Active Insights

Gretchen Amidon, Product Manager, Global Equities, and David Rolley, Vice-President & Portfolio Manager, Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P. discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the global equity and fixed-income markets.

Key takeaways

• We expect the increase in volatility to present attractive buying opportunities.
• We have already begun selectively adding new positions to the Funds.
• We expect the market and economic fallout of the coronavirus to be temporary.

On March 18, Clément Gignac, First Vice-President, Diversified Funds & Chief Economist at Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc., discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and markets.

Key takeaways

• Uncertainty and forced selling are the key drivers of stock market volatility.
• We are overweight emerging markets, EAFE and the banking sector.
• We remain positive on the market’s ability to overcome the impact of the coronavirus.

Dan Bastasic, Senior Vice-President, Investments & Portfolio Manager, comments on the impact of COVID-19 on the markets and economy.

Key takeaways

• There is likely some downside remaining in the markets.
• Central banks and governments have responded well overall.
• A significant rebound is likely after COVID-19 cases flatten in key countries.

Jeff Sujitno, Senior Vice-President & Portfolio Manager, iA Clarington Investments, discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the credit markets and provides an update on fund positioning.

Key takeaways

• The negative impact of COVID-19 on our floating rate mandate has been relatively shallow.
• The Fund’s holdings are high-quality and have excellent potential to ‘snap back’.
• A long-term perspective is critical to benefitting from the anticipated recovery.
• Market weakness has created an opportunity to generate equity-like returns while taking first lien debt risk.

Portfolio manager Lee Rosenbaum is looking for businesses with three main features: quality, intrinsic value growth and attractive valuations. In this video, he discusses some recent stock picks and explains why his stringent selection criteria result in a portfolio with exceptional potential for long-term wealth creation.

While a repeat of last year’s performance isn’t the most likely outcome, the North American equity and high-yield bond markets appear poised to deliver very respectable returns in 2020. In this video, portfolio manager Dan Bastasic offers perspective and insight on Canadian dividend-paying equities, stock valuations south of the border, high-yield spreads and expected returns, and central bank policy.

After a very strong year for the U.S. equity market, many investors are looking elsewhere for opportunities to outperform in 2020. In this video, portfolio manager Clément Gignac explains why he believes emerging markets, the Eurozone and Canada could offer some of the year’s most attractive returns. He also discusses the fixed-income landscape, his monetary policy outlook and the recent enhancements to the iA Wealth Managed Portfolios.

After a very strong 2019, many investors are wondering how long of a runway North American equity markets have for continued positive returns. In this video, portfolio manager Donny Moss lays out his expectations for 2020 and identifies the sectors he’s favouring and avoiding. He also discusses why he recently took a position in a stock he previously avoided, and offers his thoughts on the Canadian energy sector.