Picture this: It's 1971, and President Nixon just ended the gold standard, severing the dollar's convertibility to gold. The fixed price of $35 per ounce was history. Fast-forward to today—the U.S. national debt has ballooned past $35 trillion, political gridlock is the norm, and gold has just hit another record high. Coincidence? Hardly.

Gold's surge to record territory in 2025 isn't just another market anomaly. It's the result of a perfect storm: macroeconomic pressures, unprecedented central bank buying, and a world that feels increasingly unstable. But before you rush to load up on bullion, let's separate the golden truths from the fool's gold.

In this episode Canadian bond portfolio manager, Crista Caughlin, and balanced portfolio manager, Steven Visscher discuss Q2’s market and economic activity. Topics covered include “Liberation Day's” tariff shocks, central bank policies, inflation, and other themes.

Investors today confront the most serious Middle East crisis in decades. The Israel-Iran conflict has demonstrated how quickly regional tensions can escalate to unprecedented levels, with the potential for direct military confrontation creating ongoing market uncertainty.

In this episode, Justin Anderson, Mawer’s Chief Technology Officer, sits down to discuss the evolving “build-in vs. build-out” technology framework. Justin explains how Mawer approaches technology decisions—balancing vendor solutions with in-house customization—and shares practical examples from the firm, including proprietary solutions such as trade&MAWER and M42. The conversation explores how advances in AI and large language models are accelerating the shift toward more tailored, efficient solutions. He also offers insights for investors on what to look for in management teams as organizations adapt to rapid technological change.

Mark Rutherford, co-manager of Mawer’s Canadian large cap strategy, discusses the ongoing volatility in oil, the unique role of gold, the outlook for Canadian banks, and the potential impact of recent political changes. Mark also shares how the Mawer team is leveraging AI to enhance their investment process and decision-making. 

Join Peter Lampert, Portfolio Manager of Mawer's Emerging Markets strategy, as he takes you on a journey from Polish meat counters to UAE boardrooms, revealing how a disciplined bottom-up approach uncovers extraordinary opportunities in overlooked markets. 

Karan Phadke, portfolio manager for Mawer’s global small cap strategy, shares insights on how small caps are navigating trade policy volatility, the importance of proactive management, and Mawer’s unique approach to process improvement and AI integration in investment research.

Quality investing focuses on identifying and investing in companies with strong, enduring fundamentals, at the right price. These companies typically possess competitive advantages, maintain dominant market positions, exhibit comfortable financial leverage, generate sustainable free cash flow, and are led by management teams with a history of deploying capital effectively. This article will delve into the characteristics of quality companies, the metrics used to quantify quality, and the durability of quality through market cycles. 

Global equity co-manager, Manar Hassan-Agha, examines how tariff policies have created uncertainty for businesses, particularly impacting capital deployment decisions and supply chains. Manar explains how a focus on asset-light, service-oriented businesses with recurring revenue provides resilience during volatile periods, with limited direct exposure to tariff-vulnerable exports. Through specific company examples like Admiral Group, UnitedHealth, and a beauty products business, he illustrates how the team evaluates short-term price movements versus long-term intrinsic value, emphasizing the importance of disciplined position sizing and maintaining a balanced, diversified portfolio across geographies and market caps during uncertain times. 

In this episode, we discuss the defense industry's evolution with equity analyst Joshua Samuel. He highlights the historical underinvestment in European defense, the recent increase in defense spending, particularly Germany's program, and the strategic importance of land systems. 

Using Lin Wells' Pentagon memo and Hendrik Bessembinder's research, this article illustrates that companies with sustained modest returns over long periods significantly outperform short-term high performers, suggesting investors should focus on resilient businesses that can adapt across changing world orders rather than making predictions.

In this episode, portfolio manager, Peter Lampert discusses international equities and the impact of tariffs on portfolio management.