Nesbitt

"Power Corporation of Canada, the holding company Nesbitt and Thomson envisioned, was designed to serve a number of purposes. First, by setting it up as a joint-stock company they would control, Nesbitt and Thomson could participate in a large number of hydro¬ electricity developments without throwing all their wealth into the venture. The holding company offered greater buying power with a pool of investment money raised through a share offering. Power Corporation thus offered diversification of investments: by spreading the investment risk among many passive investors, they reduced over¬ all risk by leaving reinvestment of the pool in the hands of managers with expertise in the field."

"Ultimately, investors bought into Power because of the people who ran it, the investments they chose, the judicious management they exercised over its holdings, and the continuing flow of dividends. Nesbitt and Thomson’s performance justified investor confidence. Even during the Depression the company paid regular dividends on preferred and common shares, except for 1933-36, when common share dividends were suspended. Even so, Power paid off a bit of its debt each year during the Depression."