Libsyn Directory

AGF's David Stonehouse: A Narrower Path Forward for Markets in 2026

Release Date: 12/22/2025

Impulses Driving Risk Appetite are Likely Transitory, feat. Aahan Menon

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Aahan Menon joined us to discuss Prometheus Research's investment framework, which is based on economic forecasting of growth, inflation, and liquidity. He emphasized the importance of market regime confirmation to mitigate the risk of being wrong in economic forecasting.

The Importance of Attracting and Engaging Millennial Clients with Justin Castelli

Insight is Capital™ Podcast

Advisors are currently facing some significant challenges when it comes to working with millennial clients. The challenge lies in the fact that most high-net-worth clients are around 70 years old, while millennials are looking for advisors who can offer innovative, non-traditional approaches.

Mike Green: The Fed Overreacted to 2022's Inflation Pulse. Now what?

Insight is Capital™ Podcast

Simplify Asset Management's Chief Strategist, Michael Green, a prolific researcher and writer, with a huge and popular following on Twitter, where he tweets as @ProfPlum 99 and Real Vision where he shares his thoughts and industry contacts in his Mike Green – In Conversation series, as well as a famed observer of probabilistic market and economic outcomes, provides a deep dive into the current economic landscape and his investment strategy. The market is in a state of uncertainty due to various factors,

137 Alfred Lee – 2023 Outlook & Strategy: 50 / 30 / 20

Insight is Capital™ Podcast

Alfred Lee, Director, Portfolio Manager, and Investment Strategist at BMO Global Asset Management joined us to discuss his outlook for 2023. 2022 was a year of challenges in the financial markets, with investors facing a lot of uncertainty. For 2023, we talk about whether inflation and interest rates are moving in a positive direction.

Erika Toth - ETFs, Credentials, Strategies & Advisory Tools: Level Up Your Competitiveness

Insight is Capital™ Podcast

Erika Toth shares her first hand perspective about the work she's doing with advisors to assist them into the realm of top shelf wealth management. This was a comprehensive talk about the trends shaping the wealth management business, the evolution investment advisors have undertaken to become Fee-based, to earn PM designations, and to level up and grow their business, to go toe-to-toe with ICPMs (Investment Counsel PMs).

Alfonso Peccatiello: Macro 301 – Behind today's most crucial macroeconomic, market concerns

Insight is Capital™ Podcast

Alfonso Peccatiello, Founder, CEO, & Macro Strategist at The Macro Compass (https://themacrocompass.com) joins us for an amazing deep dive into what is behind all of today's macro-economic and macro-market considerations and discussions. If you're interested in getting at what is at the heart of today's volatile inflation, interest rate, bond yield, and monetary policy considerations across all regions including Europe and the US, don't miss this conversation.

Richard Heft: How to add gravity to your client communications

Insight is Capital™ Podcast

This is part two of our thought provoking conversation with Richard Heft, President and Co-Founder at EXT. Marketing, which is in my opinion, one of Canada's premier expert financial communications and marketing firms. I'm always excited to talk to Richard; he's one of those folks who talks to everyone in the business. He always has a ton of takeaways and insight to share, every time.

Richard Heft: Markets, Inflation, and Missing the Point on ESG

Insight is Capital™ Podcast

We recently had a thought provoking conversation with Richard Heft, President and Co-Founder at EXT. Marketing in Toronto. We like talking to Richard as he as a uniquely qualified perspective on the entire Canadian investment industry, as one of the heads of what is arguably one of the best institutional communications consulting and production teams, now on both sides of the border. Along with EXT.'s co-founder, Jillian Bannister, Richard leads a group of communications and marketing experts working with N

132 Barometer's David Burrows: Whats What in This Stormy and Tricky Market?

Insight is Capital™ Podcast

David Burrows, President & Chief Investment Strategist, at Barometer Capital Management joins us for an in depth discussion on the markets, inflation, monetary policy, outlook, his base case, and exchanges his contrarian case for what possibly lies in the future vis-à-vis domestic and global economics, as well as sharing a few of his surprising ideas regarding what he's doing in the alternative investing space.

The Diversification Power of Real Liquid Alternatives with Jeff Evans and Travis Wetsch, TD Asset Management

Insight is Capital™ Podcast

Joining us to talk about how liquid alternatives and real assets are integral to diversifying portfolios against today's inflation and rising rates are Jeff Evans and Travis Wetsch from TD Asset Management.

More Episodes

In this episode of Insight Is Capital, host Pierre Daillie sits down with David Stonehouse, Interim CIO and Head of North American Specialty Investments at AGF Investments, for a wide-ranging but grounded discussion on what lies ahead for investors as the cycle matures.

Stonehouse frames 2026 as a constructive but narrower environment—one supported by global monetary easing, rising fiscal stimulus, and resilient earnings growth, yet constrained by elevated valuations, softer labor markets, and geopolitical uncertainty. The conversation carefully unpacks how tariffs have shifted from an economic “earthquake” to a lingering aftershock, why inflation fears may be overstated near-term, and how investors can think about regional diversification beyond a heavily concentrated U.S. market.

Rather than offering bold predictions, the discussion emphasizes flexibility, balance, and readiness—highlighting why equal-weight equity exposure, selective credit, emerging markets, and a strategic cash buffer may matter more than ever as uncertainty rises but opportunity persists.

🔑 3 Key Takeaways

2026 looks constructive—but with less room for error. Global easing cycles, fiscal stimulus, deregulation, and healthy earnings support risk assets, but elevated valuations and optimistic sentiment increase vulnerability to shocks.

Tariffs are no longer a shock, but still a drag. The biggest tariff surprise is behind us; clarity—not resolution—matters most now, allowing businesses and consumers to adapt even as trade frictions persist.

Diversification and optionality matter more than conviction. With U.S. equities richly valued after a long run, Stonehouse sees relative opportunity in emerging markets, Japan, and potentially Canada—while cash provides flexibility if volatility returns.

⏱️ Timestamped Chapters

• 00:00 – Markets heading into 2026: momentum with less margin for error

• 02:00 – David Stonehouse’s career path and investment philosophy

• 03:00 – The six macro tailwinds shaping 2026

• 08:00 – Tariffs: from economic earthquake to manageable aftershocks

• 12:00 – Labor markets, immigration, AI, and the “no-hire, no-fire” economy

• 17:00 – Fiscal stimulus, affordability pressures, and the K-shaped economy

• 22:00 – Central banks, bond markets, and the myth of ‘new QE’

• 31:00 – Inflation, disinflation, and long-term yield risks

• 38:00 – Why equities can still rise—but valuations matter

• 43:00 – Regional opportunities: U.S., Canada, emerging markets, Japan

• 52:00 – Portfolio positioning: equities, fixed income, credit, and cash

• 55:00 – Final thoughts on risk, resilience, and flexibility

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