FidelityConnects

With the 2020 U.S. election on our doorstep, sector strategist Denise Chisholm and Fidelity’s political expert Jim Febeo discuss possible election night scenarios and what they might mean for markets and policy. Jim notes that in the last election, Donald Trump edged out Hillary Clinton by a narrow margin, and relied on key victories in states such as Michigan. Markets are discounting mechanisms, and investors should understand the market will price in the election outcome. The Republican party is taking a conservative stance on adding additional stimulus, given the effects lingering from previous implementations. Denise doesn’t believe the stimulus “bridge” needs to be as long as some may think it should be. Jim notes that the Senate is the key player in determining the stimulus, and a Republican majority in the Senate would likely continue to take a conservative approach, while a Democratic “blue wave” will probably bring greater stimulus and fiscal spending on infrastructure.

Recorded on October 27, 2020.

Institutional portfolio manager Naveed Rahman shares his outlook on investing in global small caps, and discusses current fund positioning in Fidelity Global Intrinsic Value Fund, managed by Joel Tillinghast. Naveed agrees with the current view that a rotation is due: it is only a question of just when value will outperform growth. Because valuations are so stretched, he doesn’t believe it will take much for a rotation to occur, and many of the cheaper companies have cyclical orientations. That means that if we see a vaccine, we could also see a slowdown in the hyper-growth companies that have been benefiting from COVID-19. Naveed notes that the governance component of ESG has always been critical to stock selection. Fidelity’s managers are now paying even more attention to ESG, and leveraging Fidelity’s ESG quantitative team. 

Recorded on October 22, 2020.

Investment director Catherine Yeung weighs in on opportunities across equity markets in Asia, against the backdrop of the U.S. election, COVID-19 and uncertainty in global trade.  She comments on the Chinese economy and consumer behaviour. Before the pandemic, China was a very cash driven society - nobody ever really used credit cards. Now, Chinese consumers  have moved straight to digital payments.  She explains how the Chinese economy is driven by consumption and services. Since March, they’ve had around seven V-shaped recoveries, and it's all playing out from a domestic market perspective.  But making sure there is no disruption to China’s supply chain is important as China makes up 40% of global growth, which is more than Japan and US combined.  Catherine also touches up where China is now in terms of containing the virus. They went 57 days without localized cases of COVID-19 and within five days, 11 million tests were taken. And there is a push from pharmaceutical companies in China to come out with a vaccine. She has noticed a heavy increase in the pace of containment and in the vaccination process.  Although the numbers aren’t confirmed yet, there are reports that 60,000 people have already taken an anti-virus vaccination. 

Recorded on October 23rd, 2020.

Portfolio Manager Sam Polyak shares his outlook on emerging markets and government responses to economic obstacles. Sam sees strong recoveries in Korea and Taiwan, but notices that Latin America is suffering from the effects of the pandemic. India is in a difficult situation as the COVID-19 outlook worsens, but there are signs of improvements as evident across the emerging market landscape.  Sam says there are very innovative companies coming out of Brazil. Mexico is benefitting from the China trade war because companies are near sourcing to Mexico.  He also touches upon on the diversification of the fund in terms of different sectors and regions, while also looking at the economic outlook of Brazil, Russia, China, India, and South Africa.

Recorded on October 16, 2020

Jurrien Timmer, Fidelity’s Director of Global Macro, reflects on 2020 so far and dives behind the headlines dominating the news cycle. With the 2020 United States Presidential election right around the corner, Jurrien looks at how the uncertainty is contributing to the current “risk off” markets we are seeing, what history tells us about U.S. elections and what to expect this year. Jurrien also discusses the impact of COVID-19 on global markets, and current opportunities and issues in today’s markets.

Recorded on October 22, 2020.

Portfolio manager Ramona Persaud shares how she got into investing, her investment philosophy, and how she is approaching dividend investing in this low interest rate environment. Ramona explores how investors can navigate the headlines surrounding the 2020 US election and second waves of COVID-19, as well as touches on the importance of staying disciplined.

Recorded on October 7, 2020.

Portfolio manager Darren Lekkerkerker discusses investing in North American equity markets, with a focus on high-quality securities, against the backdrop of U.S. elections and global uncertainty. Darren is positive on the market. He believes there is plenty of monetary stimulus, and that there will soon be even more fiscal stimulus. Currently, Darren is following a home-centric trend, and expects home builders, painters and decorators will do well as people continue to spend more time at home and move farther away from cities into larger homes. He sees e-commerce and housing as two themes that will continue to play out after the pandemic; they have a lot of durability. He notes that larger and vertically integrated companies could continue to benefit, because they have stronger supply chains in place and are able to meet growing demand.

Recorded on October 20, 2020.

Portfolio manager Steve DuFour discusses U.S. equity markets and his plans to update and create resilience in his portfolio through stocks with highly profitable stories. Steve is looking at the growth rates of secular growers, companies that have been hurt by the economy and companies that he believes will do well after the economy recovers. His allocation in Fidelity U.S. Focused Stock Fund last year was 95% secular and 5% cyclical, but he now owns a lot more cyclical names than a year ago, because he believes cyclicals will enjoy strong growth in the next year or two.

Recorded on October 14, 2020.

Max Lemieux, portfolio manager of Fidelity True North® Fund, discusses the outlook for the Canadian economy as investors look for stability in an ever-changing market landscape. Max notes that ESG investing has been dominant in Europe and other parts of the world for some time now, and is slowly making its way into North America. One ESG opportunity for Canada could be natural gas, although this could be affected by the upcoming U.S. election and the level of exports. Max is looking for Canadian companies that operate in other countries, so their growth isn’t tied entirely to Canada, and he currently owns some of these companies in the Fund.

Recorded on October 8, 2020.

Portfolio manager Steve MacMillan manages the Fidelity Small Cap America Fund, Fidelity American Equity Fund and co-manages Fidelity CanAm Opportunities Class with portfolio manager Mark Schmehl. In this podcast, Steve discusses the mid to long term arc of the US equity markets, particularly focusing in on the small cap space. Steve explains when small caps might see a comeback, which sectors he is finding attractive, and how fiscal stimulus and the US uncertainty has affected the small cap space. 

Recorded on October 7, 2020.