FidelityConnects

In the 12th episode of the Fidelity ETF Exchange – powered by FidelityConnects, co-hosts Étienne Joncas Bouchard and Katrina Wilson welcome Michael Robertson to the show. Michael is a Quantitative Research Analyst at Fidelity Investments in Boston. In this episode, Étienne & Katrina have an in-depth conversation with Michael on the use of Environmental, Social & Governance criterias in a portfolio management framework. Some of the key topics discussed include the notable trends in ESG investing, how Fidelity evaluates or scores a company’s sustainability, and how advisors and investors should go about choosing the appropriate ESG mandate for their portfolios.

Recorded on December 18, 2020.

Le gestionnaire de portefeuille Patrice Quirion est de nouveau parmi nous.  Il est à la barre du Fonds Fidelity Actions mondiales – Concentré et du Fonds Fidelity Actions internationales – Concentré pour le compte des investisseurs canadiens. Il classe ses placements dans les trois catégories suivantes : titres de croissance de qualité, titres défensifs de qualité et titres cycliques de qualité, et indique les catégories les plus intéressantes à l’aube de 2021.

Date : 9 décembre 2020

Fidelity Emerging Markets Fund portfolio manager Sam Polyak shares his outlook on opportunities in emerging markets and what to expect in 2021. Sam believes EM is still in the early stages. 2020 created a great landscape for EM.  He looks at this like the times during WW2 and D-day. Many people are worried about the pandemic, but he says we must get through it and focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. There is a lot of demand in the world right now.  He sees opportunity in 5G. People feel much more comfortable working from home and using technology. Sam is investing in banks as they are trading below intrinsic value.  He also says India is a country to watch out for. He says India will come out of this pandemic with alot of growth. Still in the early stages, but keep an eye out for this country as reforms will come into play on taxation and removing black market transactions.

Recorded on December 17, 2020.

Portfolio manager Jeremy Podger discusses his global portfolio positioning and shares his regional outlooks. Jeremy notes that this year has been largely about large-cap tech stocks in the U.S. He doesn’t consider valuations to be unreasonable for these companies, due to the amount of cash flow being produced, but he notes they also come with more political and regulatory risk, and they may not look as good during a rapid economic recovery. Fidelity Global Fund has owned a number of these tech names (and allocates more than the benchmark to tech companies), but right now Jeremy’s focus is on cyclical stocks, and on cheap stocks, where there’s more potential for upside. Currently, he is favouring Asian emerging markets, specifically Korea, where he is finding great value. Jeremy has an overall bullish outlook on the U.K.; stocks look cheaper there relative to the rest of the world, and he has been slowly adding to positions where he sees value.

Recorded on December 16, 2020.

Portfolio manager David Way discusses the opportunities with liquid alternatives as an emerging asset class, and introduces his fund, Fidelity Long/Short Alternative Fund. With this fund, his approach is to be fully exposed to the markets, while having the ability to short-sell stocks. In conversations with clients, Dave has found that many investors think alternative investments are inherently riskier, and that they are doing something very new. He believes, however, the key message should be that being able to short could help reduce overall portfolio risk. Dave’s focus is on identifying potential risks, so as to hedge against them. Shorting can also be beneficial with high-valuation companies, because he can take long positions in what he believes to be the better ones, and short-sell others with a similar business but worse fundamentals, in order to help protect on the downside. 

Recorded on December 15, 2020.

Nous souhaitons la bienvenue à Hugo Lavallée qui travaille à partir de notre bureau de Montréal depuis longtemps et gère le Fonds Fidelity Potentiel Canada et le Fonds Fidelity Canada Plus pour les investisseurs canadiens. En compagnie de notre animateur Charles Danis, il discute des avantages de la gestion active et indique où il trouve des occasions de placement dans le contexte actuel du marché. Il parle également des avantages de l’investissement ESG, domaine pour lequel il nourrit un grand intérêt.

Date : 9 décembre 2020

Fidelity ETF expert Étienne Joncas-Bouchard discusses international equity ETFs and the opportunities and importance of investing overseas in today’s environment. The ETF industry has seen close to $35 billion in net inflows year-to-date, notes ETF strategist Étienne Joncas-Bouchard. Equity ETFs are leading the way, and there has also been an emerging theme favouring stocks with high ESG ratings. Étienne believes investors are looking at ETFs as a rebalancing tool, and while last year the focus was on low-volatility mandates, this year investors are looking at factors such as value and quality. International flows have been another emerging trend, in what is generally a much cheaper market. Since March, there has been a higher divergence between sectors, regions, etc., and EAFE markets are trading at a wide discount compared with the U.S. and Canada. Because the EAFE covers more than 20 countries, some are up more than others. This is why having a barbell approach can be key.

Recorded on December 8, 2020.

Director of Global Macro Jurrien Timmer provides his final global macro update for 2020. Jurrien thinks that even with the number of cities heading back into lockdown, the arrival of a vaccine is allowing markets to see beyond potentially poor market performance. Looking back to March of this year, Jurrien recalls that in the third week of March the market breadth data showed that the number of new highs and lows had reached -80%; he suggested then that it was low enough that the forward return in six to 12 months would be positive – partly due to the market breadth indicator, partly due to the amount of policy response. Now the story for 2021 is the closing of the gap, which will be helped by the vaccine. Jurrien suspects the breadth will expand even more than it has in the past few months, toward small caps, non-U.S. stocks, value, etc.

Recorded on December 14, 2020.

Portfolio Manager Eileen Dibb discusses the outlook for the Asia-Pacific equity markets and where she is finding opportunities overseas. She dives deeper into the impact of the recent U.S. Elections, the effects of COVID-19 on Asian investments, and she speaks to specific sectors and trends and her investment philosophy.  Eileen also expands on her Japan mandate. Eileen says the Japan fund is a great way to look at one market and the interesting thing about this country is it is large and developed and has great governance.  She likes Japan because it is a low risk way of investing in growth. She also touches up the effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, specifically the November announcement of the effectiveness of the vaccine. She says the news created a big wave and changed the game for her in terms of what she is looking at.  Now, she is looking two to three years out on the horizon. But she says it will take some time for the vaccine to be rolled out.  However, Asia being a cyclical market, this could also help it over the next 12 months.

Recorded on December 11, 2020

Fidelity International investment director Tom Stevenson discusses the impact of COVID-19 and the U.S. election on Europe and the U.K. Tom is based in London, and with the vaccine approval process being accelerated in the U.K., he thinks it will be interesting to see just how eager the public will be to get the vaccination. Meanwhile, the positive news has boosted the markets immensely, especially the prospect of getting back to normal next year. Tom believes ESG will be a key focus in the next year and beyond, and that there is a clear positive correlation to be seen between sustainability and stock performance.

Recorded on December 4, 2020.