In early June, the S&P 500 rose by more than 20% from its October low, reaching its highest level since April of last year. Often observed as a barometer for the overall health of the U.S. economy, the index’s strong performance generated some optimism with respect to the trajectory of the U.S. economy. However, when considering the market breadth, which refers to the number of stocks that are moving the index, a less optimistic picture emerges.
In a recent video, Paul Holba, CIO, reviews the key market events of 2022 and outlook for 2023. He also shares how the team’s investment strategies reflect our cautious view of the environment, but with some positive outlooks and opportunities.
From the desk of CIO Paul Holba: In this latest update from the Empire Life Investments team, Paul Holba discusses how 2022 continues to be a challenging year—but it’s not all bad news.
2022 continues to be a challenging year for investors. As mentioned in my July update, the first half of the year produced some of the worst year-to-date returns in decades for many markets. At the end of the third quarter, market returns continued to incrementally trend in the wrong direction (albeit at a slower clip). However, many markets experienced a strong October rally, trimming the year’s losses to varying degrees. Supported by its resource sector orientation, Canadian equities held their value better over other markets, while the growth-oriented Nasdaq Composite continued to lag materially.
From the desk of CIO Paul Holba: In this latest update from the Empire Life Investments team, Paul Holba reviews the key market events impacting 2022 and beyond.
The first half of 2022 was turbulent, with major asset classes suffering from their worst first half of a year in decades. The year began with the world’s uneven emergence from the pandemic and supply chain disruptions affecting the global economy. Russia invaded Ukraine in February, spurring a major geopolitical event that pushed up prices of commodities, including energy and agricultural products. China’s zero-COVID policy has suppressed demand, weakened productivity, and spilled over into global supply chains.
Corrections: What we can learn from the past - May 25, 2022. The Investments team looks at previous market corrections through the decades, the events that followed, and why staying invested through bouts of volatility has proven to be a beneficial strategy for the long-term investor.
Market watch bulletin - February 28, 2022: Given the current geopolitical situation here are a few thoughts from our investment team.
The situation is changing very rapidly in Ukraine, so we won't try and update you on the moment-to-moment situation.
Let’s start by extending our sincerest best wishes to the people of Ukraine. We can't imagine what it feels like to wake up to a terrifying situation that must have felt inconceivable a couple of months ago and realize that your life and that of your family are in danger. All our thoughts and prayers are with them.
From the desk of Ashley Misquitta: In this recent article, Ashley Misquitta reviews the key market events impacting 2021 and beyond.
Transition was clearly a dominant theme over the past year. Transitioning from the unprecedented COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 and early 2021, global economies began to ease restrictions as vaccines were rolled out in the spring, driving greater economic activity across many sectors. And we saw many other important transitions occur as well.
From an evidence point of view, the proliferation of sustainable investment strategies and strong fund flows into these products are easily researched through publicly available resources. Underlying these trends, however, is a more durable structural shift.
It is vital in understanding the different approaches related to sustainable investing. While standards and definitions continually evolve, there are generally six approaches to sustainable investing. Depending on an investor’s motivation in considering sustainable investing, some approaches may be more relevant than others.
