2024 Perspective: Discipline Meets Optimism

Every year, Peter sits down with PWL’s Senior Researcher, Raymond Kerzérho to review the state of the economy and address key topics on the mind of Canadian investors. This year’s webinar was recorded live on February 28^th, 2024.

Here are a few highlights from the session:

0:57 – 2023 year in review:

• Major themes in the 2023 investment landscape
• Returns by asset class: a strong finish for 2023
• PWL Portfolio performances

13:09 – The economy in 2023:

• Global GDP slowed, as expected
• Unemployment has bottomed
• Inflation dropped, but has not reached 2% yet

28:05 – Key matters in the capital markets:

• Portfolio concentration and the dominance of The Magnificent 7
• DFA Funds outperformed over the last three years
• ESG performance encouraging

41:55 – Groundbreaking research in finance

• International diversification important for risk reduction
• Controversial challenges to conventional asset allocation
• Probability of negative real return over 30 years

1:00:15 – Expected returns:

• The return of real returns
• Long-term expected return estimates mostly unchanged

1:03:04 – Portfolios in 2023-2024:

• Wisdom from Daniel Kahneman and Carl Richards
• Why keep Emerging Markets and REITs?
• Portfolio strategies at work in your portfolio