The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the interest and demand in ESG investing. Dozens of ESG ratings systems have been created, and it’s been noted that non-financial risks including those related to ESG principles can have a significant financial impact on a company over time. Jenn-Hui Tan, Global Head of Stewardship and Sustainable Investing at Fidelity International, speaks about the current state of ESG investing globally, and comments on Fidelity International’s ESG rating system and approach to ESG investing. Jenn explains that a lot of people think about ESG investing through the equity lens, but he believes that bond holders can drive improvement and have the greatest impact when it comes time for a companies refinancing.

Recorded on April 22, 2021.

Portfolio manager Ramona Persaud is back on the program this time marking World Earth Day with our listeners.  In this episode, she explains how to find ESG alpha and how she personally looks at ESG.  Her investing strategy of equity and dividend-oriented strategies focuses on providing return, downside protection, and income and she says ESG can co-exist with that current process. She’s overweight in ESG in her funds and she’s currently looking at ESG in banks and data privacy. Ramona also comments on the oil industry and where it is heading on the ESG front, as well as her thoughts on the standardization among ESG rating systems.

Recorded on April 22, 2021. 

Every month, portfolio manager Jeff Moore brings his unique perspectives on global fixed income markets, using a multi-sector lens. This month he welcomes special guest Dan Tremblay, head of ESG fixed income investing for Fidelity. Jeff and Dan look at a big question being posed right now: if the rise of ESG investing demonstrates a fundamental shift in the overall investing landscape? Dan describes ESG investing as a dynamic, evolving topic that the investment marketplace is focusing on. Dan also notes there is a lot of quantitative analysis being done to study the correlation between a companies focus on the ESG pillars, and economic outcomes over the longterm. Jeff comments on how Europe is used as an example of how ESG is more ingrained and can be a roadmap for how the trends are heading for North America.

Recorded on April 21, 2021.

Cette année, Daniel Dupont célèbre 20 ans de carrière chez Fidelity et 10 ans à titre de gestionnaire du Fonds Fidelity Grande Capitalisation Canada. Il est également à la barre du Fonds Fidelity Étoile du Nord, aux côtés de Joel Tillinghast et Kyle Weaver. Accompagné de l’animateur Charles Danis, M. Dupont passe la dernière année en revue. À l’affût des titres bon marché et déterminé à offrir une protection contre le risque de perte en période baissière, M. Dupont était très emballé par les nombreuses occasions présentes en mars 2020. Il a orienté le Fonds de manière plus dynamique en préconisant un style qu’il définit comme empreint d’une patience agressive; il est prudent et cherche à protéger le capital au besoin, mais saute à pieds joints sur les occasions qui se présentent.

Date : 14 avril 2021

Fidelity’s Director of Global Macro, Jurrien Timmer, provides his weekly global macro and markets update. Jurrien shares that during the last few months there has been more clarity in the U.S. in terms of reopening and the vaccine rollout. Growth estimates when earnings season began were for a 23% gain, one week later it was revised to a 30% gain. In general, typical market cycles last at least 5 years and Jurrien believes we are out of the early cycle phase. In today’s podcast Jurrien also unpacks the mid-April drop in the price of bitcoin.

Recorded on April 19, 2021.

Investment director Tom Stevenson provides his view on UK’s position in the markets as its slowly comes out of COVID-19 lockdowns.  Tom says the UK is still 10% below the peak level it reached prior to the pandemic, but lots of commodities are doing well including – industrials, energy, and financials.  He also provides insights on China’s economic bounce-back and what it means for global economies. He notes that China is taking a different stance than the US in that China is more concerned about reducing risk, financial stability and not allowing their debt mountain to get any bigger.

Portfolio manager Dan Dupont discusses his views on investing in Canada and globally in 2021. Fidelity Canadian Large Cap Fund can invest up to 49% outside of Canada, and this year Dan is celebrating his 10-year anniversary managing Fidelity Canadian Large Cap Fund. Dan’s focus is looking to buy stocks that are cheap, and to protect on the downside. In March 2020 Dan was excited because there were so many opportunities presenting themselves. He tilted his fund to be more aggressive, and Dan describes his style as aggressive patience: defensive with capital protection when needed, but aggressive when he sees opportunities.

Recorded on April 14, 2021.

Sector strategist Denise Chisholm joins us again to share her perspectives on sectors and factors. Denise focuses on trends, history and data. As a market historian, Denise says we are seeing an earnings recovery like no other. Also, always being focused on sectors, today Denise will look at energy and industrials, financials and U.S. bank earnings. Denise unpacks the historical ranges for normal P/E ratios for value vs. growth and large cap vs. small cap. Denise will also expand on how she sees inflation unfolding.

Recorded on April 15, 2021.

More and more investors are aligning their investments with their values. Today, ESG Analyst Courtney Bedell discusses becoming an analyst in this emerging field and how her work is leading to positive impact for investors and the world. Courtney reflects on the overall growth of ESG investing, and shares that environmental, social, and governance are the three key pillars used to assess companies from a social responsibility standpoint. The ESG analyst team creates internal ESG ratings for companies, which includes focusing on which issues are financially material to a specific company.

Recorded on April 9, 2021.

Ruthann Pritchard, institutional portfolio manager, and Bruno Crocco, portfolio co-manager, discuss the investment thesis and mechanics of the rolldown strategy and current asset allocation themes in the Fidelity ClearPath® Portfolios. In choosing a single fund, you get a diversified portfolio, and the fund automatically adjusts the investment mix for your time horizon. The farther away from your goal the more stocks your Portfolio will hold for growth, and the closer you get to your target date, the more bonds and cash your Portfolio will hold to preserve gains and generate income. These automatic adjustments can make you less vulnerable to market swings as you approach your goal. Ruthann and Bruno explain the ClearPath® strategy, the various research and resources that go into the decisions, and how they use active management and Fidelity’s top managers as building blocks for these ClearPath® portfolios.

Recorded on April 13, 2021.