Why it’s not too late to buy Canada

First is the worst, second is the best. That old schoolyard rhyme is particularly true for Canada.

That’s because we tend to underperform in the first half, or recovery part, of an economic cycle. But we outperform in the second half, or expansion portion, says David Taylor, president and CIO of Taylor Asset Management in Toronto.

That’s when “factories are full, and they start to spend real capex; they start reinvesting in the business,” says Taylor, who manages the top-performing fund in the focused Canadian equity category year-to-date. “Historically, when you get to that point, Canada starts to outperform the U.S.”

He points to strong auto sales, housing starts and loan growth as leading indicators.

Taylor has been bullish on Canada since the beginning of 2016. He was 50-50 Canada-U.S. in February, and went to 75-25 Canada-U.S. after that. “Our equity fund is pushing 40% [return],” he says, as the U.S. market is up 9%. Even Taylor’s U.S. allocation is “Canadian-like,” meaning that it’s primarily cyclical stocks.

Read: The 3 trends that will affect the economy in 2017

His move paid off, but at the time it was “highly contrarian,” he admits. “I didn’t sleep for a month.” He looked at valuations and put himself in the shoes of both U.S. and Canadian investors. “If I were an American and I woke up with my strong U.S. dollar and a weak Canadian dollar looking for stocks, I’d look north of the border,” he says. “Not only could you buy stocks cheap, but you could also buy them at a 40% currency discount.”

One month later

The morning after the election, Candice Bangsund told Advisor.ca she would consider trimming her equities that were overweight. But Bangsund, vice-president and portfolio manager, Global Asset Allocation, at Fiera Capital in Montreal, decided not to because she saw Trump take a softer tone on trade and protectionism.

While she hasn’t added to her position, she is still cautious on bonds, especially given the sell-off in November. While there might be a pause now, she says, “longer term, bond yields are going higher from here, so there’s still opportunity to reduce allocation [to fixed income].”

On the flipside, a Canadian investor would see an expensive U.S. market at a 40% currency premium.

He attributes his outperformance to the fact that “everything is now normalizing.” The bond bull market is coming to an end, he says, value is no longer underperforming growth and the Canadian market is strengthening.

Candice Bangsund, vice-president and portfolio manager, Global Asset Allocation, at Fiera Capital in Montreal, also sees strong growth for Canada. That’s because today’s reflationary environment favours financials, materials and energy – growth-oriented sectors that constitute the majority of our stock market.

Financials, in particular, “should do well in an environment of steeper yield curves,” she says. In the U.S., they’ll benefit from Donald Trump’s deregulation plans. U.S. small caps will also benefit from deregulation, as well as from corporate tax cuts.

As for materials, they thrive in times of heavier infrastructure spending. She likes base metals such as copper. Taylor agrees, adding that Canada makes “the things you need to grow – things like cement, zinc, rebar, iron ore and lumber.”

Read: Mining companies dig for innovation amid commodities downturn

And for energy, Bangsund says she’s targeting US$60 oil over the next year, a call that remains unchanged since the OPEC deal to curb supply. “Our base case for oil was stronger global growth; we’d already seen supply coming off in the U.S. The combination of those two was at the root of our bullish call for oil prices. The OPEC decision removes a key downside risk from the equation.”

If you didn’t overweight Canada as early as Taylor, there’s still time, he says. “In the second half a cycle, Canada outperforms, and yet we’re only one year into this.” After rate hikes in 1994 and 2004, there were multi-year bull markets, he points out. “History has shown it doesn’t end after one year.”

Did you know?

The Canadian market typically doesn’t outperform the U.S. until global growth is above 3%, says David Taylor of Taylor Asset Management.

Outside North America, Bangsund is bullish on emerging markets but neutral on Europe. For his part, Taylor just bought a Dutch engineering company by paring his U.S. exposure. “European valuations are much more attractive than U.S. valuations,” he says. “And look where the euro is in relation to the U.S. dollar. If you’re an exporter, you’re tickled pink.”

Speaking of the greenback, “there’s likely not a lot of upside in the U.S. dollar left,” says Bangsund. “In contrast, we’re more constructive on growth-levered currencies such as the Canadian dollar.” She projects the loonie will reach US$0.80 within the next 12 months.

Taylor agrees the loonie will rise, but doesn’t have a view on when. “People think that when the Fed raises rates, the U.S. dollar does well. It does, early on,” he says. “But in every single rate-hiking cycle, the U.S. dollar has rolled over against other currencies [because] people are worried about inflation.”

Read: Why to leave rate-sensitive sectors now

Melissa Shin

Melissa is the editorial director of Advisor.ca and leads Newcom Media Inc.’s group of financial publications. She has been with the team since 2011 and been recognized by PMAC and CFA Society Toronto for her reporting. Reach her at mshin@newcom.ca. You may also call or text 416-847-8038 to provide a confidential tip.