Market Ethos - Getting positive on Emerging Markets Published by RWL on May 14, 2024 So why are we turning more positive now after so long? First off, it is not all rosy, as there are some big headwinds as well as tailwinds. If everything were positive, EM would have already ripped higher. Investing is about probabilities, with an eye... Read more
Investor Strategy: Goldilocks and the bad news bears Published by Dolores Jandoc on May 13, 2024 Take your pick. There is no shortage of both good and bad news floating about the financial markets. To be fair, this is always the case. The hard part is understanding which side is stronger today and which side will be stronger tomorrow. So far in 2024... Read more
Market Ethos - Earnings riding a wave of optimism Filed Under: Investment Services | Portfolio Management | Wealth Management Published by RWL on May 13, 2024 Of course, the reason earnings matter so much is they are everything in the longer term. Sure, the market can move up a lot or down a lot as the optimism or pessimism about the future waxes and wanes. But all this tends to average out, leaving earnings... Read more
Market Ethos - Energy rally sustainable? Filed Under: Investment Services | Portfolio Management | Wealth Management Published by RWL on Apr 23, 2024 Given the run-up in oil prices, Canadian oil equities have clearly benefited from the much higher torque. But there is a layer of even better news: The Transmountain Expansion (TMX) continues to look to be in operation by May, which would lead to much... Read more
Market Ethos - Don’t count out the loonie Filed Under: Investment Services | Portfolio Management | Wealth Management Published by RWL on Apr 16, 2024 The CAD vs USD exchange rate has been on the move over the past few months, to the detriment of the loonie. After rising into year-end to finish 2023 at about 75½ cents, the CAD has fallen close to 72½ cents. That has the CAD trading near the lower end... Read more
Market Ethos - Dividend disruption Filed Under: Investment Services | Portfolio Management | Wealth Management Published by Dolores Jandoc on Apr 11, 2024 The dividend space has clearly become challenging over the past year, given higher bond yields. But it isn’t just bond yields. The increased popularity of other sources of yield has certainly risen over the past number of years, from the structured notes... Read more
Investor Strategy: The importance of asking ‘why’? Filed Under: Investment Services | Portfolio Management | Wealth Management Published by RWL on Apr 04, 2024 There was very little to complain about in Q1. Bonds were down a smidge, but really only on the longer end of the curve. Add some credit, or shorter duration and returns were roughly flat or up a bit. Hey, a boring bond market is actually kind of nice... Read more
Market Ethos - Has anyone seen my IPO? Filed Under: Investment Services | Portfolio Management | Wealth Management Published by RWL on Mar 26, 2024 The IPO market has remained very quiet. In North America, $5 billion of IPOs began trading so far this year, on pace for the bleak annual pace for the past two years of $17B in 2023 and $22B in 2022. Even more anemic is Canada, with virtually no IPOs... Read more
Market Ethos - Inflation: the long goodbye Filed Under: Investment Services | Portfolio Management | Wealth Management Published by RWL on Mar 20, 2024 The primary cause of market declines in 2022 was inflation and the subsequent response by central banks. Rates higher, yields higher, stock prices lower … yuck. The stock market rally in 2023 was a bit more complicated but a big driver was inflation coming... Read more
Market Ethos - Welcome to the world of gold Filed Under: Investment Services | Portfolio Management | Wealth Management Published by RWL on Mar 12, 2024 If you have ever held gold within your portfolio, it is a safe assumption that you found the experience frustrating. Sometimes, the stars align for gold, such as positive retail/bank flows, falling real yields, a weaker US dollar and war breaking out... Read more