Charlie Hebard and Michael Kim provide an update on Fidelity Long-Term Leaders Fund, the Fidelity Disruption™ Funds, and discuss the importance of identifying and assessing long-term industry leaders worldwide. The team believes that disruptive companies may shape what the market looks like for years to come, responding to advances in technology, emerging industries, and changing consumer preferences. Charlie, managing director of research, and Michael, quantitative analyst, explain to host Pamela Ritchie what and who these funds are for, and why these types of products matter in 2022. Charlie expands, noting the funds look to invest in companies the team believes may disrupt profit pools, to become the mega-cap companies of tomorrow. Also discussed today are factors to consider for the markets in both the short and long term, valuations, inflation and commodities, among other topics.

Recorded on January 6, 2022.

Transcript (PDF): https://www.fidelity.ca/cs/Satellite/doc/transcript_podcast_fidelityconnects_hebard_06jan.pdf

Abhijeet Singh, institutional portfolio manager, works alongside Sam Polyak on Fidelity Emerging Markets Fund, and today he shares the trends and patterns currently shaping the fund. Abhi shares that they are positioned for the reopening trades in emerging markets. The fund has been pro-cyclically positioned, but the COVID variants that are more or less severe in different parts of the world, forces the team to look regionally. Additionally, Abhi explains to host Pamela Ritchie that the team had been underweight China and overweight Brazil and Mexico but this has started to reverse. Abhi also looks at the theme of premiumization in emerging markets, especially in China. Abhi and Pamela also discuss supply chains, energy, tech, opportunities in India, and currencies in emerging markets and those currencies relation to the U.S. dollar.

Recorded on January 7, 2022.

Transcript (PDF): https://www.fidelity.ca/cs/Satellite/doc/transcript_podcast_fidelityconnects_singh_07jan.pdf

Tom Stevenson, Investment Director at Fidelity International, is today’s FidelityConnects guest. He was a frequent guest on our shows last year, and we’re happy to have him back in this first week of 2022. Host Pamela Ritchie asks Tom about the most pressing themes he is seeing right now, and Tom will dive into inflation, central bank reactions, valuations, the earnings cycle, and of course COVID and the recent Omicron wave. Tom believes 2022 is the year the world learns to live with COVID, rather than trying to eliminate it outright. Tom explains that inflation will probably peak and fall off, and earnings may drop off from last year’s recovery rally. He also is intrigued by current central bank responses, noting in the U.S. there is a difference between what the Fed thinks it can do, and what the market thinks it will do.

Recorded on January 5, 2022.

Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro, joins us on today’s show to kick off 2022 and share his unique insights with us. Jurrien reflects on Sharpe Ratios and returns of the different asset classes in 2021 and for prior years. He also explains how the earnings cycle is peaking after a strong 2021. Jurrien sees 2022 as being a mid-cycle year. Jurrien also comments on how a 60/40 portfolio looks and could react in 2022, and discusses the five trillion dollars in money market funds on the sidelines. Also discussed today are recent moves by the Fed in 2021 and what may be in store for 2022. Jurrien also looks at the recent Omicron variant wave and how that relates to new lockdown measures in different parts of the world, and travel. Please visit @TimmerFidelity on Twitter to follow along with Jurrien’s charts.

Recorded on January 4, 2022.

On today’s podcast we welcome portfolio manager Steve Buller, who runs Fidelity Global Real Estate Fund for Canadian investors. Reflecting on the current state of his portfolio in this phase of the pandemic, Steve explains throughout the second half of 2021 he has had a balanced approach for the portfolio – this means owning sectors and companies that are long-term consistent growers. He has also added some reopening beneficiaries. Steve shares with host Pamela Ritchie that in certain areas of the world, he has been underweight bricks and mortar - especially in North America and the United Kingdom. He is favouring centres that distribute necessity-type goods and more recently he has bought into urban high-luxury retail. Steve also comments on restaurants, office space, and the rising rate environment we find ourselves in. Steve shares that inflation is arguably good for real estate. This is due to replacement cost – the price of materials and labour has gone up. As well the land value goes up, and rent increases.

Recorded on December 17, 2021.

Michelle Munro, Director, Tax and Retirement Research, joins the show today to discuss the 2021 Fidelity Retirement Report, and share important retirement insights you should know about right now. Whether you are personally close to retirement, far away, have a parent nearing or in retirement, or you are professionally advising someone on their retirement – this is a show not to be missed. Michelle and host Quinn Flaherty, Research and Thought Leadership Manager, discuss how, in its 16th year, this year’s report demonstrated that Canadians are resilient and optimistic about retirement, despite inflation and the pandemic. They will discuss key findings including regional similarities and differences across Canada, how COVID may have changed a retirement vision, that health care planning is more important to Canadians, inflation is top of mind, and how a written plan drives confidence and optimism.

You can visit fidelity.ca/retirement for more information, and to download a copy.

Recorded on December 16, 2021.

Transcript (PDF): https://www.fidelity.ca/cs/Satellite/doc/transcript_podcast_TheUpside_Munro_16dec.pdf

In this episode of the Fidelity ETF Exchange - powered by FidelityConnects, co-hosts Étienne Joncas Bouchard and Andrei Bruno welcome Meghan Chen to the show. Meghan is a Digital Assets Strategist at Fidelity Investments Canada. Today’s discussion aims to provide advisors and investors with an in-depth overview of cryptocurrencies, with an emphasis on Bitcoin. Meghan explains what is a cryptocurrency, what is Bitcoin, how to invest in digital assets (with an emphasis on Crypto ETFs), and most importantly, what role they can play in a portfolio.

Recorded on December 16, 2021.

Hugo Lavallée, gestionnaire de portefeuille des Fonds Fidelity Leadership climatique, Canada Plus et Potentiel Canada est avec nous aujourd’hui. En compagnie de son hôte, Charles Danis, M. Lavallée discute de l’élan qui anime les placements axés sur le climat et explique comment les investisseurs canadiens peuvent intégrer ce marché. En tant qu’investisseur anticonformiste, M. Lavallée s’efforce de voir au-delà des dislocations temporaires et de dénicher les occasions de placement qui se dessinent sur un horizon de deux à trois ans. Il affirme que son objectif n’est pas de convaincre les gens que le changement climatique est réel, mais plutôt de leur montrer comment le monde change et qu’il est dans leur intérêt et celui de leurs placements d’accueillir le changement. M. Lavallée explique que la transition qui s’opère dans le secteur de l’énergie amène les sociétés pétrolières et gazières à réorienter leur modèle d’affaires vers la capture du carbone, et traite de l’utilisation des véhicules électriques et de l’impact de la mode circulaire sur notre climat.

Date : 10 décembre 2021

As we enter another point of uncertainty in the markets, portfolio manager David Tulk joins us to speak about the increasing levels of inflation and what that means for asset allocation. Canada is said to be heading towards the peak of inflation, which is 1% over the comfort zone of 2%. As a result, an elevated degree of understanding is required when digesting forecasts from the Feds and National Banks to gain an understanding of where economies are heading. Right now David sees a benefit to having the Fidelity Inflation-Focused Fund, as this product includes many asset classes including equities, commodities, and bonds which are designed to protect you against the inflationary environment. Finally, David feels we should be cautious of Canadian real estate. By ensuring the housing sector continues to grow, this will uphold our underweight dollar. The number one priority is keeping exposure to a variety of markets and maintaining a heavily diversified portfolio.

Recorded on December 15, 2021.

Joe Overdevest, Director of Research and Portfolio Manager, is joined by Brendan Cochrane, Equity Research Analyst, and Andrew Hall, Equity Research Associate, on today’s episode. The panel speaks with host Pamela Ritchie about supply chain issues, labour, consumer health, housing, ESG, bankruptcies, and the energy transition. Brendan believes that there are two factors in the past year that stand out when investors think of supply chain issues. The first being ocean shipping costs which have skyrocketed and the second is the chip shortage as there is an increased demand for work from home electronics. Andrew mentions that he is seeing wage increases that are higher than normal and increases for frontline jobs, also noting that companies are scrambling to hire back employees that were let go during the pandemic. Joe comments on housing, noting that we are spending more time in our homes, causing the focus of real estate to shift from office building to home building. He added that supply is still not keeping up with demand believing that we are not yet at the point where supply is outstripping demand.

Recorded on December 14, 2021.

Transcript (PDF): https://www.fidelity.ca/cs/Satellite/doc/transcript_podcast_fidelityconnects_overdevest_14dec.pdf