Financial markets at a glance – December 31, 2021
FINANCIAL MARKETS
AT A GLANCE
DECEMBER 31, 2021
Canadian and U.S. equity sectors were mostly positive with a few notable exceptions. We saw a flattening of
the yield curve. As a result, government bonds outperformed corporate bonds, and subsequently longer term
bonds outperformed short term bonds. Here are the financial markets at a glance.
CANADIAN EQUITIES
US EQUITIES
Sector
9 of the 11 Canadian equity sectors ended the quarter in positive territory. Here are the best and worst performing sectors relative to last quarter.
Sector
10 of the 11 U.S. equity sectors ended the quarter
in positive territory. Here are the best and worst
performing sectors relative to last quarter.
WORST PERFORMERS
BEST PERFORMERS
Energy
Materials
Financials
14.2% 
10.7%
9.4%
Communications
Services
Information
Technology
Healthcare
4.1%
-3.5% 
-20.8%
Real Estate
Information
Technology
17.2%
16.3%
Financials
4.3%
-0.3%
Company size performance comparison
Though small and medium companies were positive over the quarter, they underperformed large-sized companies.
Company size performance comparison
Though small companies were positive over the quarter, they underperformed medium and large-sized companies.
What’s working/What’s not working
From a style perspective, both value and growth
were positive but growth underperformed the
index.
Quality and minimum volatility were the
top performing factors this quarter, while
momentum trailed last.
What’s working/What’s not working
Growth outperformed value this quarter, but
both underperformed the index.
Quality was the only factor to outperform the
broader market, with momentum being the
weakest over the quarter, but still positive.
GLOBAL EQUITIES
FIXED INCOME
Regional
Company size performance comparison
Global small companies were positive but were
outpaced by large companies over the quarter.
Small Companies
Large Companies
What’s working/What’s not working
From a style perspective, growth outperformed
value and the MSCI World Index.
Quality was the only factor that outperformed
the index. Momentum, despite a 5.5% gain
underperformed the broader market.
We saw a flattening of the yield curve this quarter,
with yields in the middle and long end moving
lower, while short-term bond yields rose.
Bond performance
Bond yield
Bond yields were mixed with shorter date bond yields increasing while longer date bonds fell over the quarter.
Yield on the Canada 2-year rose from 0.53% to 0.95%.
Canada 5-year rose from 1.11% to 1.25%.
Canada 10-year fell from 1.51% to 1.42%.
Canada long bond fell from 1.98% to 1.68%.
Source: Morningstar Research Inc. as of December 31, 2021. © 2022 Morningstar Research Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
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March 2022
