Today on the program we check in with Institutional portfolio manager Ilan Kolet as he gives us his thoughts on the last Bank of Canada rate announcement of 2023, and what he sees in store for the New Year. The BoC kept its policy rate unchanged at 5 per cent, but it also warned that rate hikes aren’t off the table in 2024. Ilan says the expectation for next year is that discretionary consumer spending will continue to pull back as many Canadians want to ensure their principal mortgage gets paid. The more pullback you see could signal an upcoming recession. The US is experiencing a different story as the labour market remains tight  and inflation slows down, plus the mortgage structure in the US is very different compared to Canada. Ilan says the Global Asset allocation team remains underweight Canadian equities. He adds with serious macroeconomic headwinds, he believes Canada will lag. The team is overweight US equities and underweight the Canadian dollar and overweight the US dollar hoping this will be a shock absorber for the fund.

This podcast was recorded on December 12, 2023.

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