Each year, some of the more creative types at Mawer Investment Management Ltd. put their lyric-writing talents to work to offer a timely variation of the “Twas the night before Christmas.”
This year, Mawer riffs on rate cuts, Brexit, trade wars, cannabis’ crazy ride and more.
The privately owned, independent investment firm, which takes pride in offering clients its “boring” investment approach, manages over $50 billion in assets for individual and institutional investors across all major investment strategies, with more than 150 employees across Calgary, Toronto, and Singapore.
‘Twas the week before Christmas
And Mawer’s on the scene
To tell you the tale
Of 2019
Was it good? Was it great?
Some say: yes! Ho, ho, ho!
(Though mixed signals and offsets
Oft’ ran the show)
Central banks’ interventions
Were less hawk than dove
Looking to bond markets
Like the North Star above
Interest rates, interest rates
The Fed doth cut thrice
Discount rates remain lower
Supporting stocks’ price
Quality is expensive
But may see us through
When you look at the long-term
With a bottom-up view
But we do pay attention
To themes that arise
That could impact markets
To avoid a surprise
Global economic growth
It did indeed slow
But shrink, it did not,
And onwards it goes
PMIs are indices
That tell you the trends
Of prevailing directions
Of the economy’s wends
Manufacturing was down
Germany was blue
A potential recession?
That could become true
But Servicing was steadfast
Employment was strong
Debt servicing manageable
Things kept chugging along.
And the saga continues
The deal’s not yet done!
Of course, we mean Brexit
It’s not a home run
Not all UK businesses
Will be affected the same
So whatever’s decided
Mawer’s still in the game.*
Oh Canada, Oh Cannabis
A wild ride for sure
A budding industry
We can’t yet endure
Now that brings us to trade wars
China vs. Trump
Tweets sending mixed messages
Stocks rise and then slump
But short-term daily movements
Don’t mean a whole lot
With great fundamentals
Our holdings—less fraught
Quality at a good price
—Both elements key—
To get the balance just right,
We work diligently.
Making sure we have offsets,
Looking for edges,
Natural contradictions
Are what make our hedges
Whether a blog or a podcast
We strive to make clear
We think micro not macro
—No predicting the year!
While the world is complex,
The road, it may wind,
We keep being boring
To give peace of mind.
* yes … we shamelessly reused this stanza from last year, as our thesis remains unchanged.
