To assist financial advisors, we have created a series of model portfolios that are designed to meet the investment objectives and risk tolerance of a number of different investor types. These portfolios are updated on a monthly basis. Alternatively, if you would prefer to have something more customized, contact us and we can work with you to help you build a fully optimized portfolio or series of portfolios based on your specific fund preferences and investment criteria.
Model Portfolio Review – December 2013
December capped off a strong year for the portfolios, as each finished the year well into positive territory. Each finished the year ahead of its respective benchmark, except for the Growth Portfolio, which was 0.2% behind its benchmark. For the year, most of the excess performance was generated by two funds. The first was the Manulife Strategic Income Fund which handily outpaced the DEX Bond Universe Index for a couple of reasons. First, with its emphasis on bonds that are trading outside of Canada, it was largely immune to the rise in...
read moreModel Portfolio Review – November 2013
It was another good month for the portfolios, with each posting positive returns. In fact, all portfolios managed to outpace their benchmark, except for the Growth Portfolio, which underperformed. U.S. equity led the way higher as jobs and consumer spending looked to rebounding. Asian equities, particularly China were strong, after the Chinese government announced plans for sweeping economic reforms. Fixed income was largely flat, as yields inched higher in the month. Within the portfolios, one of the biggest contributors to the...
read moreModel Portfolio Review – October 2013
Investors shrugged off any potential economic fallout from the U.S. government shutdown and took equity markets higher in October. The Canadian dollar weakened compared with the U.S. greenback, which further boosted returns for Canadian investors. Each of the portfolios was firmly in positive territory during the month, led by the Growth Portfolio which gained 3.9%. The Conservative Portfolio gained a more modest 2.2%. While the portfolios made money, the all failed to keep pace with their respective benchmarks during the month. This is not...
read moreModel Portfolio Review – September 2013
Global equity markets were positive after the U.S. Federal Reserve shocked the markets and did not implement any tapering to their massive bond buying program. Expectations that a taper of between $10 and $20 billion would be announced at the September meeting. With no taper on the immediate horizon, both bond and equity markets rallied higher. Each of our portfolios was in positive territory in September. Our Conservative portfolio gained 0.7% while our Growth portfolio gained 1.5%. Despite the pullback in yields, two of our bond funds were...
read moreModel Portfolio Review – August 2013
Canadian equities were the big winner in August, as commodities were higher on mid-east tension. Global equities were largely flat or negative, and bonds were pushed lower on investor concerns over when the U.S. Federal Reserve would begin to slow its massive bond buying program. All of our portfolios were in the red during the month, with the Conservative portfolio posting the largest loss. Still, with 70% of the fund invested in fixed income funds, it managed to handily outpace its benchmark, thanks largely to the strong relative showing...
read moreModel Portfolio Review – July 2013
With investor worries over higher rates pushed to the backburner, the portfolios all posted respectable gains. The Growth Portfolio led the pack, gaining 2.8%, handily outpacing its benchmark thanks to strong showings from the Renaissance Global Healthcare Fund, Trimark U.S. Small Companies Fund, and the Mackenzie Ivy Foreign Equity Fund. Year to date, the portfolio is up more than 15%. At the other end of the risk scale, our Conservative Portfolio gained 1%, doubling the return of its benchmark. It was again the Ivy Foreign Equity and...
read moreModel Portfolio Review – June 2013
With bond and equity markets ravaged by uncertainty, our portfolios’ streak of positive months ended in June, with all in the red for June. With bond yields skyrocketing, it was not surprising to see our fixed income heavy Conservative Portfolio sink by 1.6% in the month. While this is disappointing, thanks to a 1.2% gain in the Mackenzie Ivy Foreign Equity Fund, it managed to modestly outpace its benchmark. At the other end of the risk curve, our Growth Portfolio was down 1.8% in June, but is still up by more than 12% on the year-to-date...
read moreModel Portfolio Review – May 2013
The winning streak continues, with all portfolios posting gains in May. Surprisingly, even the fixed income heavy Conservative portfolio was up, rising a modest 0.14% in the month, the tenth positive month in a row. It also handily outpaced its benchmark as the PH&N Bond and Manulife Strategic Income funds held up better than the DEX Bond Universe. The equity funds were all positive contributors to performance. Each of the other portfolios were also positive, for the tenth month in a row. It was the same story with the equity funds,...
read moreModel Portfolio Review – April 2013
Despite weakness in the broader Canadian equity markets, each of the portfolios was again positive for the month of April. This brings the streak of positive performance to eleven months in a row for the Conservative Portfolio. Our Moderate Balanced, Balanced and the Balanced Growth Portfolios have also been performing well, posting gains for the past nine months in a row. The biggest contributor to the strong performance was the CI Harbour Fund, which posted a 0.2% gain in the month, which significantly outperformed the broader markets which...
read moreModel Portfolio Review – March 2013
The portfolios were again positive, chugging higher for investors in March. They have been on quite a roll of late, with the Conservative Portfolio posting positive returns for the past ten months. Moderate Balanced, Balanced and the Balanced Growth Portfolios have also been on quite a run, posting gains for the past eight months in a row. The Renaissance Global Health Care Fund, CI Harbour, and Mackenzie Ivy Foreign Equity were the biggest contributors to the overall performance during the month. Manulife Strategic Income and CI American...
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