’s foray into the world of IPO’s? Well, the principals are worth a lot of money and so are their respective companies. However, it’s clear that investors  are not willing to pay an inflated priced for chic alone. 

 Until next time,

 Cheers.