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The FANGs. The FAANGs. The Magnificent 7. American tech stocks have all but dominated headlines over the last year—with each new group generating a fresh buzz-worthy name. The latest classification of highfliers? The Fab Four—Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft.
As we look to the next fiscal year, it’s worth taking a step back to compare performance against the hype. Stocks closed the first quarter of 2024 near all-time highs across developed markets, with the S&P 500 trading over 5200. While the popular narrative points to AI-driven stocks alone powering this performance, a closer look dispels that notion. The S&P 500 is market cap weighted—which means it puts more emphasis on the biggest names. The SPW index also tracks the constituents of S&P 500, but with equal weights. Viewed this way, the rally in stocks that followed pandemic lows relied not just on the darlings of the tech sector but on the whole market. Indeed, all sectors participated in it at one time or another.
Now, with valuations to future earnings stretched—the SPX 2024 Year-End – Forward PE is trading at 21.7—what will it take to keep the rally going? As investors seek new reasons to keep buying, all eyes will undoubtedly turn to earnings—and whether corporate profit growth can justify current market pricing. So far things are looking good: most U.S. companies have now reported first-quarter results, which show profit growth picking up.
—Varun Sharma, Managing Director, Exposure Management, Total Fund Management
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In the U.S., women in the early stages of their careers account for a larger share of managerial roles than ever before.
Article
March 8, 2024
{:en}
Women are approaching a critical milestone in the U.S. Entering 2024, those aged 25 to 34 accounted for a nearly 48% employment share in managerial roles—almost entirely closing a gap that has long favoured men. Progress on this front has been particularly swift. As recently as 2014, women in the early stages of their careers accounted for just 43% of managerial positions in the U.S.
What’s driving the push into management among younger women? A record gender gap in college attendance is one factor. In 2022, 48% of women with high school degrees enrolled in college compared to just 39% of men with the same degree. Their tendency to wait longer before starting a family (the average age of first birth has risen to 27.3 years compared with 25.6 years in 2011) has also likely enabled them to be more career-focused relative to men.
While younger women now seem to be competing on an equal footing to men at the beginning of their careers, it remains to be seen whether these gains will translate into greater representation later on. Indeed, women continue to face significant tradeoffs between starting families and their careers. And as the population ages, they are increasingly responsible for elder care. At the moment, growth in women’s representation in management at the mid and late career points continues to be stubbornly incremental—as does growth in their representation in senior management roles.
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Five Minutes with Michel Leduc
Michel Leduc, Global Head of Public Affairs and Communications, explores evolving industrial policy, concentration risks, and why investors
Video
January 31, 2024
“Challenge your beliefs”: Investing in times of geopolitical turbulence
Over the past several years, Ed Cass has seen first-hand how labour issues, political tensions and technological change have impacted asset
Article
January 31, 2024
Who will win the global AI race?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize the way the global economy works and how many businesses generate profits.
Article
January 31, 2024
{:}{:fr}
Les femmes approchent d’un jalon critique aux États-Unis. En 2024, les femmes de 25 à 34 ans occupaient près de 48 % des emplois dans les postes de direction, ce qui a presque entièrement comblé l’écart qui favorisait les hommes depuis longtemps. Les progrès à cet égard ont été particulièrement rapides. Pas plus tard qu’en 2014, les femmes en début de carrière ne représentaient que 43 % des postes de direction aux États-Unis.
Qu’est-ce qui pousse les femmes plus jeunes à se tourner vers la direction? L’écart record entre les sexes en matière de fréquentation d'établissement d'enseignement supérieur est un facteur. En 2022, 48 % des femmes ayant un diplôme d’études secondaires étaient inscrites à un établissement d'enseignement supérieur, comparativement à seulement 39 % des hommes ayant le même diplôme. La tendance à attendre plus longtemps avant de fonder une famille (l’âge moyen de la première naissance est passé à 27,3 ans, comparativement à 25,6 ans en 2011) leur a aussi probablement permis d’être plus axées sur la carrière par rapport aux hommes.
Même si les femmes plus jeunes semblent maintenant rivaliser sur un pied d’égalité avec les hommes au début de leur carrière, il reste à voir si ces gains se traduiront par une plus grande représentation plus tard. En effet, les femmes continuent d’être confrontées à d’importants compromis entre la fondation de leur famille et leur carrière. Et à mesure que la population vieillit, elles sont de plus en plus responsables des soins aux aînés. À l’heure actuelle, la croissance de la représentation des femmes au sein de la direction au milieu et à la fin de leur carrière se fait toujours obstinément petit à petit, tout comme la croissance de leur représentation au sein de la haute direction.
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Five Minutes with Michel Leduc
Michel Leduc, Global Head of Public Affairs and Communications, explores evolving industrial policy, concentration risks, and why investors
Video
January 31, 2024
“Challenge your beliefs”: Investing in times of geopolitical turbulence
Over the past several years, Ed Cass has seen first-hand how labour issues, political tensions and technological change have impacted asset
Article
January 31, 2024
Who will win the global AI race?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize the way the global economy works and how many businesses generate profits.
Article
January 31, 2024
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