February 2021 Pricing Commentary

A late month equity market sell-off due to concerns of rising bond yields appeared to worry investors. We believe, however, that this anxiety is transitory given that interest rates are still at exceptionally low levels, an estimated 75% of corporate quarterly earnings results have beaten expectations, and North American economic activity continues to recover.

Interestingly, although our February 2021 ABC Funds performance was mixed to slightly higher, we were pleased with the relative appreciation of our U.S. and Canadian bank holdings, Manulife Financial, CN and CP Railways, Boston Scientific, Google, Mastercard, and Visa. Of particular importance was our currency hedge which protected our U.S. dollar asset exposure with the Canadian dollar’s pronounced late month strength. Additionally, we took advantage of the decline in equity prices and added new positions to our funds, which included: S&P Global and Zoetis.

As we enter the month of March, we remain very optimistic with regard to the outlook of common stocks and our portfolio positioning. Notably, we believe that the early 2021 market weakness is temporary and expect North American equities to resume their upward price trend to year end.

Irwin A. Michael, President
I.A. Michael Investment Counsel Ltd.