{"id":419,"date":"2023-12-28T16:32:41","date_gmt":"2023-12-28T16:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advisor.wellington-altus.ca\/catalyst\/?page_id=419"},"modified":"2024-03-25T15:56:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:56:01","slug":"newsroom","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/advisor.wellington-altus.ca\/catalyst\/newsroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsroom"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Newsroom <\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tInvestment Insight \u2013 Summer 2026\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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One of the recurring challenges in writing our quarterly commentary is that by the time it reaches publication, parts already feel dated. This feels especially pronounced today as the pace of change appears to be accelerating.<\/p>\n

After the S&P 500 declined by roughly 10 percent by the end of March, it took just 11 trading sessions to fully recover \u2014 among the fastest recoveries on record. As one market observer noted, \u201cfor situation monitors, the whiplash is a thing to behold\u2026for everyone else, they may not have even noticed.\u201d More notable was the speed at which the narrative reversed. By late March, many big-tech valuations appeared more fairly valued; by late April, they again appeared stretched.<\/p>\n

The increasing frequency of such rapid shifts raises a broader question: Does this reflect a changing market regime?<\/p>\n

Part of the explanation may lie in how the investing landscape itself has evolved over recent decades. Information is now disseminated globally in seconds. Combined with trading automation and declining transaction costs, this has contributed to a significant increase in market activity. In the\u00a0 late 1980s, the New York Stock Exchange averaged around 500 million shares traded daily; by 2020, this figure had doubled to over one billion.1<\/p>\n

Participation has also become democratized. Building a diversified portfolio once required meaningful capital. Today, internet access and low-cost, diversified products have lowered barriers to entry. In 1990, equity and investment fund units represented just six percent of Canadian household assets. In 2025, they accounted for over 25 percent.2 This has also influenced investor behaviour. The average holding period for a stock, once
\nspanning years, is now measured in months.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tJuly 15, 2026\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tJuly Market Insights: Trump\u2019s Meta Game, Pax Americana, and the AI Age\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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In politics and markets, the decisive contest is often the one being played above the visible struggle. Elections, earnings and summit communiqu\u00e9s are the surface game\u2014the real action lies in the metagame, the contest over rules, incentives and narratives that shape outcomes long after today\u2019s skirmishes are forgotten.<\/p>\n

Henry Kissinger, American diplomat and political scientist, warned that most statesmen get lost in the \u201cmanifestations of events\u201d\u2014daily crises, tactical choices and headlines\u2014and fail to read the deeper \u201ctrend of events\u201d that gives those crises meaning. Investors make the same mistake when they trade every move in yields or volatility but never ask which regime those data points are compounding into over a five\u2011 or ten\u2011year horizon.<\/p>\n

German\u2011American entrepreneur Peter Thiel\u2019s line that \u201ccompetition is for losers\u201d captures the business version of the same instinct. The point is not to fight hardest inside the old game, but to see how the game itself is changing and reposition before everyone else.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tJune 30, 2026\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tJune Market Insights: America at 250\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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merica reaches its 250th anniversary not as a fallen hegemon, but as the dominant centre of global hard power, monetary power, and frontier innovation. It still sits astride the world\u2019s resource base through energy, agriculture, and continental depth; it still issues the reserve currency at the core of global trade and finance; and it still leads the race to build artificial intelligence (AI) as the next digital platform. Yet precisely because American power remains so large, the visible breakdown of the post\u2013Second World War rules-based order has become impossible to ignore. To anyone who has read German historian and philosopher Oswald Spengler\u2019s The Decline of the West (1918), this is not a surprise but a pattern: history is not a straight line of progress. Instead, it is the record of civilizations that rise as living cultures harden into systems and eventually exhaust the moral energy that made them great in the first place. America did not choose this time, but it has been born into it.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMay 29, 2026\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMay Market Insights: Mastery and the Terror Premium\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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Mastery of energy, again<\/p>\n

Winston Churchill, as first lord of the Admiralty, tied Britain\u2019s fate to Persian oil. United States President Donald Trump\u2019s war in Iran, centred on Operation Epic Fury, could do the same for the West by removing Iran\u2019s nuclear shadow, resetting oil toward US$60, and finally unlocking a modern peace dividend.<\/p>\n

\u201cMastery itself was the prize of the venture.\u201d Winston Churchill\u2019s 1912\u201313 case for converting the Royal Navy from coal to oil\u2014enshrined in historian Daniel Yergin\u2019s The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power captured the brutal clarity of a great power energy strategy: accept dependence to command the seas. That wager framed the last century. In 2026, as Epic Fury grinds through the Gulf and Brent trades above US$100, the question is no longer whether oil confers mastery, but who holds it: a revolutionary theocracy astride the Strait of Hormuz, or a West intent on stripping the terror and nuclear risk now priced into every barrel out of the energy system\u2014finally collecting a long\u2011deferred peace dividend.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMay 5, 2026\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tHighlights from the 2026 Spring Economic Update\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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On April 28, 2026, Finance and National Revenue Minister Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne released the 2026
\nSpring Economic Update (the Update). This was the first spring economic update after the federal budget was
\nmoved to the fall in 2025. In the absence of a federal budget earlier this year and with the recent shift to a
\nmajority government, Canadians have been awaiting clear direction on the federal government\u2019s policy
\nfocus and anticipated initiatives. Overall, the Update introduces relatively little that had not been previously
\nannounced, while showing an improved fiscal outlook, with the projected deficit declining despite $37.5 billion
\nin net new spending.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tApril Market Insights: Bretton Woods 2.0, the New Great Game, and Trump\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s second term is not just another burst of tariff theatre; it is the opening move in a new great game over energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and money. By neutralizing Iran and Venezuela, squeezing Cuba, binding Canada, and courting Russia, Washington is trying to re-anchor oil in U.S. dollars and push BRICS\u2019 [1] monetary ambitions to the margins. Layered on top are digital rails\u2014dollar-backed stablecoins, tokenized Treasuries, gold, and even a strategic bitcoin reserve\u2014designed to harden, not retire, King Dollar. If it works, Bretton Woods 2.0 will arrive not as a conference, but as the unannounced sequel to a crisis-ridden decade, with the U.S. once again writing the rules.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tInvestment Insights Spring 2026\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Shifting (Global) Order We are living through a period of shifting order. Global alliances are outwardly frayed, old rules have been bent, and new ones are being formed. As Prime Minister Carney reminded the world in January: \u201cThe old order is not coming back. We shouldn\u2019t mourn it. Nostalgia<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMarch 27, 2026\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMarch Market Insights: There is no Bronze Medal\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u201cThere\u2019s only two cultures that are going to win in the next year. It\u2019s going to be us or China.\u201d The subtext of Palantir CEO Alex Karp\u2019s widely cited speech from late 2025 sounds like tech\u2011bro theatre until you reflect on it. In artificial intelligence, there is no bronze medal. There will be a hegemon and a runner\u2011up. Everyone else will be a client.<\/p>\n

Markets are not pricing that reality. Investors still treat the AI build-out as marginal cloud spend or another overhyped software cycle. They debate whether Big Tech is \u201cexhausting its available capital\u201d or whether capex \u201cmust mean revert,\u201d as if infrastructure were optional and competition courteous. They are using valuation models from the wrong century for the wrong game.<\/p>\n

AI is not an app store. It is a weapon system\u2014and the operating system of the next industrial era. The capital going into it is not a bubble. It is rearmament.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tFebruary Market Insights: Fortress America and the Colony Next Door\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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Historians are likely to regard Donald Trump\u2019s presidency as a pivot\u2014as significant as any in U.S. history comparable to the Jacksonian turn, the New Deal, or the Reagan Revolution. Yet Wall Street remains strangely somnolent, pricing in neither the durability nor the depth of what is unfolding. The Trump Doctrine should be seen as equal to\u2014not subordinate to\u2014the Monroe Doctrine, the 1823 U.S. policy that warned European powers against further colonization or interference in the Western Hemisphere. It represents a new organizing framework for U.S. power that blends hard power, economic nationalism, and pro-growth domestic policy.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tJanuary Market Insights: The 2026 Market Forecast\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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History does not move in straight lines. Markets ricochet between excess and restraint in violent cycles, a truth American economist Peter Bernstein hammered home and one investors are again being forced to relearn. The foundation for the 2026 investment thesis is that with interest payments on U.S. debt now exceeding annual defense spending, the fiscal constraint has become too binding to ignore, and structural adjustment is no longer optional. We have no choice but to adjust; the system is in a state of flux.<\/p>\n

As Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has argued, the world is entering a regime shift as consequential as the post-Cold War settlement: 2026 marks the end of pandemic-era stimulus and the start of a new cycle driven by credit markets, technology infrastructure, and redesigned policy frameworks. Under U.S. President Donald Trump, the United States is pivoting toward physical production and capital formation, reviving a traditional comparative advantage that other nations are emulating\u2014much like the 1990s shift from Keynesian to supply-side economics after the Berlin Wall fell when risk assets thrived. In 2026, liquidity increases, deregulation continues, and early in the year, investors should begin increasing exposure to interest-rate-sensitive areas as equity market participation broadens.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tInvestment Insight – Winter 2026\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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It is the end of an era: after 60 years at the helm, one of the world\u2019s most closely watched investors has stepped down as CEO.<\/p>\n

Very few people stay in one role for six decades. For context, the median tenure with a single employer dropped to 3.9 years in the U.S., while the average working life spans roughly 37 years. This puts into perspective the remarkable length of Warren Buffett\u2019s leadership of Berkshire Hathaway\u2014nearly twice the span of a typical career.<\/p>\n

Even if you don\u2019t subscribe to Buffett\u2019s investing philosophy, the scale of his accomplishments is clear. After taking control in 1965, he transformed Berkshire from a\u00a0 struggling textile mill into a multinational conglomerate holding company, growing its share price from about $19 to roughly $745,000\u2014a cumulative gain of nearly 4,000,000 percent! In 2024, Berkshire became the first U.S. non-tech company to surpass a trillion-dollar market capitalization.
\nNow 95, Buffett shared in November that he was \u201cgoing quiet\u201d and will no longer write the annual letter or speak at Berkshire\u2019s annual meeting. In his farewell, he offered reflections on both business and life.\u00a0 As we begin a new year, several insights may serve as practical reminders for our own wealth management:<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tDecember 19, 2025\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDecember Market Insights: 2026 and the King Dollar Revival\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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Rumours of the U.S. dollar\u2019s decline are as persistent as they are exaggerated. In 2025, one fact stands out: The global U.S. dollar system\u2014\u201cKing Dollar\u201d\u2014is not vanishing. The financial, legal, and institutional architecture that makes the dollar the world\u2019s indispensable currency remains at the heart of global finance. It is this systemic centrality, not its day-to-day market price, that ensures \u201cKing Dollar\u201d matters most, and it is being strategically reinforced and recalibrated for a multipolar era. After the energetic \u201cweaponization\u201d of the dollar under the Biden administration and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, a prudent diversification of reserves by global central banks was always going to follow. Still, to declare the end of U.S. exceptionalism or the death of King Dollar is not just premature, it is strategically misguided. Yes, the counter trend rally in many currencies is coming to an end. Driven by fundamentals, the King Dollar revival is upon us; investors take note.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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