January 2018 Pricing Commentary

All five ABC Funds posted materially positive investment returns for the month of January and significantly outdistanced the S&P/TSX benchmark. This outperformance was primarily due to our portfolios’ meaningful overweighting of American equities versus Canadian common stocks, which continue to lag U.S. returns. Furthermore, our 100% $U.S. currency hedge has continued to protect our portfolios from currency risk and dollar volatility.

Of note, the Funds’ January performance was boosted by a number of conspicuous stock outperformers including: Amazon.com, Alibaba Group, Brunswick Corp., Tencent Holdings, YY Inc., The Boeing Co., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and NVIDIA Corp.

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