August 2012 Market Recap

Monthly Recap

Those who adhered to the old adage of selling in May and going away for the summer may have been sorry that they did. Global equity markets were again higher in August, their third month in a row of gains. This time around, it was Canadian equities leading the way higher, as our three main sectors, financials, energy, and materials, all enjoyed decent gains. The   S&P/TSX Composite rose more than 2.4% in the month. The energy and financial sectors matched the gains of the broader index.

The biggest winner by far was the precious metals, which saw the S&P/TSCX Global Gold Index rise by 9.1%. This jump was spurred by the price of gold which hit the $1,700 per ounce level again on speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve would be announcing another round of quantitative easing. Traders believe that if such a plan is announced, it would result in a drop in the U.S. greenback.

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Monthly Fund Ranking Report

Each month, we analyze more than 1200 mutual funds, pooled funds, and hedge funds putting them through our proprietary quantitative valuation model. We then prepare our Monthly Fund Ranking Report which rates and ranks each of the funds in our universe.

You can download our August 31, 2012 Investment Fund Ranking Report here.

Monthly Socially Responsible Investing Report 

With environmental and human rights concerns becoming more important to people, interest in the Socially Responsible Investing segment has never been stronger. In an effort to help keep investors and advisors informed on the SRI funds available, we have created our monthly Socially Responsible Investing Fund Report, which will be published on a monthly basis.

You can download the August 31, 2012 Socially Responsible Investing Report here.

Monthly WRAP Funds Report

Fund of Fund or WRAP funds have consistently led the mutual funds sales stats in the past few years. Investor and advisor interest in the products are at an all time high, given the unprecedented levels of market volatility and uncertainty that is prevalent in the markets today. To help you zero in on the best WRAP funds available, we have created our new Monthly WRAP Funds Report that will be published on a monthly basis. If there is a WRAP fund that you would like to see added to this report, please contact us and we will add it for our next edition.

You can download the August 31, 2012 WRAP Fund Report here.

Model Portfolio Review 

The portfolios were positive during the month as equity markets rallied higher. All slightly underperformed their respective benchmarks, with the Ivy Foreign Equity being the main detractor from performance in all portfolios. Given the management style of the fund, this is to be expected. When markets are volatile, the fund is expected to outperform and provide solid downside protection for the portfolios.

You can download our detailed Portfolio Review here.