Investors are reassessing their portfolios as major sector rotations reshape global markets and volatility remains elevated.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with David Cox, senior portfolio manager at Raymond James, about the shift away from dominant technology stocks, the growing strength in commodities and emerging markets, and several stock ideas he believes could benefit from the changing environment.
Key Takeaways
- Global markets have seen significant sector rotation over the past six to nine months, with investors shifting away from dominant U.S. technology stocks toward commodities and non-U.S. markets.
- Canadian equities may benefit from the shift as commodity-heavy sectors such as materials and energy gain investor interest.
- Emerging markets are strengthening relative to the U.S., reflecting broader global diversification away from U.S. leadership.
- A stronger Canadian dollar moving above roughly 76 to 77 cents U.S. could confirm the developing trend toward Canadian market outperformance.
- Nutrien, Broadcom and Tesla were highlighted as stock ideas benefiting from commodity strength, semiconductor leadership and long-term technology trends.
Read the full transcript below:
ANDREW: The market has seen some significant rotations over the past six to nine months. For example, many investors have been lightening up on their exposure to the tech giants. Our guest has been closely monitoring the volatility and what it could mean for your portfolio. We’re joined by David Cox, senior portfolio manager at Raymond James. David, thanks very much for joining us. Remind us, what have been the big shifts in the market over six to nine months?
DAVID: Well, there’s been a lot of change from the perspective of value versus growth, which is really related to commodities. That theme has helped Toronto, which has been an underperformer relative to the U.S., as most markets have. So there has been a pretty significant global rotation to non-U.S. markets. I think the emerging markets and commodity theme is what’s been developing.
ANDREW: That’s interesting. And when you say value, would that include commodity stocks?
DAVID: It does. There is a fairly high correlation between the outperformance of a market like Toronto and the outperformance of emerging markets relative to the U.S., when so-called value stocks are leading. Those tend to be heavily tied to cyclicals, materials and energy stocks, which of course Toronto is well endowed with.
ANDREW: Maybe we can have a look at a comparative chart in a second. It’s interesting — this “Magnificent Seven” theme. These companies are still gigantic and profitable. That’s what bulls often point to. They say it’s not like the turn of the century, because these companies are actually making serious money.
DAVID: For sure. From an investor’s perspective, businesses can make money and markets can still go down while businesses make money. What I’m getting at is that the rotation outside the dominance of the Magnificent Seven is actually a positive and constructive development from a global investor-sentiment standpoint.
ANDREW: What about the Canadian dollar? Do you see it going higher in tandem with this move into Canadian stocks?
DAVID: That would be something we would want to see as confirmation. A year ago in February, when tariff concerns were rising, I said the Canadian dollar had likely bottomed in early February, and that has been the case. Right now, we would want to see the Canadian dollar move into the 76- to 77-cent range. If it moved through that level, it would provide further evidence that this theme is continuing to develop.
ANDREW: You have some stock ideas for us. Nutrien is getting something of a tailwind right now with the jump in fertilizer prices as Gulf shipments are being cut off.
DAVID: First off, Nutrien — which is the old Potash and Agrium businesses — has been around a long time. These were strong stocks during the last commodity rally back in the early 2000s. From that perspective, I want to separate the longer-term setup from current headlines. Nutrien and the broader agriculture group actually broke out of fairly significant bases in January. That means prices had been moving sideways for a while and then broke higher. When we zoom out and look at the longer-term chart, I think there is certainly upside.
ANDREW: Is that tied to strengthening fertilizer markets over the longer term?
DAVID: Right. When you look across the industry — companies like Mosaic or CF Industries — they are starting to move in tandem. They are also benefiting from money flowing into the materials sector, which is actually quite small in the U.S. market. Investors start to look elsewhere, and Canada has a number of stocks that are part of that theme.
ANDREW: Broadcom, the chip maker. What draws you to that name?
DAVID: Broadcom is one of the largest semiconductor companies. It has been in a long-term uptrend on both an absolute basis and relative to the broader market. Investors like to see higher highs and higher lows, but also relative strength compared with the market. Broadcom has clearly been a leader in the semiconductor space. Even though technology more broadly has faded somewhat, semiconductors have held up well.
ANDREW: Although if you look at a one-year chart for Broadcom, it hasn’t done much lately. It has been fairly range-bound over the past couple of months.
DAVID: That’s true. Semiconductor stocks can move in cycles. Broadcom has seen a multi-month pullback, and it has tried to turn higher recently. Last week it reported earnings that were fairly positive, and the stock bounced off its 200-day moving average. At these levels, it looks pretty attractive.
ANDREW: Tesla is always controversial because of its CEO, but you still see promise in the shares.
DAVID: When you look at the chart — whether weekly or monthly — the stock is near what could be an all-time-high breakout. I know it carries a controversial label and attracts strong opinions on both sides. But if you simply look at what investors are doing with the stock, it is still in an uptrend.
ANDREW: Some bulls argue that robotics and self-driving technology are the real value drivers.
DAVID: That’s part of the challenge as investors. We often try to tie price moves to a specific piece of news. But collectively, investors often know more than any one individual. Tesla’s autonomous-driving technology is significant, and it could eventually be adopted by other car companies. That could be a very large opportunity.
ANDREW: Are you enthusiastic about self-driving cars and taxis?
DAVID: I am actually quite impressed with Tesla’s full self-driving system, which I use. It is remarkable. Anyone who hasn’t tried it should experience it firsthand. It really changes your perception.
ANDREW: And self-driving taxis could be interesting as well.
DAVID: Absolutely. The idea of getting into a car without a driver still sounds unusual, but if you go back five or six years, I was skeptical about self-driving technology in general. Now that I use it, I can see how it changes the experience of driving.
ANDREW: David, thanks very much indeed. Really appreciate it.
DAVID: Thank you. My pleasure.
ANDREW: David Cox, senior portfolio manager at Raymond James.
---
This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the March 11, 2026 interview with David Cox are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
