Summer 2011

Slowing global growth and a pullback in resource prices undermined equity performance during the second quarter. Among developed markets, it was only the resource-heavy Canadian market that experienced what was, thankfully, a minor correction. Diversification beyond the Canadian market was an important factor in mitigating investment losses through this period.

Spring 2011

In the face of the unexpected and potentially disruptive events of the past quarter, the resiliency of the financial markets has been nothing short of remarkable. Political unrest, inflation threats, sovereign debt concerns and natural disasters all ganged up on markets in the first quarter of 2011 and, despite an initial negative response, returns for the most part have been positive.

Winter 2011

Equity markets told two different stories in 2010. In the first half of the year, markets were occupied by crisis and uncertainty and ended down at the six-month marker. The last six months saw a return of confidence and greater stability, with markets rebounding to end the year well into positive territory With regard to the global financial crisis, while we are not out of the woods yet, 2010 has ended with greater optimism than it began.

Fall 2010

At the start of the summer, the outlook for markets was subdued at best. The global economy was slowing, possibly slipping back into recession, and the fiscal woes in Europe had many investors wondering how this most recent crisis would play out. Amidst all the uncertainty, equities staged a remarkable third-quarter rally, having the best September since 1939, and the bond market continued to show surprising strength.

Back to the Beginning of the Year Markets retreated over the second quarter to levels not far off those at the beginning of the year. With concerns ranging from the debt crisis in Europe, weak economic news out of the U.S. and slower growth from China, the upheaval in the markets is to be expected. …

Spring 2010

To say that the equity market returns for the year ending March 31, 2010 are impressive would be an understatement. Anyone who invested new money since markets bottomed last March has done very well. And those who stayed the course post-financial crisis are on their way to recovery. But despite the outstanding returns for the year, no market has yet to climb to its previous high.

Year ends more positively than it began Investors may be breathing a sigh of relief as many of the dire predictions that dominated the first half of 2009 failed to materialize. There was little encouragement for investors at the beginning of the year, but those who continued to invest were rewarded by both stocks and …

Markets are up but volatility still rules Investors who followed the old adage of “sell in May and go away” are returning to the markets after a summer break with deep regrets. The rally that began in the spring continued throughout the summer months. Those who stayed the course are seeing considerable gains from both …

Markets make a good start on climbing back The second quarter of 2009 turned out to be a positive one for investors with the rally that began in March carrying on until the end of June. Market performance this quarter reinforced the unpredictable nature of investing – did anyone expect a 40% rally in stock …

Spring 2009

With markets having recovered around 15% to 20% of their value from the March 9th lows, investors everywhere are wondering – is this the start of the recovery or just another bounce? The answer (at time of writing) is anyone’s guess. However, we have now had three bottoms – October 10, 2008, November 20, 2008 and March 9, 2009, each successive one testing new lows. But with each of these big drops, we also experienced a subsequent quick recovery. Extreme volatility is likely to continue but for a more positive outlook to emerge, we need to see that future declines don’t result in new lows.

Winter 2009

From an equity investing perspective, 2008 will likely go down as one of the worst calendar years on record. Just six months ago, the Canadian market and economy appeared to be out of sync with what was happening elsewhere in the world. Not any more. Remember the concerns over rising commodity prices and possible food shortages last summer? Since then, commodity prices have fallen dramatically, perhaps none more so than the price of oil. In May of 2008 Goldman Sachs was predicting the price of oil to hit US$200 a barrel. By the end of the year, they were calling for oil to be in the US$30 range. The collapse of the commodity markets is just one of several ills that plagued the capital markets in 2008.