Note: while most of this was written on Friday before the Monday plunge, we have made a few adjustments including the removal of the question mark from the title. Q2 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc Equity markets had enjoyed a strong two-month rally, lifting the S&P 500 to a new [...]
Alternatives are sexy. This wide-ranging asset class, which includes hedge funds, structured products, private equity or anything that is materially different to traditional equities or bonds, has an air of exclusivity. Managers in the space range from the reclusive to those who host their own news conferences. The television [...]
“Past performance is no guarantee of future results,” or a similar iteration, is likely the most common phrase found among investment disclaimers. To say this phrase falls on deaf ears would be an understatement, and we are pretty sure it is just about everyone’s fault. One of the easiest [...]
The past few weeks have seen the whisper of a near-term recession grow into something arguably much louder than a whisper. The U.S. 10-year bond yield has been declining for much of the past year from over 3.0% to 2.06% as of Friday morning (June 7) after a soft [...]
Investors unfamiliar with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing principles might express skepticism or perhaps worry about how such an approach might affect the performance of their investments. Many institutional portfolio managers around the globe now view ESG not as its own investing style, but as an alpha-generating supplement [...]
Since the start of 2019, the S&P 500 is up by an impressive 13.9%, including dividends. At the same time, bonds – as measured by a total bond market ETF – are up 6.2%. In other words, yields – which started falling during the fourth-quarter equity market correction, have [...]
Equity markets can be fickle. The fourth quarter of 2018 saw a double-digit correction driven by concerns over how quickly global economic growth was slowing. While partially justified, it appeared to be an overreaction to the downside. Since 2019, we have enjoyed a huge bounce back, partly due to [...]
The active vs. passive debate has been raging for years now and there’s no denying the data of recent years certainly favours passive. Based off the annual SPIVA report from S&P, 2018 was no different. Only 36% of large cap U.S. equity funds managed to best the S&P 500. [...]
Unlike some attractive investments, gold tends to shine the brightest during times of market turmoil. Our macro view places us in the late stage of the market cycle and we expect bouts of volatility to be more common and violent. This week we’re talking gold and why we recommend [...]
It’s pretty amazing to see the TSX Composite now at just 4% below its all time high. A far cry from the oversold level of December 24 when the index was 17% off. The pattern is almost identical for the S&P 500, briefly touching 20% below its high and [...]
Now that the markets have bounced back and investor nerves are calmed, we can finally write about something less market / economic centric. Given the big market drop in Q4 and the big recovery in January, we wanted to emphasize the importance of staying invested and how going down [...]
Earnings With just over 100 companies reported so far in the U.S. and the bulk of the Canadian earnings season just around the corner, we thought it fitting to have a look at how the season is progressing and what it’s all about. Earnings are the beating heart of valuation [...]
Just a heads up: we will soon be publishing our Market Outlook for 2019 and beyond, entitled “Punch bowl hangover”. In the report, we provide a recap of 2018, a bull vs bear comparison for 2019, our baseline scenario, how we are positioned and a refresh on the Canadian [...]
What a week for the markets. As fears that the world’s two largest economies would continue to escalate their trade war subsided, we began our week thinking the worst was behind us. Our expectations were shattered on Tuesday when the S&P 500 took a nose dive, falling as much [...]
On January 1 of this year, the S&P 500 had just completed 2017 which enjoyed record operating earnings of $124.50. With just one quarter to go, if current estimates hold for the final quarter, the S&P 500 will set another record of $157.70 in earnings for 2018, an increase [...]
For decades, the foundational bedrock of portfolio management has been asset allocation, essentially how your investments are diversified across different asset classes. Undoubtedly, the asset mix will remain the most important decision when building and managing portfolios for decades to come. It is not going away. While an increasing [...]
For most grown-ups, Halloween isn’t all that scary but stock market corrections are, and we are in one now. The TSX Composite, S&P 500, NASDAQ and the Russell 2000 small-cap index are all down more than 10% from their recent highs. The Dow is holding on, but just by [...]
Market cycles don’t die of old age, and that is good news as this cycle can only be described as being “rather mature”. Just a reminder, we do not view the market cycle in terms of bull and bear markets for a specific index (otherwise one could argue the Canadian [...]
We have been long-time proponents of rising rates, that equity portfolios should be tilted heavily toward cyclical yield and limit exposure to interest rate sensitive companies. Cyclical yield companies are more sensitive to economic activity, meaning if yields are moving higher due to better economic data, they react more [...]
We believe three factors drive stock prices: fundamentals, technical analysis and human behaviour (market psychology). Fundamentals tend to play out and are the driving force of long-term results, technical analysis can help you manage the turn, but flow in human behaviour can dominate all else and drive prices far [...]
When starting in the investment industry a few decades back, style investing was rapidly rising in popularity. Growth and value were the most prominent but now there are many more varieties of investment “styles” including momentum, size and dividends, just to mention a few. Another term that became pertinent [...]
The S&P 500 has just about completed its best reporting season in a heck of a long time, with growth in earnings of 25% and sales of 10%. It’s hard to complain. Not to be outdone, the TSX is on track to post 20% earnings growth and 16% sales [...]
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