CAD November Market Commentary

Noteworthy Developments: Global equities, as represented by the MSCI ACWI Index, declined 0.2% (flat in USD) during the month with periods of high volatility. The CAD strengthened by 0.2% vs. the USD. 

Global Equities: Global equities were down 0.2%, with US large-cap equities (S&P 500) flat, international developed equities up 0.4% and emerging market equities down 2.6%. 

As of Nov 21st, equity markets had sold off worldwide (down between 2.7% to 5.0%) as AI exposed equities (especially in the US and developing markets) were hit hard following concerns regarding large capex spending. However, markets rallied strongly across the board during the last week of the month, with increased expectations for US Federal Reserve interest rates helping sentiment.

Globally, growth stocks (-1.7%) underperformed value stocks (+1.6%). Sector performance was mixed with defensive sectors such as healthcare (+7.7%) and consumer staples (+3.4%) sectors performing best while technology (-5.1%) and consumer discretionary (-2.3%) performed worst. 

Fixed Income: The ICE BOFA Canada Broad Market Index was up 0.3% with government, corporate, and municipal bonds all up between 0.1% and 0.4%. Performance was largely driven by coupon income as bond yields remained stable versus the prior month.

Alternatives: The HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index was down 0.1% (+0.1% in USD), with most strategies delivering slightly positive or slightly negative performance. Convertible arbitrage (-1.2%) strategies performed worst.

Manager Comments: Eminence: -2.0% with underperformance vs. ACWI index (flat) driven by idiosyncratic weakness in certain positions.