Andy Nasr, vice president and investment strategist at Sentry Investments
Focus: REITs, Global Equities and Macro Strategy
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MARKET OUTLOOK

We continue to believe that the U.S. and Canadian markets will offer superior risk-adjusted returns, however, it remains very difficult to ascertain the impact that the Republican administration will have on economic growth, inflation and interest rates. The market is discounting a positive contribution from inflationary tax and fiscal spending policies that won’t come into focus until early 2017. While the Republicans have a majority in Congress, some of Mr. Trump’s initiatives may face resistance from fiscally conservative members of Congress. Both equity and bond markets have begun to discount higher inflation expectations and rising interest rates, which is creating a buying opportunity in certain defensive sectors such as Real Estate and Utilities. While the likelihood of recession in the U.S. remains low, volatility may persist in next year due to heightened political risk in Europe and the need to sustain growth and affect inflation in several global economies through accommodative fiscal or monetary stimulus. We continue to leverage our ‘house style’, which has produced excellent long-term returns, to find compelling equity and fixed income investments in various geographies.

TOP PICKS

VISA (V.N)
The company, which processes over one-third of global card-payment volumes, should continue to benefit from increased consumer spending, growth in non-cash transactions and the integration of Visa Europe.

FACEBOOK (FB.O)
Facebook generates over 95 per cent of its revenues from online and mobile advertising, which should continue to grow more quickly than traditional media spending. The company’s valuation is attractive in the context of our earnings and cash flow growth expectations during the next few years.

SIMON PROPERTY GROUP (SPG.N)
SPG is the largest REIT in the world and very well capitalized. The recent selloff represents a compelling opportunity to invest in high quality real estate company that should continue to deliver long-term cash flow and dividend growth to shareholders.

DISCLOSURE PERSONAL FAMILY PORTFOLIO/FUND
 V N N Y
FB N N Y
SPG N N Y


PAST PICKS: DECEMBER 24, 2015

CANADIAN UTILITIES (CU.TO)

  • Then: $32.61
  • Now: $35.82
  • Return: +9.84%
  • TR: +13.70%

BROOKFIELD PROPERTY PARTNERS (BPY_u.TO)

  • Then: $32.40
  • Now: $28.28
  • Return: -12.71%
  • TR: -8.20%

MONDELEZ (MDLZ.O)

  • Then: $45.35
  • Now: $45.69
  • Return: +0.74%
  • TR: +2.41%

TOTAL RETURN AVERAGE: +2.63%

DISCLOSURE PERSONAL FAMILY PORTFOLIO/FUND
CU  N N Y
BPY_U N N Y
MDLZ N  N Y


FUND PROFILE: SENTRY SMALL/MID CAP INCOME FUND (F)

PERFORMANCE AS OF DECEMBER 14, 2016

* Index: S&P/TSX Completion Total Return Index
* Identify if your fund’s returns are based on reinvested dividends. Returns provided must be net of fees!

TOP HOLDINGS

  1. Cinemark 3.9%
  2. Livenation 3.8%
  3. Chemtrade 3.5%
  4. Crown Holdings 3.3%
  5. Penske Automotive 3.2%

TWITTER @SentryInvest
WEBSITE https://www.sentry.ca