Insurance, Investments and Group Benefits

Recently, we sat down with SVP and CIO, Paul Holba to get his thoughts on the events that have impacted markets year to date, and where the investment team sees opportunity going forward. In this video, Paul shares:

• How almost 73% S&P500’s returns were attributed to the performance of a handful of companies known as the “Magnificent Seven Stocks”.
• The impacts of the aggressive interest rate hikes by Central banks, what investors can expect and how it could affect their portfolios.
• How staying true to an active management strategy may be instrumental in preserving wealth during a global economic slowdown.

In early June, the S&P 500 rose by more than 20% from its October low, reaching its highest level since April of last year. Often observed as a barometer for the overall health of the U.S. economy, the index’s strong performance generated some optimism with respect to the trajectory of the U.S. economy. However, when considering the market breadth, which refers to the number of stocks that are moving the index, a less optimistic picture emerges.

In this Off the Cuff video, Ashley Misquitta, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager and Investment Strategist, shares what it will take for the economy to transition from fossil fuel to more renewable energy-based resources, and where the team see potential investment opportunities.

In this Off the Cuff video, fixed income senior portfolio manager Albert Ngo discusses inflation, economic growth and possible outcomes for the market.

In a recent video, Paul Holba, CIO, reviews the key market events of 2022 and outlook for 2023. He also shares how the team’s investment strategies reflect our cautious view of the environment, but with some positive outlooks and opportunities.

In my last article, I wrote about the benefits of a buy and hold strategy where an investor stayed in the market through the ups and downs of a particular investment. 

A common piece of advice for investors is that long term success doesn’t hinge on timing the market. It’s time in the market that may make the bigger difference.

Key takeaways:  

• Tactically moving to a more defensive positioning
• Increased bonds, decreased equities (all portfolios except Emblem Aggressive Growth, which has no bond component)
• Emblem Aggressive Growth – increased US equities, decreased international equities
  
  

Tactical update - December 20, 2022

We are choosing to adopt a more cautious posture and see increasingly attractive relative value in fixed income. As such, we have reduced our equity targets in the various Emblem funds and increased our fixed income targets.

From the desk of CIO Paul Holba: In this latest update from the Empire Life Investments team, Paul Holba discusses how 2022 continues to be a challenging year—but it’s not all bad news.

Market recap

2022 continues to be a challenging year for investors. As mentioned in my July update, the first half of the year produced some of the worst year-to-date returns in decades for many markets. At the end of the third quarter, market returns continued to incrementally trend in the wrong direction (albeit at a slower clip). However, many markets experienced a strong October rally, trimming the year’s losses to varying degrees. Supported by its resource sector orientation, Canadian equities held their value better over other markets, while the growth-oriented Nasdaq Composite continued to lag materially.

The actions of central banks around the world are having a positive effect on inflation, and we are starting to see signs of it slowing, particularly as we look at the year-over-year and month-over-month numbers in Canada and the U.S. However, with widespread inflation and the near-term upward trajectory of interest rates, we could soon see an economic slowdown.

Ian Fung, Portfolio Manager, Fixed income, discusses these and other factors affecting fixed-income markets and the global economy.