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The big stock market indexes ended last week just a hair above breakeven week-over-week, ending a month of steady declines. Volatility remained above normal, however, as investors continued to fret about fourth-quarter earnings, the Covid-19 omicron variant, and geopolitical tensions fomented by Russian military trouble-making along Ukraine’s eastern and northern borders, in the Baltic region, and off Ireland’s southwest coast. Fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annualized 6.9%, while inflation remained elevated at an annual 7% through December.
Although both the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve Board held their key policy rates steady last week, the tone of the banks’ statements has become steadily more hawkish, suggesting an even more aggressive policy tightening approach than has been expected.
For the week, the S&P/TSX Composite Index ticked up 0.6% as crude oil gained 2.4% last week, stimulating a 3.5% weekly advance in the S&P/TSX Energy subindex. Crude oil was up 17.2% in January overall. The S&P/TSX index retreated only 0.6% in January, helped along by the gains in energy and banks. Gold, meanwhile, lost 2.7% last week and ended the month with a 1.7% loss.
New York’s blue-chip S&P 500 Composite Index advanced 0.8% last week, while posting a 5.3% deline for January overall. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed last week flat, but ended January down 9.0% as investors shunned growth stocks in general and the highly-valued mega-cap tech stocks in particular.
* Fundata A+ Awards for 2021 announced. Financial data provider Fundata Canada announced the winners of the 2021 A+ Awards on Jan. 26. The Award is given annually to investment funds and managers who have shown consistent, outstanding, risk-adjusted performance incorporating up to 10 years of history. Winners will be posted on the Fundata A+ Awards website.
* Desjardins launches new U.S. equity RI ETF. Desjardins Global Asset Management on Jan. 28 debuted its Desjardins SocieTerra American Equity ETF (TSX: DSAE). The fund invests primarily U.S stocks. Sub-advised by New York-based ClearBridge Investments, the managers integrate extra-financial environmental, social and governance valuation criteria into their analysis of the corporations in which it invests.
* Mackenzie launches retail private credit interval fund. Mackenzie Investments on Jan. 27 debuted its Mackenzie Northleaf Private Credit Interval Fund in partnership with Northleaf Capital Partners. The fund aims to give Canadian retail investors access to institutional private credit investments that have traditionally been reserved for accredited and institutional investors and typically feature significant minimum investment requirements. The fund’s interval fund structure allows for limited redemptions at quarterly intervals.
Fund features include quarterly repurchase offers (redemptions) up to a maximum of 5% of the fund’s assets, weekly valuations, monthly subscription frequency, a $5,000 initial investment minimum, and no lock-up period that would restrict quarterly redemptions.
The fund will provide exposure to a diversified, global portfolio of senior secured floating rate loans to mid-market private companies through Northleaf’s open-end, senior secured private credit (levered and unlevered) funds for institutional investors, while facilitating liquidity by tactically incorporating Mackenzie fixed income ETFs.
* BMO expands ETF lineup. BMO Asset Management on Jan 27 announced that it has added five new ETFs to its lineup:
BMO MSCI ACWI Paris Aligned Climate Equity Index ETF (TSX: ZGRN) tracks the MSCI ACWI Climate Paris Aligned Equity Index, a portfolio of global climate-focused equities.
BMO Japan Index ETF (TSX: ZJPN) tracks the Solactive GBS Japan Large - Mid Cap Index.
BMO Corporate Discount Bond ETF (TSX: ZCDB) invests in Canadian corporate fixed income securities that trade near or below par value with a remaining effective term to maturity between one and 10 years.
BMO Short-Term Discount Bond ETF (TSX: ZSDB) invests in Canadian corporate and government short-term fixed income securities that trade near or below par value with a remaining term to maturity between one and five years.
BMO All-Equity ETF (TSX: ZEQT) invests in ETFs that provide exposure to a diversified portfolio of global equity securities; it is an expansion of BMO’s Asset Allocation ETF suite.
* Dynamic launches new bond mutual funds. Dynamic Funds on Jan. 27 announced three new fixed-income mutual fund offerings.
Dynamic Global Fixed Income Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of fixed income securities from around the globe. The fund is sub-advised by Payden & Rygel, one of North America’s largest independently owned fixed income specialist investment companies with more than US$150 billion in assets under management.
Dynamic Short Term Credit PLUS Fund holds North American short-term investment grade fixed income securities. Dynamic’s co-managers Domenic Bellissimo and Bill Lytwynchuk will use alternative investment strategies, including the use of leverage created through cash borrowing, short-selling, and derivative contracts
Dynamic Sustainable Credit Private Pool holds a diversified portfolio of primarily North American investment-grade fixed-income securities from issuers who are engaged in the development of a sustainable economy. The Pool is managed by portfolio managers from Dynamic's Specialized Credit and Core Fixed Income teams.
* RBC debuts five Global Choices Portfolios. January 24, 2022 /CNW/ - RBC Global Asset Management on Jan. 24 launched its RBC Global Choices Portfolios, an efficient way for investors to access the expertise of a diverse set of investment managers while diversifying beyond their Canadian holdings. The five portfolios will be invested in a selection of 10 funds managed by eight different firms.
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The foregoing is for general information purposes only and is the opinion of the writer. No guarantee of investment performance is made or implied. It is not intended to provide specific personalized advice including, without limitation, investment, financial, legal, accounting or tax advice.
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