February was another tough month for investors, with most global equity indices finishing in negative territory. The S&P 500 was down 0.13% in U.S. dollar terms, while the MSCI EAFE Index was lower by nearly 2%. With both gold and oil showing some strength, the S&P/TSX Composite managed to eke out a modest 0.5% rise. Another benefactor to this strength was the Canadian dollar, which gained nearly three cents to end the month at $0.7395 U.S. While positive for Canadians, this rise created headwinds for foreign investment exposure that was not hedged. Factoring the dollar change, the S&P 500 was down 3.3% in Canadian dollar terms, while the MSCI EAFE Index was lower by 5.7%.
You can download our standard monthly portfolio report here. For those looking for even more detail, I am also providing additional reports generated from Morningstar which show even more detail regarding the portfolios. A summary report can be downloaded here, while the more detailed report can be downloaded here.
In this environment, it was another down month for the portfolios, with the Conservative Portfolio posting the best return, dropping a modest 0.5% in the month. The Balanced Portfolio was lower by 1.1%, while the Growth Portfolio lost 2.4%.
As disappointing as the absolute numbers are, the portfolios kept pace with their benchmarks. Weakness in the Canadian and U.S. equity funds was offset by a strong relative showing from the Mackenzie Ivy Foreign Equity Fund.
I remain comfortable with the asset mix and underlying investments in each of the portfolios. I will continue to monitor the portfolios for any meaningful erosion in the risk reward metrics.