By Scott Ronalds

We’ve said it many times, but 2012 was another reminder that market returns don’t often match up with what we’re seeing in the headlines. In many respects, the economic news in 2012 was ugly. The U.S. grappled with the fiscal cliff, mounting debt and political bickering. The sovereign debt and unemployment issues is Europe lingered, China was dealing with slowing growth, and weak commodity prices were front and center in Canada. Yet, most stock markets had a strong year.

The U.S. (S&P 500 Index) was up 16%, many European markets gained more than 20%, and Japan and other Asian markets also turned in double-digit returns. Canada (S&P/TSX Composite Index) was among the weakest, but still gained 7%.

Bond returns weren’t as strong, but the Canadian bond market (DEX Universe Bond Index) nonetheless returned 3.6% in an environment where 10-year government yields are less than 2%.

All said, it was a good year for investors, and especially Steadyhand investors. In this podcast, we review the performance of our funds and highlight some of the key messages from our Quarterly Report.

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