Insurance, Investments and Group Benefits

FINANCIAL MARKETS AT A GLANCE

June 30, 2023 Canadian and U.S. equities were mixed over the quarter. Yields rose through the quarter. Corporate bonds outperformed government bonds, and long-term bonds outpaced short-term bonds. Here are the financial markets at a glance.

	CANADIAN EQUITIES		U.S. EQUITIES
	Sector 5 of the 11 Canadian equity sectors ended the quarter in positive territory. Here are the best and worst performing sectors relative to last quarter.		Sector 7 of the 11 U.S. equity sectors ended the quarter in positive territory. Here are the best and worst performing sectors relative to last quarter.
WORST PERFORMERS BEST PERFORMERS	Information Technology   Consumer Discretionary Industrials 13.5% 6.3% 2.1% Materials Consumer Staples Real Estate -6.9% -3.4% -2.8%		Information Technology  Consumer Discretionary 14.6% 12.0% Utilities Energy -4.7% -3.1%
	Company size performance comparison  Large sized companies outperformed medium and small sized companies, with small sized companies trailing and negative over the quarter.		Company size performance comparison  Medium sized companies outperformed both large and small sized companies, but all were positive over the quarter.
	Large & Medium Companies Small  Companies		Medium Companies Large & Small Companies
	What’s working/What’s not working From a style perspective, growth outperformed the index while value trailed but all were positive. All factors and the index were positive this quarter. Dividends and low volatility outperformed the index. Quality and momentum trailed.		What’s working/What’s not working From a style perspective, growth outperformed the index while value trailed but all were positive. Factors were mostly positive this quarter, with quality outperforming the index while momentum, low volatility and dividends trailed.

	GLOBAL EQUITIES		FIXED INCOME
	Regional    Company size performance comparison  Global large and small companies were positive over the quarter.   Large Companies Small Companies What’s working/What’s not working From a style perspective, growth outperformed the index. Value trailed the index but all were positive over the quarter. Most factors were positive over the quarter and momentum outperformed the index. Low volatility was negative and underperformed the most.		Yields rose this quarter. Long-term bonds outperformed short-term bonds. Corporate bonds outperformed government bonds.  Relative bond performance  Long-term Bonds Short-term Bonds     Government Corporate      Bond yield    Both shorter and longer date bond yields rose over the quarter. Yield on the Canada 2-year rose from 3.74% to 4.58%. Canada 5-year rose from 3.02% to 3.68%. Canada 10-year rose from 2.90% to 3.26%. Canada long bond rose from 3.02% to 3.09%.

Source: Morningstar Research Inc. as of June 30, 2023. © 2023 Morningstar Research Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 

Segregated Fund contracts are issued by The Empire Life Insurance Company (“Empire Life”). A description of the key features of the individual variable insurance contract is contained in the Information Folder for the product being considered. Any amount that is allocated to a Segregated Fund is invested at the risk of the contract owner and may increase or decrease in value. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Please read the information folder, contract and fund facts before investing.

This article includes forward-looking information that is based on the opinions and views of Empire Life as of the date stated and is subject to change without notice. The information contained herein is for general purposes only and is not intended to be comprehensive investment advice. We strongly recommend that investors seek professional advice prior to making any investment decisions. Empire Life and its affiliates assume no responsibility for any reliance on or misuse or omissions of the information contained herein.

June 2023