Mawer Quarterly

Fourth Quarter | 2022

Equity markets had a positive return in the fourth quarter offering a brief reprieve from the turmoil that roiled markets in 2022—although December saw many give back some of these gains. And, after one of the worst years on record, Canadian bonds finished near flat for the quarter. In the end, 2022 goes down as a difficult year for financial markets dominated by widespread inflation, higher interest rates, geopolitical tensions, and global growth concerns.

Third Quarter | 2022

Numerous equity markets declined (in local currency terms) during a volatile third quarter, despite some optimism early in the period that led to a brief rally. Many central banks have continued to hike interest rates and the U.S. Federal Reserve has been unequivocal about its plan to fight inflation; ultimately, how far and how fast the U.S. Federal Reserve will go has been a key factor driving markets.

Second Quarter | 2022

Investors have had a punishing year so far in 2022, and in the second quarter there were even fewer places to hide. Many themes from the beginning of the year have persisted, most notably inflation continued to reach multi-decade highs.

First Quarter | 2022

2022 started with a difficult and volatile period for financial markets globally. The long rally in equities, since the COVID-19 recession, came under stress with central banks turning more hawkish towards inflation. This was compounded by the uncertainties caused by the war in Ukraine including the resulting impact on commodity markets.

Fourth Quarter | 2021

Global equity markets performed strongly in the fourth quarter of 2021, as generally strong company earnings releases outweighed any market nervousness over the potential accelerated tightening of monetary policy. An exception was emerging markets, which continued to face headwinds in China related to regulatory changes and imbalances in the property market (heavily indebted property developers). Canadian bonds also finished the quarter with positive returns.

Third Quarter | 2021

Equity market returns were mixed in the third quarter with some regions posting gains and others modest losses, after a difficult September gave back some of the strength from earlier in the period. Weakness in emerging markets was notable, as increased regulatory risk in China triggered headwinds for the market. Canadian bond returns were also modestly negative as yields rose late in September.