Sustainable investing has experienced increased interest over the past few years, with a sharp acceleration in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other high profile social issues, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. There are, however, some common myths and misconceptions among investors that may be new to modern sustainable investing approaches. This educational resource attempts to provide insight and clarification into what we believe are the most misunderstood issues.
Key takeaways:
Emblem Portfolios - Global: Increase Canadian, US, International equities; decrease cash, bonds.
Tactical Update - May 21, 2021
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From the Desk of Ashley Misquitta and David Mann: In this recent article, the portfolio managers discuss the evolution of sustainable investing and its growing popularity among investors. Ashley and David also share how they incorporate ESG factors into their investment process.
Since the beginning of November 2020, we’ve seen the outperformance of small cap companies in relation to larger corporations by nearly eight percentage points. Spurred initially by the announcement of the COVID-19 vaccination and distribution plans across the country, momentum continued through the end of the year.
Key takeaways:
Increased International equities, decreased US equities.
Tactical Update - January 25, 2021
European markets have materially lagged US equities over the past year due to multiple reasons including index composition and Brexit uncertainties. This has resulted in Europe trading at a near record discount to the US. Given its cyclical nature, the Japanese market has performed well but continues to provide exposure to a rebounding global economy.
Key takeaways:
Increased US equities, decreased cash
Tactical Update - February 26, 2020
Global equities retreated sharply over the last week as investors digested news about the spread of the coronavirus to countries beyond China. The broadly based S&P 500 Index is now down over 7% from its recent high.
Key takeaways:
Increased U.S. and international equities, decreased Canadian small cap equities
Tactical Update - October 25, 2019
The record equity bull market (now well into its 11th year) continues to grind higher despite prevailing headwinds. Given its extended run and a softening of various global economic growth indicators, we believe it prudent to implement some tactical asset allocation adjustments to reflect these shifting fundamentals.
Key takeaways:
Emblem Portfolios - Canadian: Tactically reduced cash, increased bonds
Tactical Update - July 22, 2019
Events have moved very quickly in bond markets. In the span of about seven months, the U.S. Federal Reserve (the “Fed”) has gone from increasing interest rates, to holding interest rates steady, and now market expectations are for multiple rate reductions over the remainder of the year.
Key takeaways:
Emblem Portfolios - Canadian: Increased U.S. equities, decreased international equities.
Emblem GIF Portfolios - Global: Increased U.S. equities, proceeds from bonds and/or accumulated cash
Equity markets across the globe have experienced very strong moves since their December 2018 lows. At yesterday’s close, the S&P/TSX Composite has gained 20%, 21% for the S&P 500, and 13% for the MSCI EAFE index. With such strong moves in a compressed period of time, any improvement in fundamentals has not been able to keep pace.
