As of July 20, 2020, Sun Life Global Investments (Canada) Inc. changed its name to SLGI Asset Management Inc. It will take some time to update our websites, materials and forms and until that is complete, all references to Sun Life Global Investments (Canada) Inc. will mean SLGI Asset Management Inc. We’ve also brought together Sun Life mutual fund, segregated fund, annuity and guaranteed investment product businesses under the collective brand of Sun Life Global Investments.
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March ended with global equities in the grip of a severe bear market as COVID-19 spread and the global economy crumbled. In Q2, the market soared in response to massive monetary and fiscal stimulus applied around the world, with the MSCI World Index gaining nearly 20% in its best quarter in more than a decade. This, even as COVID-19 cases were surging across the U.S., with nearly 19 million Americans still out of work. Investors, buoyed by stimulus spending, rising job numbers and hopes for a vaccine, appeared willing to look beyond this grim reality to a rapid economic recovery – something that we believe is far from certain.
As COVID-19 continues to spread, it has left many questions in its wake. Could we see a second wave of infections across the world this fall, forcing another, even more problematic economic lockdown? Will there be widespread bankruptcies and how deep will the hit to corporate earnings be? As well, could there be permanent structural changes in the economy, with large numbers of workers left behind?
Clearly, many investors are looking out to 2021 and betting on an end to the COVID-19 crisis. But there are a number of issues, beyond the pandemic that will affect the pace of the recovery. For starters, the massive amount of fiscal and monetary stimulus that has fuelled the market rally could begin to slow next year. Governments may then attempt rein in the deficit spending with austerity measures. And instead of hiring, companies could cut workers in response to a drop in earnings. Given these issues, we expect increased market volatility in the months ahead.
In the Sun Life Global Tactical Yield Private Pool, we used the selloff in March to reposition the portfolio for a stimulus-driven rally. The Pool entered the second quarter with an asset mix of 64% equities, 30% bonds, and 6% cash. As the rally in global equities progressed through the quarter, we de-risked the portfolio as the number of downside risks outlined above began to outweigh the near term upside catalysts. By the end of the quarter, we had returned to a neutral equity weighting of 50%. Within the bond component of the Pool, we have taken a barbell approach of maximizing our allocation to alternative fixed income - looking to take advantage of ongoing opportunities within global credit markets – and holding additional cash against an underweight in core bonds as we may see rates normalize somewhat off extremely low levels.
Sun Life Global Tactical Yield Private Pool Monthly snapshot:
Learn more about Sun Life Private Investment Pools
Views expressed regarding a particular company, security, industry or market sector should not be considered an indication of trading intent of any mutual funds managed by Sun Life Global Investments (Canada) Inc. These views are not to be considered as investment advice nor should they be considered a recommendation to buy or sell. This commentary is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to provide specific individual financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Information contained in this commentary has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made with respect to its timeliness or accuracy.
This commentary may contain forward-looking statements about the economy and markets, their future performance, strategies or prospects or events and are subject to uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are speculative in nature and cannot be relied upon.
Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Investors should read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in security value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or other optional charges or income taxes payable by any security holder that would have reduced returns. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.
While Series A and Series F securities have the same reference portfolio, any difference in performance between these series is due primarily to differences in management fees and operating fees. The management fee for Series A securities also includes the trailing commission, while Series F securities does not. Series A securities of the fund are available for purchase to all investors, while Series F securities are only available to investors in an eligible fee-based or wrap program with their registered dealer. Investors in Series F securities may pay a separate fee-based account fee that is negotiated with and payable to their registered dealer.
©Sun Life Global Investments (Canada) Inc., 2020. Sun Life Global Investments (Canada) Inc. is a member of the Sun Life group of companies.