FidelityConnects

Portfolio manager Dan Dupont has a positive outlook and is excited about the upside potential of large-cap stocks over the next few years. Dan manages all or portions of Fidelity Canadian Large Cap Fund, NorthStar, Monthly Income and Income Allocation. Dan notes that for Fidelity Canadian Large Cap Fund, he is seeing more opportunity in Canada than he has in the last five to eight years, and has increased allocations to oil and gas, and to banks, which had good book value back in March, and whose long-term success, he believes, will outweigh any upcoming short-term volatility. The foundation of the Fund, however, is largely made up of consumer staples and tech companies, which helps manage volatility.

Recorded on June 2, 2020.

Adam Kutas, portfolio manager of Fidelity Frontier Emerging Markets Fund, discusses hidden opportunities and his outlook on the market as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt traditional supply chains and affect manufacturing in emerging and frontier markets. Adam reflects on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected frontier and emerging countries differently than North American and European countries. Adam also explains to host Pamela Ritchie that globalization has been one of the most consistent trends in world history, accelerating in China with the Belt and Road Initiative, and being seen also in the fiscal integration of European countries. On a structural basis, Adam believes the same countries (the Philippines, Bangladesh and Indonesia) are still the winners. He is watching where private money is going, looking for the best positions at a good price, and has been deploying capital aggressively.

Recorded on June 3, 2020.

Le gestionnaire de portefeuille Daniel Dupont est optimiste et enthousiaste face au potentiel de gains des actions à grande capitalisation dans les prochaines années. M. Dupont mentionne qu’il perçoit plus d’occasions au Canada pour le Fonds Fidelity Grande Capitalisation Canada qu’il n’en a vu au cours des cinq à huit dernières années, et il a accordé plus de place aux sociétés pétrolières et gazières et aux banques, qui affichaient une valeur comptable enviable en mars et dont le succès à long terme sera plus déterminant selon lui que la prochaine volatilité à court terme. Les sociétés de biens de consommation de base et de technologie, qui forment une bonne partie du Fonds, aident cependant à gérer la volatilité.

Date : 2 juin 2020

In his weekly update, Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro, shares his market insights. The market is more focused on the impacts of COVID-19 than the U.S.-China relationship right now, and this is an area to watch, particularly with an election approaching. While looking at the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street, Jurrien believes that, as in the Great Financial Crisis, further-out earnings estimates may be too low during times like these. Also, lately we have seen positive breadth and momentum, positive leadership, a falling U.S. dollar, a flattening earnings curve and a lot of skeptics in the market. Markets are up 40% from the lows and are down only 10% from the highs. 

Recorded on June 1, 2020.

HyunHo Sohn, portfolio manager of Fidelity Technology Innovators Fund, addresses current trends in the technology sector and explains where he is finding opportunities. HyunHo notes that from a consumer perspective, online shopping and platforms used to connect virtually have benefited from increased usage, as well as from digital entertainment options, streaming platforms and gaming companies. On the corporate side, there has been a shift to get employees connected and working from home, in order to ensure companies could sustain their productivity.

Recorded on May 29, 2020.

Alex Gold, portfolio manager for Fidelity Global Health Care Fund, and Dr. Judith Finegold, portfolio co-manager, are assessing the future of the health care sector amid the pandemic. Alex and Judith have increased their holdings in treatment companies, and already had good exposure to diagnostic and lifestyle tool companies, both of which they believe have benefited the Fund. Health care-focused research has become incredibly important not only to the sector but to the overall market, and the health care sector is very defensive. 

Recorded on May 28, 2020.

Darren Lekkerkerker, portfolio manager for Fidelity North American Equity Class, and equity subportfolio manager for Fidelity Canadian Balanced Fund, discusses where he’s uncovering opportunities for long-term growth as the continent gradually reopens its economies. During this indiscriminate sell-off period, Darren looked at defensive companies that he owned and slowly started to sell them and buy great names that were badly beaten up during the March volatility. The consumer discretionary sector - particularly retail and restaurants - was an area of focus, especially fast food. These companies were not hit as hard, so long as they already had takeout and delivery strategies, and they have tended to have higher year-over-year sales because people are not frequenting dine-in restaurants. Also, Darren believes that many cyclicals that did not fully participate in the market recovery, relative to growth stocks, may perform better.

Recorded on May 27, 2020.

Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro, provides his market outlook. Jurrien studies the data, and shares his findings on LinkedIn and Twitter (@TimmerFidelity). Today he explains that the market has never recovered this much of a decline without marking the start of a new bull market. Also, the stock market is a discounting mechanism that went from pricing in a 2020 earnings decline to pricing in a much smaller earnings decline in 2022. From an earnings perspective, it is pricing a “V-shaped” recovery. Jurrien’s belief is that this rally will not run out of gas until more bears have come out, and that the market is focusing more on the trajectory of the pandemic and the shape of the recovery than on the upcoming U.S. election or tensions with China.

Recorded on May 26, 2020.

As China enters its recovery phase, investment director Catherine Yeung believes there are a few major factors that may influence the recovery, and that investments in China may come out of this environment better than other economies. Catherine sees three main factors influencing the Chinese economy at this time: the COVID-19 curve flattening, policy response from the Chinese government, and economic recovery. Although, Catherine warns that rising geopolitical tensions, especially between China and the U.S., will continue to add volatility.

Recorded on May 25, 2020.

Maxime Lemieux, gestionnaire de portefeuille du Fonds Fidelity Frontière Nord, affirme que le Fonds se portait bien avant la propagation du virus. Il est d’avis que la crise a fait subir un sérieux test de résistance au portefeuille et lui a permis de modifier graduellement la répartition de l’actif du Fonds; il a réduit lentement la pondération des titres à caractère défensif, mais n’a pas délaissé complètement ce « panier » de titres. M. Lemieux parvient à trouver des occasions de placement dans des entreprises de qualité bien gérées dans tous les secteurs. Il réserve 10 % de l’actif du Fonds Fidelity Frontière Nord aux placements à l’extérieur du Canada afin d’investir dans des secteurs qui ne sont pas bien représentés au Canada, comme celui des technologies de l’information. M. Lemieux a réitéré qu’en raison de son penchant pour les entreprises de qualité supérieure dotées d’abondants flux de trésorerie disponibles, d’un bon bilan et de dirigeants compétents, le Fonds Fidelity Frontière NordMD était en bonne posture avant l’accès de volatilité provoqué par l’éclosion du virus.

Date : 21 mai 2020