October 2018 Pricing Commentary

Although the month of October was a volatile period for common stocks, bonds, commodities, and the Canadian dollar, the ABC Funds took this opportunity to add new holdings and strategically position itself for the coming year.

On earnings, many companies including ABC Funds’ holdings of Mastercard, Facebook and Coca-Cola reported better than expected Q3/2018 results. Despite the volatility of common stock prices in October, four of our five ABC Funds are still posting positive year-to-date 2018 returns.

More importantly, we are steadfast with regard to our optimistic outlook on the North American economy, common stocks, and our ABC Funds. It is our view that the extraordinarily weak October equity prices were an anomaly and that the security markets are oversold and will recover. Consequently, we believe that the balance of 2018 should offer excellent opportunities, enabling common stocks and our ABC Funds to finish this year considerably higher.

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