COVID had us doing something different this year, a digital holiday card that we hope will make you smile.  Each Christmas Hayes Vickers Private Wealth makes a donation on behalf of our clients.  This year we were able to make a larger donation as we included the funds we would normally have spent on our holiday cards.  We choose to support the Kids Help Phone.  Kids Help Phone offers free professional counseling, information and referrals to Canadian youth. We chose this charity because we know the pandemic has deeply impacted the mental health of many young people in our country.  To learn more about this service or access some of their great resources please visit their website.

We had our annual Hayes Vickers Private Wealth Team Christmas party last night - virtually!  Everyone received a personalized charcuterie box and we played some games.  It was a fun night and we were happy to be together to celebrate with each other as you can see from below. Thanks to Natalia and Lauren for organizing!

Economic and Market Update

Global equity markets have been fairly calm and remain near their highs for the year as we close in on the holiday season and the end of a tumultuous 2020. The second wave of the coronavirus is proving to be much more difficult to contain than the first. The cooler seasons in the northern hemisphere, a potentially more infectious virus, and overall “virus fatigue” that has led to people letting their guards down may be at fault. At current levels, nearly 650,000 new people around the world are getting infected every day.  However, there is hope on the horizon in the form of a vaccine.

We expect 2021 to be a tale of two halves. In the early part of the year, the virus will continue to remain a headwind to economic and earnings growth, as it has for much of this past year. As vaccines become more widely available in the developed world into the spring and summer months, we expect a gradual return to more normal levels of activity, setting the stage for a more durable economic trajectory by the end of the year. Low interest rates and aid from governments around the world, including an additional round from the U.S., should help bridge the economic gap that will exist throughout this period.

Interestingly, the hit to the global economy from this second wave has not been as negative as expected despite the renewed restrictions across Europe, Canada, and parts of the United States. Recent data from Europe indicates activity – both manufacturing and services – has been more resilient despite recent headwinds. Commentary from both the Bank of Canada and the US Federal Reserve officials of late has suggested the respective economies have been a bit stronger than anticipated, although they acknowledged the elevated risk and disparity that exists among different parts of the economy.

The challenge for investors is that markets are forward looking in nature and already reflect much of the projected path that we foresee. As a result, while we are constructive on global stocks given improving trends, our level of enthusiasm is relatively modest.

Looking forward into 2021, we are positioning the portfolios to be aligned with this recovery and take advantage of the new opportunities that have developed from COVID-19.  RBC Economics has summarized, in charts, how this transformation may influence consumers, businesses and policymakers in the coming year: Navigating 2021: 21 Charts for the Year Ahead

In the last of the RBC Disruptors Series for 2020, John Stackhouse speaks with entrepreneurs from across Canada who are embracing data and succeeding online despite limited experience.  To hear what they can teach us listen to Pandemics, Pivots and Predictions: 2020 Lessons from Canadian Entrepreneurs

Wealth Planning

If you are staying home this winter and wondering what to do with your U.S. property this article shares some ideas. If you would like to learn more about accessing U.S. credit please contact us so we can assist you in navigating with the bank and ensure your are receiving the benefits that being a client of RBC Wealth Management provides.

The Wealthy Barber, David Chilton, has partnered with RBC Wealth Management to develop a series of webcast to assist you in dealing with some of the more challenging issues in estate planning:

• Estate planning to avoid a family feud - strategies for family heirlooms and personal belongings
• The Wealthy Barber on how a cottage can complicate estate planning
• Why your digital assets should be part of your estate plan

We are here to help you navigate or facilitate these conversations and create a plan that works for you and your family.  We can also assist you in creating and maintaining a Net Worth Statement that can assist your Executor in ensuring all your assets are captured when the time comes to deal with your estate.

Team News

As you may have noticed from the above picture from our team party there are a few new faces.  Lauren DiFlorio has returned from an extended maternity leave.  We are happy to have her back with us and many of you have heard from her as she is reaching out to those of you who are due for a review.  If you have not had the pleasure of speaking with her you can expect to hear from her in 2021 to schedule a virtual review (hopefully sometime in 2021 we can return to in-person meetings!).  Janet Thompson is a new addition to our team and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge.  She joins us in the Associate role and will be supporting our clients to achieve all their wealth management needs.  We are happy to welcome both of these ladies to Hayes Vickers Private Wealth!

This year Nicky Rowson was recognized with a Leadership Award as one of RBC Wealth Management 2020 RBC Performance Award recipients.  We want to congratulate Nicky on her ongoing dedication to our clients and the leadership she shows by mentoring and sharing her knowledge with her peers.

We want to end the year by sharing our gratitude to our clients for their trust, confidence and support throughout 2020.  It has been hard to not meet with you in person; thank-you for your patience in trying new ways to connect virtually.  We are excited that 2021 will allow us a new way to connect with you - ZOOM!  We also want to thank our team, who despite not being together in the office has been able to continue to service our clients with little interruption.  We feel very grateful for all the support received from RBC Wealth Management and the people in our Head Office and for their investment in our technology that ensured we were able to transition from the office environment to working from home with little disruption for us and our clients.

We hope 2021 will allow us to meet again in person.  We wish you all a happy holidays and a healthy 2021!

Michelle and Kieron