Gain valuable insight into wealth advisory topics, portfolio construction, capital market assumptions, and market performance
Market Commentaries
USD December Market Performance
Global equities, as represented by the MSCI ACWI Index, declined 2.4% with all regions experiencing negative performance.
CAD December Market Performance
Global equities, as represented by the MSCI ACWI Index, appreciated 0.2% (-2.4% in USD) with all regions experiencing negative performance in USD. The CAD weakened further by 2.7% vs. the USD.
USD November Market Performance
Global equities, as represented by the MSCI ACWI Index, increased 3.7% with sharp dispersion in regional performance.
CAD November Market Performance
Global equities, as represented by the MSCI ACWI Index, increased 4.3% with sharp dispersion in regional performance. The CAD weakened by 0.5% versus the USD.
Trump Administration Policies and Potential Impacts on Markets
Relative to the outgoing Biden Administration, the incoming Trump Administration has discussed implementing significantly different policies across immigration, tariffs, taxes, and regulations. With control of both houses of Congress (albeit with a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives), Trump has a good chance of enacting much of his policy agenda. In the note below, we discuss potential policy shifts and their implications for equity markets across various geographies.
CAD September Market Performance
Global equities, as measured by the MSCI ACWI Index, posted a strong
gain of 2.6% (2.3% in USD), though performance varied significantly
across regions.
Insights
Q4 Capital Markets Review
Global equities declined 1.0% in Q4 but rose 17.5% in
CY 2024, driven by U.S. large-cap stocks (+24.5%) benefiting from strong earnings, economic resilience, and AI-driven tech gains. Fixed income struggled in Q4 as yields surged, though CY 2024 returns remained positive. High-yield bonds and leveraged loans delivered solid returns for the year despite rising rates. Alternative assets, including hedge funds (+5.3%), private equity (+5.9%), and private credit, provided steady gains. With heightened geopolitical risks and potential volatility tied to U.S. policies, our report examines these trends and outlines portfolio adjustments for the evolving landscape.
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White Papers
Risk Buckets and Risk Utilization
Asset-class weightings do not necessarily convey portfolios’ true underlying risk characteristics. Therefore, we believe Risk Buckets and Risk Budget Utilization are better frameworks to measure portfolio risk vs. expected return, and to better construct adaptable portfolios across various market environments.
Thinking Broadly About Exit Planning
Managing and optimizing various types of Exit transactions in the context of preparing for capital deployment to support your next phase of life.
How to Create, Organize and Coordinate the Ecosystem
Understand the key functions of Family Offices: which aspects are best suited to highly qualified third-party providers and which to dedicated staff. Some ways to think critically about directing and coordinating a family office network.
Typical Needs of Wealthy Investors
While each individual or family has a unique mix of goals and requirements, they frequently share a need for planning and investment expertise and resources, and other support. Forward-looking, wise management is the most commonly needed ingredient.
Nearing an Exit: Questions to Ask Yourself and Others
For those beginning to think about the sound management of wealth, possibly around an exit from a large investment, the following outlines some questions we
Strategic Asset Class Forecast Methodology (Oct 2022)
White paper on the methodology behind BCA’s 7-yr Capital Markets Assumptions. Updated as of October 2022, with respect to strategic asset class return forecasts.