The following is an excerpt from the quarterly newsletter distributed to clients. Looking Back, Moving Forward  March 2023 marked an important anniversary for investors. We are now three years from the COVID-lows in financial markets, when a novel virus erupted onto the world stage, causing a global pandemic and shutting down the global economy. It […]

The following is an excerpt from the quarterly newsletter distributed to clients. 2022: A year to remember, and for some, to forget It may come as a surprise to some (especially those who don’t follow the financial markets), but 2022 will go down in history as one of the worst years on record for most […]

The following is an excerpt from the quarterly newsletter distributed to clients. 2022: How diversified are you?   Jason Zweig, investment guru and writer of the Wall Street Journal’s “The Intelligent Investor” column, recently wrote about the reality facing many investors so far in 2022 (see Figure 1). The rest of the article goes on […]

The following is an excerpt from the quarterly newsletter distributed to clients. Grin and “Bear” It – Finding Opportunity in a Volatile Market Global markets resumed their slide during the second quarter of 2022 as consternation over inflation, rising interest rates, and the possibility of a potential recession weighed on investor sentiment. Notably, the S&P […]

The following is an excerpt from the quarterly newsletter distributed to clients. Preparing for Unknown-Unknowns Thoughtful investors are always attuned to potential risks. Heading into 2022, the attention of market participants and media pundits was trained on the following: Would the Omicron wave trigger an economic slowdown? Would surging inflation prove to be a transitory […]

The following is an excerpt from the quarterly newsletter distributed to clients. Rewarding 2021 –  Prospects for 2022 Stock markets posted strong returns during the fourth quarter, capping off a very good 2021 for most investment assets. Globally, the S&P500 once again led the way in Q4, gaining 11%, while in Canada, the S&P/TSX rose […]

The following is an excerpt from the quarterly newsletter distributed to clients. Where opportunity lies Conflicting investment themes caused volatility for global asset markets during the third quarter. Yet despite the choppiness, returns were relatively flat for stocks and bonds. The S&P500 eked out a 0.6% gain while in Canada, the S&P/TSX was up a […]

The following is an excerpt from the quarterly newsletter distributed to clients. Never a straight line The second quarter was a decent one for investment returns as both stock and bond markets recorded strong gains during the three-month period. Canadian and US stock markets both rose by 8.5% in local currency terms. In fixed income, […]

The following is an excerpt from the quarterly newsletter distributed to clients. Covid – one year later Although the COVID-19 crisis continues to exact its horrible toll around the world, from the perspective of markets at least, COVID has been in the rearview mirror for over a year now. That statement may surprise many people; […]

Stocks and other risk assets experienced strong returns during the fourth quarter of 2020 as a relatively benign US presidential election outcome coupled with multiple COVID vaccine…