We have all witnessed the start of the new U.S. administration and there have been not many that have escaped the threat and implementation of tariffs, including Canada, which has been the most noticeable one.  This issue will be dealt with however in the long term this will continue to put pressure on investments in Canada and when you include our current political situation it all bodes on the negative side for the short term on Canadian equities. We have been repositioning the portfolio to include more foreign exposure. I continue to like the themes of Cybersecurity and U.S. regional bank exposure. Lately we have been buying some European ETFs, especially with the current developments in the war with Ukraine. If this issue gets resolved this will be good for Europe especially. I also have been a buyer of the U.S. home builder index – we have witnessed the destruction of many homes due to recent hurricanes and fires, which will need to be rebuilt. Add to this the continuous need for home building due to growth, this all bodes well for this sector going forward. I continue to hold a good amount on the Canadian side in money market as we tip toe through the events mentioned above.

     In the U.S. we continue to like our exposure to energy, Brazil and industrials as the build-out of data centers will be a theme continuing for the next few years. The U.S. remains the strong horse in the stable but we are seeing some good developments in other markets like Europe and even China, which is encouraging even with all the recent headlines on tariffs. The market has looked to be in a sideways pattern as all the news and events are getting digested but the earnings growth and company statements still look good for the U.S. economy and we will continue to invest in this area.  

     It will be an interesting year but we are prepared to not get caught up in the headlines and look at the facts with our goal to keep the portfolio moving in the right direction.