Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro, unpacks the recent U.S. Federal Reserve Jackson Hole Symposium. Jurrien notes that the U.S. Federal Reserve has an eye on starting to raise rates, but are currently buying billions in bonds. Since they can't raise rates while buying bonds, they'll have to taper to zero purchases before raising rates. Jurrien also looks at how the fourth wave of COVID-19 is not impacting the U.S. economic reopening as much as past waves. Jurrien also touches on value vs. growth, gold, and what investors should be looking for when making decisions throughout the rest of 2021.

Institutional Portfolio Manager for Fidelity’s Global Asset Allocation team, Ilan Kolet, discusses the recent Jackson Hole Symposium and where the GAA stands on the positioning of its funds.  The annual symposium brought to light the rising concern of inflation and the tapering process that is set to begin by year end.  Ilan said from the meeting, the GAA team is thinking about three main issues: the timing around the removal of stimulus, the rising interest of inflation, and the labour market.  Ilan also discusses the level of inflation that would disrupt the equity markets and the differences and the similarities between the US Federal Reserve strategies and the Bank of Canada.

Recorded on August 30, 2021. 

Transcript (PDF): https://www.fidelity.ca/cs/Satellite/doc/transcript_podcast_kolet_30aug.pdf

ETF strategist Himesh Patel shares his insights on the rise behind inflation, what might work well in a rising inflationary environment, and if inflation is temporary or here to stay.  He says inflation is the number one thing on investors minds right now and will be a major topic on hand at the Jackson Hole Symposium, which takes place at the end of August.  But he also stresses that it is difficult to really know if inflation will be transitory or persistent.  At this juncture, his view is that we will see higher levels of inflation over the next few quarters.  Himesh also shares his latest research findings and speaks to how Fidelity's all-in-one ETFs are uniquely positioned in today's market environment.

Recorded on August 27, 2021. 

Naveed Rahman, institutional portfolio manager, shares his outlook on the global markets, and discusses fund positioning of Fidelity Global Intrinsic Value Class. The fund is managed by legendary investor Joel Tillinghast, and Naveed shares they’ve added more traditional banks, financials, and some consumer credit names to the fund. Naveed also discusses the Jack Hole Symposium, tapering, inflation, and the potential implications on the markets as concerns of the Delta variant spread. Naveed notes employment numbers are strong. Reports month-after-month show a tick up in consumer prices, which all indicate that the U.S. will reduce monetary support at some point.

Recorded on August 26, 2021.

On this episode of the Upside, we speak to two Fidelity experts - Andrew Clee, Vice-President of Product and Vivian Hsu, Director, ETFs and Alternatives. Today's topic revolves around three core things investors should know about ETFs and Mutual Funds.  They also touch on trends and performance in today’s current market and what the investment landscape could look like for ETFs in the second half of 2021.   Andrew and Vivian discuss the record-breaking year ETFs have had so far, and Andrew credits it to the significant emergence of balanced ETFs or all-in-one ETFs.  Vivian says in addition to balanced ETFs, Canadian equities have done well in this asset class. It actually has outperformed US equites which usually tends to be the leader in this category.  They both explain in the weeks and months ahead, investors should focus on diversifying their portfolios. Andrew says knowing what your investment horizon is and your risk tolerance are key.  Vivian adds seeking the guidance of a financial advisor will help keep your investment goals on track.

Recorded on August 26, 2021. 

Transcript (PDF): https://www.fidelity.ca/cs/Satellite/doc/transcript-podcast-upside-clee-hsu-26aug2021.pdf

Our Fidelity expert panel reflects on the current market environment, and provides an in-depth analysis of the energy and materials sectors. Director of research and portfolio manager Joe Overdevest leads the discussion, along with equity research analysts Brendan Cochrane and Thomas Goldthorpe. Traditional energy - or oil - is continuing to lead the way and making some significant strides as of late. So what's driving this recent rally and how can investors take advantage of the opportunities in this sector? Thomas speaks to ESG and the oil sands. He says the five largest oil sands producers in Canada have formed a coalition to develop and implement a new technology that is supportive of ESG. And with this technology, if net zero emissions levels are reached, this will allow for them to become ESG winners in the future. Even though the energy sector is experiencing positive runs as of late, Joe explains we are seeing supply side constraints on the commodities side in many areas. Brendan says lumber and copper are two materials to keep an eye on. He adds keeping an eye on China will reflect on how well copper will do in the future.

Recorded on August 25, 2021.

Ahead of the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium at the end of August, Director of Global Macro Jurrien Timmer, discusses why some commodities are back on fire, if the Federal Reserve will start tapering, and what tapering could mean for the US dollar and gold.  Jurrien is bullish on gold, but is surprised it hasn’t done better with many opportunities to rally. It makes you wonder, he says, if it’s a sign the market is suppose to be doing something and if it’s not, then why? He says it could be because of the state of the dollar or the rise of Bitcoin.  He says if Bitcoin hits an equilibrium, then gold might be rediscovered. All eyes will be on the Fed’s next moves. In terms of potential tapering, Jurrien says the Fed has to look at all financial conditions including the stock market, credit spreads and interest rates. Right now, financial conditions are the easiest they’ve been, but if the Fed starts to taper and for some reason the system can’t handle it, and financial conditions begin to tighten the Fed will have to pull back. It really doesn’t have a choice.

In today's episode, fixed-income portfolio manager Jeff Moore discusses fund positioning and shares his thoughts on the upcoming Jackson Hole Symposium. Jeff manages Fidelity Multi-Sector Bond Fund, Investment Grade Total Bond Fund, and several other mandates. Jeff says he and his team do not expect anything specific on quantitative easing and raising rates at the Jackson Hole meeting. Jeff also shares his thoughts on demographics and what's influencing the markets. He notes that the population of Japan, Italy, and Russia is in decline and that the U.S. and Canada are likely to add 100% more sixty-year-olds in the next ten years. Sixty-year-olds are savers, so they are likely to demand more bonds, more rates, or more dividends. Jeff also discusses fund positioning across his various fixed-income funds.

Recorded on August 18, 2021.

Transcript (PDF): https://www.fidelity.ca/cs/Satellite/doc/transcript-podcast-moore-fixed-income-monthly-18-aug.pdf

Charlie Hebard and Michael Kim from the portfolio manager team behind Fidelity Long-Term Leaders Fund are today’s guests. As economies continue to reopen, Charlie and Michael unpack how the portfolio is positioned into the second half of 2021. Charlie expands on what makes a long-term leader, noting the fund focuses on what they think a company will be capable of earning over the next 3 – 5 years. They look at the strength of a companies competitive positioning and build a portfolio of companies that can grow over numerous cycles regardless of macro factors. Michael shares that as a quantitative portfolio manager, a systematic approach to portfolio construction is taken. The team aims to find names that show short-term weakness with long-term potential. The quant approach aims to deliver repeatable results and minimize behavioural biases. Other topics discussed include inflation, commodities, and emerging markets investing, and note the research resources behind the fund that expand to Fidelity’s global equity research team across the world.

Recorded on August 20, 2021.

July's Federal Reserve meeting minutes revealed plans to start tapering before the end of this year which raised concerns over persistent COVID-19 variants impacting global growth. Sector Strategist, Denise Chisholm, discusses what this means for the economic recovery. Denise notes that the Delta variant may have less of an impact than investors think. Denise says there are higher income levels and higher growth in this cycle. She notes that historically companies will invest to the extent that there is growth. Denise also discusses investor sentiment noting that investors are back in the bottom quartile levels, which has been a result of the delta variant news. Sentiment tends to correct relatively quickly and there is not as much correlation to consumer sentiment and spending.

Recorded on August 19, 2021.

Transcript (PDF): https://www.fidelity.ca/cs/Satellite/doc/transcript-podcast-chisholm-sector-watch-19aug.pdf