Market Commentary

Market Commentary – Third Quarter 2016

The equity markets had a strong third quarter as the surprise Brexit vote result and other market concerns had a less apparent impact in the quarter. Monetary stimulus in many regions was still a catalyst for supporting the equity markets. Some countries, like Japan, were also contemplating fiscal stimulus to help support their slow economic […]

Market Commentary – Second Quarter 2016

Global equity markets remained volatile in the second quarter, largely influenced by the Brexit vote and the uncertainty this result created. A flight to safety after Britain voted to exit the European Union led to falling stock prices and bond yields reaching near all-time lows. Safe-haven assets (e.g. gold, U.S. dollar, Japanese yen) all rallied. […]

Market Commentary – First Quarter 2016

The investment results in the first quarter of 2016 were almost a complete reversal of the equity returns in 2015. Commodity prices rebounded strongly in the second half of the first quarter, especially oil prices and most metal prices. These price increases led to a large and surprisingly quick rise of the Canadian dollar since […]

Market Commentary – Fourth Quarter 2015

Markets were largely influenced in the fourth quarter by three factors: concerns over the level of global economic growth, lowering commodity prices, and the effect of the U.S. Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Commodity prices dropped largely due to slowing growth and oversupply in some areas. The price of oil continued its decline (30% drop […]

Market Commentary – Third Quarter 2015

The third quarter of 2015 experienced high volatility and a large sell-off in the equity markets due to several factors. These factors included concern over high developed market valuations, fear of the U.S. Federal Reserve increasing interest rates, falling commodity prices, and increasing concern over China’s economic slowdown being more severe than initially expected. U.S. […]

Market Commentary – Second Quarter 2015

The second quarter of 2015 was one of high volatility in both the bond and equity markets due to several factors. The global bond market was largely affected for much of the second quarter by an expected improvement in economic growth. This led to a drop in bond prices and hence an increase in bond […]

Market Commentary – First Quarter 2015

The results in both the stock and bond markets in the first quarter were largely influenced by central bank policies. Due to slowing economic growth, and low or falling inflation rates, many central banks cut their short-term interest rates leading to strong bond returns in many areas. The U.S. dollar continued to gain strength given […]