Will Danoff and Joel Tillinghast are veteran portfolio managers with different investment styles. For Canadian investors, Will and Joel co-manage Fidelity Global Growth and Value Class. This fund combines Will’s focus on growth and investing in “best-of-breed” firms with Joel’s focus on value, specifically companies undervalued by the market that have the potential for long-term capital appreciation. Will and Joel connect in from Boston, and comment how they miss being able to travel to Toronto to see their Canadian colleagues, but overall praise Fidelity’s response to transitioning to working from home throughout 2020. In addition to reflecting on 2020’s digital transformations, Will and Joel also look at how the market is now looking ahead to economies re-opening amidst the vaccine rollouts, and what sectors they are viewing more favourably.

Recorded on January 27, 2021.

Portfolio manager Dan Kelley examines how founder-led companies fared in 2020 and how thinking outside the box positions them well in the changing landscape in 2021. Dan manages Fidelity Founders® Class, and notes there is a lot of liquidity driving the markets; however, he tries not to get caught up in the noise, and focuses on finding stocks he believes are mispriced. There are around 700 companies in the U.S. that can be described as “founder-led” – over three times more than in any other country in the world – but Dan continues to look at increasing the international allocation of the Class, which is currently around 12–13%. Dan thinks the economy is likely to accelerate once people feel safe. He expects that we will retain some of the trends we have been using to work from home. For example, travel for work may be minimal, given the demonstrated effectiveness of online meetings.

Recorded on February 23, 2021.

In his weekly update, Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro, notes that ten-year U.S. Treasury yields are near where they were pre-pandemic. COVID-19 vaccinations have increased, and hospitalizations have decreased. In the U.S., another $1.9 trillion in stimulus is expected, bringing the total to over $5 trillion, and the 2021 reconciliation process starts after this bill, in the form of Build Back Better, which will bring another $4 trillion in stimulus measures. Jurrien notes that commodities are on fire right now: that makes sense, as part of the reflation narrative. A rotation is happening in which we are seeing a shift from U.S., large-cap and growth stocks to international, small-cap and value stocks.

Recorded on February 22, 2021.

Portfolio Manager Brett Dley heads up the Fidelity Market Neutral Alternatives Fund, which launched in October 2020 to investors.  In this episode, he explores liquid alternatives as an emerging asset class and how to use market-neutral strategies to diversify amid potential volatility.  Brett breaks down the structure of the fund and his strategy behind it.  The fund works on pair trades and areas of dispersion and change.  The sectors he's focusing on are technology, healthcare, industrials and consumer discretionary.  He points out that it doesn't matter what direction the market goes for this fund.  The purpose of this fund is to have positive absolute return independent from any market direction.  Brett takes a bottom-up approach to stock picking.  Prior to becoming a portfolio manager, he was an analyst.  For this fund, he's sticking to the same approach he's been doing for the past 10 years as he continues to build this new fund. 

Recorded on February 19, 2021

Portfolio manager Ramona Persaud takes you through her worldview and shares her thoughts on valuations and where she is finding yield and pockets of opportunity. Observing the current concerns about inflation, Ramona notes that dividends can offer a source of real income growth. High-quality stocks typically have pricing power, which means that they can price above their costs; this allows for real pricing that translates into real cash flow. Ramona believes financials are cheaper than they should be right now, because there has been a belief, until very recently, that rates will stay low, and financials are better positioned this cycle than in previous cycles. Ramona likes the fact that financials and banks can offer better valuations and higher dividend yields. 

Recorded on February 18, 2021.

Portfolio manager Jeff Moore examines the importance of diversifying in fixed income in 2021 and tackles the discussion on finding yield in this low-rate environment. Jeff notes that the main role of a bond portfolio is to offer diversification and potential for downside protection. In the new Fidelity Multi-Asset Innovation Fund that Jeff manages alongside Mark Schmehl, the balanced nature of the Fund causes the beta to tech exposure to drop about 50%. Jeff is trying to find bonds that yield 3–4% in multi-asset classes in the bond market. Jeff will not buy convertible debt for the Fund; he only buys bonds, and leaves stock volatility to the equity portion of the Fund.

Recorded February 17, 2021.

Portfolio manager Nicole Connolly discusses the key trends and outlook for ESG investing in 2021, as well as an update to how she is currently positioning Fidelity Women’s Leadership Fund. Nicole believes that COVID-19 has brought more attention to how companies are treating their employees, and customers. Nicole, who is also head of ESG investing at Fidelity, shares some success stories of gender-diverse companies with host Emily Anonuevo, and explains how she leverages Fidelity’s deep fundamental and quantitative research expertise.

Recorded on February 11, 2021.

Catherine Yeung, Investment Director at Fidelity International joins us from Hong Kong, for a special episode to celebrate the Year of the Ox in the lunar calendar, and to share her market update and outlook for Asia-Pacific. In speaking with Glen Davidson, host and VP Regional Sales for Ontario, Catherine looks at how this year’s lunar new year celebration is different from years past, and comments on China’s strong reopening after 2020’s coronavirus lockdowns. Catherine also explores the rise of the middle class and the rise of the domestic investor in China, as well as electric vehicles and semiconductors.

Recorded on February 17, 2021.

Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro, notes that the number of hospital beds in the U.S. occupied by COVID-19 patients has fallen from around 20% to less than 11% in less than a month, and one in eight people are now vaccinated, marking a dramatic improvement. Jurrien notes that small caps have been on fire for several months. Value is still lagging behind growth, but both are moving in the same direction. Emerging markets are outperforming the S&P 500 Index by 12% on a year-over-year basis, and earnings are recovering faster in emerging markets than in any other region in the world. Jurrien calls it an “all systems go” type of market that we are currently seeing. Follow along with Jurrien’s charts @TimmerFidelity on Twitter.

Recorded on February 16, 2021.

Les gestionnaires de portefeuille Hugo Lavallée et Maxime Lemieux discutent des actions canadiennes en 2021. M. Lemieux gère le Fond Fidelity Frontière Nord et M. Lavallée gère les Fonds Potentiel Canada et Canada Plus. Les deux gestionnaires partagent leurs perspectives avec l’animateur Charles Danis concernant les investissements dans les actions canadiennes, et expliquent comment ils continuent a diversifié leur portefeuille pour l’avenir. Ils partagent également leurs réflexions sur la crypto-monnaie, les placements ESG et l’inflation.

Date : 10 février 2021