Newsletter | Summer 2026 Market Update: A Note of Caution in a Chorus of Corporate Earnings

Summer 2026  - Newsletter #27

I had the chance again this year to write the summer edition of this newsletter in cottage country; for the last number of years that has meant spending some time in beautiful Bala, Ontario, near the shores of Lake Muskoka. This year’s trip to Bala included an evening spent at the locally famous ‘KEE to Bala’, a small venue that has a long history of hosting some very big acts (including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, The Tragically Hip, and Blue Rodeo). We were there to watch a Fleetwood Mac cover band perform the album ‘Rumors.’ The audience was a somewhat binary generational split of fans who would have had fond memories of Stevie Nicks belting out those songs live in the late seventies, as well as fans who may have grown up listening to their parents’ favourite music. Either way, everyone knew the words, and it was a lovely evening spent with my wife, who was one of those who grew up with those songs playing on cassette in her family’s living room.

The next day marked the start of the drafting process for this newsletter, so I suppose I had music on the mind. The bass line of our three previous letters expressed a note of caution to our clients, however, markets have so far advanced meaningfully, with little interruption (except for the April 2025 “Liberation Day” correction, as well as some volatility this spring due to events in the Middle East). During this time, we have deliberately moderated our recommended allocation to equities to 90% of each client’s target. While we are not changing that recommendation at this time, corporate earnings have generally kept up with lofty market expectations, providing some justification for the performance we have seen. I will touch further on this below.

Click here to download the full newsletter