In October, the S&P/TSX, S&P 500 and MCSI ACWI ex USA decreased by 3.2%, 2.1% and 4.1% respectively
At the end of the 12-month period ending October 31, the S&P/TSX increased by 0.4%, the S&P 500 did better and grew by 10.1% while the MSCI ACWI ex USA performed best and increased by 12.7%.
In October, the NQICAT decreased by 0.7% while it climbed 11.2% on an annual basis.
The best TSX sectors for the month of October were Consumer Staples up 1.9%, Energy up 1.4%, and Telecom down 0.6%.
The worst performing sectors were Healthcare, down 11.0%, Financials, down 4.9%, and Utilities, down 4.5%.
The best monthly performers in NQICAT were Stella-Jones Inc up 11.2%, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc up 9.4%, and Enghouse Systems Limited up 8.6%.
At the opposite, the weakest contributors were Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. down 21.2%, TFI International down 11.8%, and EQB Inc down 8.2%.
October Transactions
The model required a higher sector allocation towards Consumer Discretionary and Financials, while reducing the Telecommunication and Energy sectors.
We had to sell Telus Corporation (T) since it was the only telecommunication company held in the portoflio.
We sold Parex Resources Inc (PXT) mainly due to its lower SP score compared to the other energy stocks in the portfolio, namely Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) and Imperial Oil Limited (IMO).
To increase our Financial sector allocation, we bought IA Financial Corp (IAG) due to its strong SP score and life insurance exposure.
To increase our Consumer Discretionary sector allocation, we bought Gildan Activewear Inc (GIL) due to its strong SP score and robust profitability in all market environments compared to other Consumer Discretionary stocks.
