Beyond the Benchmark

In this episode of The Fundamentals, Valerie Payeur, Senior Institutional Portfolio Manager, sits down with Christopher Knapp, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Emerging Markets Equities, and Jeremy Schaal, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, U.S. and Global Equities, to discuss what lies beneath today’s increasingly concentrated market benchmarks. They explore how concentration takes different forms across Canada, the U.S., and emerging markets, how the global AI surge is creating correlations across sectors and regions, and why apparent diversification may not always translate into true diversification of risk. The discussion also examines the opportunities that can emerge beyond benchmark exposures and the role of fundamental research, valuation discipline, and active management in building more resilient portfolios.