Germany’s 10-year government bond, negative 0.5% during the pandemic, now yields about 3.46%, while the UK’s has climbed to 5.5% and Japan’s to about 3%. International equity portfolio manager David Ragan examines what the rise in global rates means for how the team values companies. He explains why higher discount rates change the math on future cash flows, how a bank in Ireland became attractively priced once its post-crisis turnaround was overlooked, and why the team treats China’s low risk-free rate as artificially depressed. Above all, he returns to a simple idea: the value of diversification.

Canadian investment-grade bonds returned roughly negative 3% in the third quarter of 2026, while stock markets in many parts of the world ended September at or near all-time highs. Institutional portfolio manager Kevin Minas and investment counsellor Stu Morrow review the quarter, from oil above $100 a barrel and a more hawkish Fed to bond yields at multi-year highs across developed markets. They also discuss hyperscalers borrowing over US$200 billion this year, a rally in which more than half of the S&P 500 sits 20% below its peak, and whether 40% in traditional bonds is still the right number. 

Canada is producing record amounts of oil and gas, yet about a third as many drilling rigs are working today as in 2014. Institutional portfolio manager Andrew Johnson, drawing on research by equity analyst Ian Turnbull of the Canadian small cap team, examines why more demand did not translate into more profit for the companies that drill the wells. The piece comes back to a simple idea: businesses that will be busy are not always the businesses that will be profitable.