Good Mornin’ & welcome to June!!
Well, we’ve crossed the halfway mark of 2025. The headlines are mixed, volatility is rising, and investor sentiment feels uneasy. But beneath the noise, something deeper is unfolding. This is not just a market moment. It’s a clarity moment.
Canada’s economy grew by 0.5% in Q1, lifted by a sharp increase in exports ahead of new U.S. tariffs. At the same time, household spending slowed, and unemployment rose to 6.9%, its highest level in over a year. The Bank of Canada’s policy rate is steady at 2.75%, and the Canadian and USD dollar keep bouncing around, caught in the crosswinds of trade dynamics and fiscal uncertainty.
Meanwhile, global equity markets continue to grind higher as trade tensions ease and policy uncertainty unfolds. A recent U.S. federal court ruling questioned the legitimacy of emergency tariffs, adding legal complexity to an already fragile global trade narrative. As the noise of politics and macro data rises, investor focus is shifting to bond yields, debt sustainability, and the broader question: What signals truly matter?
It’s in moments like this that we can turn to clarity, not just in data, but in philosophy.
I was driving with my daughter Presley-Mae yesterday, to go cheer on her sister Dilynn at Lacrosse, and I used the opportunity to introduce her to one of my favorite songs of all time – Hallelujah – a version by Jeff Buckley, but a work of art by the Canadian legend, Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen, an icon, poet, philosopher, monk, and songwriter, built his legacy not on speed or spectacle, but on rhythm, patience, and depth. His work reminds us that the most enduring returns, whether in art or in investing, often unfold slowly, intentionally, and only become obvious in hindsight. To some, this looks like turbulence. To us, it looks like a turning point, because in markets, and in life, it’s often the cracks in the surface that reveal where value begins to compound.
Investing, Like Cohen, Is a Study in Patience and Paradox
Leonard Cohen wasn’t just a musician. He was a quiet craftsman in a loud world. He spent five years writing that song Hallelujah…drafting 80 verses, rewriting again and again. The song was released in 1984 with little to no notice. In fact, it was mostly ignored…until it wasn’t. Years later, after Jeff Buckley and others covered it, the song rose to legendary status.
What can we learn from this? Great question…..
Resonance doesn’t come from rushing. It comes from returning.
Like a well-constructed portfolio, Cohen’s greatest work didn’t scream for attention. It matured quietly, and then all at once.
He teaches us something timeless:
That not all returns are immediate.
That not all value is obvious.
That discipline and devotion, over time, creates something enduring.
That’s not just art, that’s investing.
In markets, as in music, value often takes time to be recognized. The most meaningful returns, like Cohen’s impact, compound in silence before they echo in the world.
Stillness as Strategy
In the 1990s, at the height of his career, Cohen did something few understood, he disappeared. He entered a Zen monastery in California, shaved his head, and took the name Jikan—“The Silent One.” For nearly five years, he lived in stillness.
Tending gardens…serving tea….and listening.
He wasn’t retreating, he was refining.
Even artists, and especially investors, need space to see clearly.
So, What Are We Doing Right Now?
We’re listening. Allocating. Designing.
We are practicing the art of intentional positioning.
Not with panic, but with patience. With strategy. With conviction.
Through the Cracks: What We’re Seeing Globally
We’re seeing opportunity, not just despite the uncertainty, but because of it.
- Dislocations in emerging markets
- Innovation cycles in Asia
- Undervalued sectors in North America
- Resilient dividend growers in Europe
- Long-term tailwinds in infrastructure, energy, and AI
We’re positioning for what’s becoming. Like Cohen, we’re not obsessed noise and distraction, we’re composing the long arc….because investing, like songwriting, is a rhythm…and right now, we’re in the verse before the chorus.
The Wealth of Intention Is Built in These Moments
Volatility doesn’t cancel opportunity, it reveals it.
Uncertainty doesn’t break a strategy, it refines it.
The Canadian budget delay. The projected debt issuance of C$628 billion. Global trade pressures and currency volatility….these aren’t reasons to retreat, they’re signals to re-engage….deliberately, not reactively. This is where intention matters most, and this is where our process earns its value.
The Call to Intention
There are cracks in this market…in sentiment…in structure…in expectations….but that’s where the light gets in, that’s where we go to work, and that’s where we’re positioning, intentionally, globally, and with patience.
If you’re wondering what to do next, here’s the invitation:
Pause.
Zoom out.
Lean in
Now is not the time to chase, now is the time to compose - deliberately, globally, and with grace. As Cohen once suggested “Act the way you’d like to be, and soon you’ll be the way you act.”
As we cruise into the week, know that your capital can move with clarity and your wealth can align with your intention…because the next verse is being written, and the light is already coming through.
Be well and enjoy the moments,
Derek Henderson