Today we welcome portfolio manager David Way. David manages Fidelity’s Long/Short Alternative Fund, which is celebrating its three-year anniversary since its launch in October 2020. The fund seeks to capture alternative sources of alpha and expand the portfolio beyond traditional mutual fund solutions.  David discusses current market trends and explains how liquid alternatives may fit into a client’s portfolio. He explains how the fund’s positioning has changed since the beginning of the interest rate hiking schedule and where geographically he is investing. David says the long/short alternative fund can be thought of as a market neutral fund where there are alternative sources of alpha. He adds the fund is an equity product that will help reduce the overall volatility of an equity allocation. David says he is optimistic about the future because he invests into change.  He also shares his thoughts on valuations of companies, AI, and his thoughts on the continuing high inflationary environment.

Recorded on November 2, 2023.

At Fidelity, our mission is to build a better future for Canadian investors and help them stay ahead. We offer investors and institutions a range of innovative and trusted investment portfolios to help them reach their financial and life goals. Fidelity mutual funds and ETFs are available by working with a financial advisor or through an online brokerage account. Visit fidelity.ca/howtobuy for more information.

For the second year in a row, FidelityConnects by Fidelity Investments Canada was ranked the #1 podcast by Canadian financial advisors in the 2022 Environics’ Advisor Digital Experience Study.

Today on the show, we welcome special guest, Tyler Fleming, Director of the Investor Office at the Ontario Securities Commission. As Financial Literacy month continues, Tyler shares the mandate of the OSC and how it sets out to educate investors and financial advisors. The OSC protects investors from improper and fraudulent practices, fosters capital formation, and contributes to the stability of Ontario’s financial system and the reduction of systemic risk amongst many other actions. Fleming and host Pamela Ritchie cover many topics including how consumers can protect themselves from cyber and fraudulent activities, the OSC’s focus on research in behavioral science plus highlights from some of its recent initiatives.One of which is their re-launch of its website get-smarter-about-money-dot-ca, which offers free, unbiased financial tools, resources, videos and more.

Recorded on November 1, 2023.

At Fidelity, our mission is to build a better future for Canadian investors and help them stay ahead. We offer investors and institutions a range of innovative and trusted investment portfolios to help them reach their financial and life goals. Fidelity mutual funds and ETFs are available by working with a financial advisor or through an online brokerage account. Visit fidelity.ca/howtobuy for more information.

For the second year in a row, FidelityConnects by Fidelity Investments Canada was ranked the #1 podcast by Canadian financial advisors in the 2022 Environics’ Advisor Digital Experience Study.

Today on the show, we welcome Institutional portfolio manager Ilan Kolet to the program. Ilan is part of the Global Asset Allocation team, which manages approximately $77. 2 billion in multi-asset class funds for Canadian investors. Ilan gives an overview of the global markets, why we might appear to be in a recession, and how the GAA is positioning themselves in this current market environment. Bloomberg recently described Canada as “appearing to be in a recession.” Ilan points out that might in fact be true, as the flow of data in Canada has stalled. Our GDP flat-lined post recovery and we may in fact look back at this as a recession after some data revision. He adds it’s not going to get easier with elevated debt loans and lots of tightening from the Bank of Canada. Even with the Canadian dollar taking a dive, our economy appears to be resilient, which Ilan says is more akin to sustainability. Nevertheless, even with elevated rates of debt and high interest rates, growth in Canada hasn’t slowed down and our unemployment rates have been relatively unaffected. The GAA team does expect and is positioned for a further weakening of the Canadian dollar. He adds they are underweight Canadian equities and the dollar and overweight inflation protected assets, meaning commodity producers and inflation protected debt. Overall, Ilan says they are very close to their strategic allocation.

Recorded on October 31, 2023.

At Fidelity, our mission is to build a better future for Canadian investors and help them stay ahead. We offer investors and institutions a range of innovative and trusted investment portfolios to help them reach their financial and life goals. Fidelity mutual funds and ETFs are available by working with a financial advisor or through an online brokerage account. Visit fidelity.ca/howtobuy for more information.

For the second year in a row, FidelityConnects by Fidelity Investments Canada was ranked the #1 podcast by Canadian financial advisors in the 2022 Environics’ Advisor Digital Experience Study.

Today we check in with Fidelity Director of Global Macro Jurrien Timmer as he discusses the latest developments from the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, how alternatives may fit in your portfolio, and if we are in fact in a bear market bounce. The Federal Reserve left rates unchanged at the end of its policy meeting last week. The Fed acknowledged that there are various lag effects, and that inflation is coming down signaling a pause and the need to become more data dependent. Jurrien says the narrative has moved on from this to the term premiums in the bond markets and how far the bond yields must go, and what is the interplay between monetary and fiscal policy? He adds rising rates and rising term premium has brought down the PE for the stock market, and so as rates start coming down, this has created a big sigh of relief in the equity markets. urrien says bond yields are currently at 4.64% and that could be split into two parts, the risk neutral rate and the risk premium. The term premium has dramatically flipped since 2020. It was -1.45% three years ago and reached as low as -9%. A few months ago, it was as high as 0.5%. Jurrien also comments on the Magnificent Seven, alternatives in your portfolio and the transition away from the Great Moderation regime.

Recorded on November 6, 2023.

At Fidelity, our mission is to build a better future for Canadian investors and help them stay ahead. We offer investors and institutions a range of innovative and trusted investment portfolios to help them reach their financial and life goals. Fidelity mutual funds and ETFs are available by working with a financial advisor or through an online brokerage account. Visit fidelity.ca/howtobuy for more information.

For the second year in a row, FidelityConnects by Fidelity Investments Canada was ranked the #1 podcast by Canadian financial advisors in the 2022 Environics’ Advisor Digital Experience Study.

Today on the show, we welcome ETF Strategist Étienne Joncas Bouchard as he breaks down the latest ETF trends, including investing trends for the remainder of the year. Étienne gives an overview of the growth of ETFs in Canada. Last year, there was $35 billion in net new assets. As of September of this year, we are at $30 billion for the industry, which is dominated by the fixed incomes, mostly cash alternatives such as HISA ETFs and MM. He notes there has been significant growth in the active side of ETF industry over the past couple of years. Étienne points to a survey done by a discount broker in the US reports that 89% of millennials own ETFs and it’s their vehicle of choice. And more than 60% of baby boomers would use ETFs as their vehicle of choice. Taking a look at US equities, Étienne says in terms of performance it has been pretty good when you look at the benchmark. He says we’ve seen double digit returns so far this year on the S&P500, but a big concern is the lack of breadth. There are fears that this index is too concentrated and is really pulled up by the magnificent seven stocks. Those stocks represent 95.6% of the YTD total return of the index as of October 20th. Étienne also touches on the volatility of the bond markets, factor investing, and all-in-one- ETFs.

Recorded on October 27, 2023.

At Fidelity, our mission is to build a better future for Canadian investors and help them stay ahead. We offer investors and institutions a range of innovative and trusted investment portfolios to help them reach their financial and life goals. Fidelity mutual funds and ETFs are available by working with a financial advisor or through an online brokerage account. Visit fidelity.ca/howtobuy for more information.

For the second year in a row, FidelityConnects by Fidelity Investments Canada was ranked the #1 podcast by Canadian financial advisors in the 2022 Environics’ Advisor Digital Experience Study.

Today on the show, we welcome renowned economist Don Drummond who discusses the Bank of Canada’s latest interest rate decision as well as the overall health of Canada’s economy. Don has held several senior roles at the Federal Department of Finance, including Associate Deputy Minister, where he was responsible for economic analysis, and fiscal and tax policies. Don and host Pamela Ritchie discuss the Bank of Canada’s decision to hold the key interest rate at 5%. Don says the key thing now is how the BoC revises inflation. He’s concerned with the zero-level output gap we’re coming to where excess demand was slightly greater than supply, but how is nearing a zero gap. He believes we need to create slack in our economy. Right now, the economy is sitting right on its supply capacity so there is currently no slack to rely on. The housing market can help with this, but right now the market is showing resilience. Still lots of demand for houses and still alot of people coming into Canada looking for homes.

Recorded on October 26, 2023.

At Fidelity, our mission is to build a better future for Canadian investors and help them stay ahead. We offer investors and institutions a range of innovative and trusted investment portfolios to help them reach their financial and life goals. Fidelity mutual funds and ETFs are available by working with a financial advisor or through an online brokerage account. Visit fidelity.ca/howtobuy for more information.

For the second year in a row, FidelityConnects by Fidelity Investments Canada was ranked the #1 podcast by Canadian financial advisors in the 2022 Environics’ Advisor Digital Experience Study.

Today on the show we welcome institutional portfolio manager Mike Hickey. Mike and host Pamela Ritchie discuss a range of topics including investing in Japan, the demand for AI and the state of the consumer. Mike says inflation is coming down and notes that the sweet spot for equities is around 3% inflation. Revenues are nominal and he says a little bit of inflation is good for corporate America. He adds that they are focused on growth, and tend to be biased to sectors in tech, consumer space , and healthcare. These areas, he says, have characteristics of high growth and are global businesses. They are very scalable and are capital light and not so affected by interest rates because of a massive balance sheet. Mike who has worked alongside long-time investor Will Danoff for many years says in terms of value versus growth, they are always biased to growth. They are willing to pay for good names that might look expensive. He adds we are still in the early days of corporate America embracing AI, but if you’re worried about a company being too expensive to invest in, you may miss out on some big moves.

For the second year in a row, FidelityConnects by Fidelity Investments Canada was ranked the #1 podcast by Canadian financial advisors in the 2022 Environics’ Advisor Digital Experience Study.

Today on the show we welcome Michael Brooks - CEO of REALPAC, and Tim Hudak - CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association. Together, they discuss the present state of Canada’s housing market, highlight future trends, as well as affordable housing solutions. Brooks and Hudak explain to host Pamela Ritchie the path that led to our country’s current housing situation, shedding light on influential factors such as the rate of home construction and the influx of immigrants. To add to that rising interest rates have halted housing development, and immigration numbers continue to rise in Canada. They also discuss necessary policies and systems that could be implemented to enhance our economy. They explain the need for an across-the-board solution. Many individuals without rental alternatives often turn to non-profit or social housing, which could potentially lead to more challenging living conditions. Many of these discussion points can be found in Hudak and Brooks’ report ‘The Multi-Sector Approach', which looks at the factors driving the national housing crunch, and their recommendations to improve the situation.

For the second year in a row, FidelityConnects by Fidelity Investments Canada was ranked the #1 podcast by Canadian financial advisors in the 2022 Environics’ Advisor Digital Experience Study.