The Pender Global Small/Mid Cap Equity Fund returned 6.3%1 in April. Following a pullback of 9.10% from its January high through late March, the S&P 500 rebounded to post a gain of 7.9% for the month and briefly touched new all-time highs. The recovery was driven by three converging events: a partial de-escalation of geopolitical […]
Market Environment – Navigating a Volatile April April 2026 has been a pivotal month as the US stock market continued to experience heightened volatility driven by a combination of geopolitical risks and shifting expectations for Federal Reserve policy. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continued to impact oil markets, resulting in volatile price spikes, […]
Markets were volatile this quarter, with small-cap technology in Canada bearing the brunt of the pressure. The S&P/TSX Info-T had one of its worst starts in recent history, driven by intensifying fears of AI-driven disruption and the so-called "SaaS-Pocalypse," even as the S&P/TSX Composite Index reached historic highs near 34,5001. While negative software sentiment may […]
The first quarter of 2026 was marked by significant volatility that continues to reverberate across global markets. The backdrop has been characterized by pronounced dispersion across equity sectors and individual stocks. The global economy entered 2026 following a 2025 "soft landing" supported by AI spending and fiscal stimulus, but Q1 brought heightened geopolitical risks alongside […]
Market Environment – (More) Energy Shocks and the Prevalence of the US Economy March delivered a blunt reminder that geopolitics can reprice markets faster than fundamentals. The optimism that carried US small and mid-caps to outperformance in the early weeks of 2026 gave way to a more difficult backdrop as instability in the Middle East […]
February was an interesting month for investors, marked by elevated volatility and significant return dispersion beneath relatively modest headline index moves. Market leadership continued to shift, and with geopolitical tensions rising into early March, volatility may remain a key dynamic as geopolitical tensions contribute to elevated global uncertainty. Portfolio weights remained approximately 56.7% Canadian equities […]
In February, the Fund delivered a return of 1.2%. The portfolio once again benefited from its resource holdings, which helped offset a challenging month for technology companies. February was an eventful month, with AI disruption narratives continuing to drive significant drawdowns across software and IT services companies. The S&P 1500 Software and Services Index finished […]
Market Environment – Energy Shocks and the AI Economy In February, markets faced several crosswinds. The US Supreme Court ruled against the use of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act to justify the April 2025 reciprocal tariffs, while tensions between the United States and Iran escalated into armed conflict, adding to geopolitical uncertainty. Against this […]
January was characterized by a sharp shift in investor sentiment, particularly toward growth-oriented sectors. As markets reassessed expectations around artificial intelligence, concerns that AI could materially disrupt traditional software business models resurfaced and weighed heavily on software equities. This narrative assumes that enterprises will increasingly rely on internally developed AI tools rather than purchasing software […]
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