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A bit, but we have to take stock of where we are. The market, in and of itself, is not actually all that expensive. This equity market has been driven by fundamental earnings growth. 

The recent damper has been the belief that the Fed may not be hiking enough, inflation's getting a bit out of control, and long-term bond yields are moving higher. Along with all the geopolitical stuff going on.

Take a step back. Mid-teens growth in equity markets as a whole, and pretty broadly distributed. If this were December 31, we'd say it's been a pretty good year.

There's a lot of stability at the top, but a lot of volatility underneath. Some of the biggest companies are being held back, while the bottom 300-400 companies in the US and globally have seen relatively good acceleration in the last few months.

That volatility underneath is the opportunity.

Generally speaking, it's the bigger companies that are more of an opportunity than potential risk today. What we used to call the big FAANG stocks are relatively cheap for the growth profiles that they offer. 

One reason could be concerns that the AI overbuild is too much and there will be breakthroughs in the future. That type of uncertainty has caused the mega-caps and giga-caps to lag where they should be from a fundamental basis.

Growth in mega-caps has actually been accelerating, but the belief is that acceleration today means a growth cliff in the future. How much time is there for AI? How much time is there for semiconductor stocks to feed into AI?

NVDA saying they're going to grow from 50% to 70% next year makes it one of the cheapest, high-margin stocks on the market. It's trading at 11x PE because people believe that 2029 will see growth fall off a cliff.

In the context of a global, diversified portfolio, these wouldn't cross his radar at the moment. In the context of having to own a bunch of stocks in Canada, his firm owns as little a weighting in banks as it possibly can.

If you look at any of the Big 6, they trade at 25-year highs on valuation. Our economy is up and down, largely driven by stronger energy exports for the time being. Canada doesn't have the most constructive economic backdrop. Banks have been pressing the pedal on loan growth last quarter.

Basically, they're priced for perfection. Due for a 20% correction? No, because bull markets don't die of old age. Forward return expectations from here for most, if not all, the bank stocks are exceptionally low.

Be happy with the dividend, and don't expect the stock price to move all that much.

Yes, if this was a conversation about JPM. No, if we're talking about the Canadian banks. If the Canadian banks were to have massive job cuts, that'll be a problem to navigate politically. You can't have banks firing tens of thousands of people in Canada when employment's really weak. It would be really bad optics.

The sector enjoys a very cosy, highly profitable oligopoly in Canada. You don't want to risk aggressive job cuts. To do so would be penny wise, pound foolish. He acknowledges that our banks are probably not the most efficient, especially compared to those in the US.

Costs are still running high. He still owns as part of a diversified healthcare allocation, but he's neutral on whether it's the best place for new $$. Over time, will probably give you 10-11% per year (decent compounding, but not a top pick idea).

Obesity is the main push, not much else in the pipeline. Not a particularly interesting buying opportunity, wait for it to get significantly cheaper. Still believes in the fundamental story. Monthly expense can be afforded by only a small cohort, and that's reaching saturation. Needs government and big insurance to absorb the cost as good for society.

Though beating and raising, the next 3 years won't see the returns you saw over the last few years.

Great company, well managed, making right decisions. Problem is that it's just really big -- $12T in assets. It largely represents the market, while hoping to drive operating leverage on top -- hard to do. If down 10-15%, you could buy it.

Luxury's lost its lustre. Chinese consumer represents about 1/4 of sales overall, and they've gravitated towards gold. Stock's cheap today, yield is reasonably attractive. Don't bank on a takeout as your base case. Won't grow as it has in the past. Average in.

As a whole, not the most defensible exchange. Exchanges are losing their lustre, as a parallel source of liquidity is showing up in global markets. Not a deeply attractive opportunity today. Instead, take a look at ICE.

Think of it as Canadian DELL. Largely tied to GOOG's capex, the TPU program, and networking. Benefiting from the super-cycle. Not sure in side the AI trade is the best place to park capital. As supply starts catching up with demand, chances to earn outsized margins starts compressing.

Not expensive today. Don't sell. Keep an open mind to ASML or TSM (for more stability).

A name to consider instead of CLS.

A name to consider instead of CLS.

He's at maximum weight today. Both divisions, software + Azure, are successful and growing fast. Software just has to be "good enough", and Fortune 500 companies climb aboard. Doing a decent job to win the future AI game. No problem starting a new position today.