Good day
Contact information – please ensure that you have all of us in your records.
Note that anyone on the team can assist with any request but it may not hurt to know who to call for specific items.
Ryan King 613-566-4625 ryan.a.king@rbc.com
If you need us to send you money, please call Ryan as we cannot act on email instructions. Conversely, if you are sending in money and want to let us know, you can send Ryan an email as he is the one looking out for it. Ryan is also in charge of all paperwork including tax documentation.
Kim Brown 613-566-2032 kim.d.brown@rbc.com
Kim can also assist with anything mentioned above but will be your main point of contact for all meetings and appointments. Kim will also assist with any queries relating to online access and information that you see online.
Matthew Newby 613-566-7586 matthew.newby@rbc.com
Matt is the main point of contact for some clients. If you have known Matt for 3+ years, then it probably means that he is your main point of contact.
And for me, you can call me anytime as I can assist with anything but don’t want to be a reason for delay if you can go direct to the person handling your request.
What’s on my mind?
I was in Toronto two weeks ago for the RBC Portfolio Manager Conference. The tone was cautiously optimistic. A leaning of value over growth. Defensive over aggressive. Why? The market narrative hasn’t changed much to start the year, with inflation, interest rates, and recession risks still very much front and centre. Nevertheless, there have been some developments over the past month that are worth discussing as they have potential implications for investors in the year ahead. It was reassuring to know that most of the managers’ “Top Picks” are names that we own or have on our radar.
Overseas, Europe has had a relatively mild start to the winter and it has resulted in reduced demand for heating. Should trends continue over the months to come, the lower energy prices could provide some disinflationary tailwinds in the region.
Meanwhile, in China, there has been a stark reversal of the country’s “zero-Covid” policy, with a complete abandonment of the measures the country had been taking for the past few years. Rather than enforcing strict lockdowns, the country is now in the process of reopening despite the reported increase in infections and strain on its healthcare system. This may result in some temporary disruption from worker absenteeism and supply chain challenges, similar to what was witnessed in North America upon its reopening. Nevertheless, it should prove temporary, and markets are understandably more focused on the prospects for a recovery in Chinese economic growth that could be on the horizon in the not too distant future.
Closer to home, Canada’s economy added 104,000 jobs in December, more than expected, and its unemployment rate fell to 5.0%. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the employment report showed 223,000 jobs were added in the month, also higher than expected, with the unemployment rate falling to 3.5%. Despite some pockets of weakness and an overall slowing in employment trends relative to a year ago, the rate of job creation remains relatively healthy and normal.
Offsetting this positive news was the weakness seen in some leading economic indicators that tend to foreshadow future economic activity. More specifically, readings for the manufacturing and services sides of the U.S. economy declined in December, with the latter being a particular surprise as it had been holding up well through most of the fall. In recent days, the U.S. inflation reading for December was released and suggested an ongoing moderation in pricing pressures.
Overall, the data suggests the Canadian and American economies are losing momentum but also demonstrating resilience in the face of tightening financial conditions. It is important to note that markets historically sell off in advance of bad news and then rebound nicely as the bad news hits the headlines.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.
J. Todd Kennedy, CIM, FCSI
Senior Portfolio Manager
613-566-4582