The fall months have historically been the most volatile in the markets, but thankfully, September was reasonably tame. The portfolios held up relatively well, with each finishing in positive territory for the month. Unfortunately, the conservative positioning of a number of the equity funds resulted in underperformance when compared with their respective benchmarks.
For a review of the portfolios’ performance, 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.
The Conservative Portfolio was higher by 0.2% with the PH&N Short Term Bond and Mortgage Fund and the Sentry Small / Mid Cap Income Fund being the largest contributors to the performance.
The Balanced Portfolio was higher by 0.3%, with the Sentry Small / Mid Cap Income Fund and the TD U.S. Blue Chip Equity Fund driving most of the gains. Unfortunately, a poor relative showing from the Fidelity Canadian Large Cap and the Mackenzie Ivy Foreign Equity Fund dragged returns from the benchmark.
Turning to the Growth Portfolio, the TD U.S. Blue Chip was the main driver of the 0.3% monthly rise, but it was again the poor relative showing of the Fidelity and Ivy funds that resulted in the portfolios underperformance.
Looking ahead, I remain very comfortable with each of the portfolios from a both a positioning and underlying holding perspective. The portfolios are all conservatively positioned, and the underlying holdings, with a couple exceptions, are also more defensively positioned than their peers and respective benchmarks. That is not to say these portfolios will be immune from any drawdown in a market selloff, but the conservative positioning is expected to help mitigate the losses.
I continue to monitor the portfolios and their underlying funds for any erosion in the risk reward metrics and will make any changes as necessary.