From the Desk of Ashley Misquitta and David Mann: In this recent article, the portfolio managers discuss the evolution of sustainable investing and its growing popularity among investors. Ashley and David also share how they incorporate ESG factors into their investment process.
Since the beginning of November 2020, we’ve seen the outperformance of small cap companies in relation to larger corporations by nearly eight percentage points. Spurred initially by the announcement of the COVID-19 vaccination and distribution plans across the country, momentum continued through the end of the year.
Geoff Johnston shares the message behind the recent rise in bond yields in this Off the Cuff video.
Key takeaways:
Increased International equities, decreased US equities.
Tactical Update - January 25, 2021
European markets have materially lagged US equities over the past year due to multiple reasons including index composition and Brexit uncertainties. This has resulted in Europe trading at a near record discount to the US. Given its cyclical nature, the Japanese market has performed well but continues to provide exposure to a rebounding global economy.
Bill and Rosalind are friends of Sam and Christine, whom you met in this article. They live in Halifax. Bill died of a stroke just before his 70th birthday. He had named his common law partner, Rosalind, as beneficiary of his Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) via his will, which he had set up earlier in the year.
Sam and Christine live in Moncton, New Brunswick. Sam is celebrating his 71st birthday this year. He has held on to his Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), optimizing the tax sheltered benefits of doing so. He named his wife Christine as beneficiary of that plan. Sam wants to convert his RRSP to a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF).
Tom and Sharon have been together for about 8 years. This is a second marriage for both of them. Tom is semi-retired; Sharon is a retired schoolteacher. The couple are both wary investors; they still feel the pain of the big market correction in 2008–09. They moved their investments to segregated funds for the insurance guarantees including the ability to reset the minimum guarantees based on the growth on their investments.
Ashley Misquitta reviews the U.S. general election results and the potential impact on the markets in this Off the Cuff video.
