As investors in Canada look to maximize their returns this year and beyond, experts say it’s important to closely monitor the economic situation south of the border as it will have an outsized influence on global equity markets, for better or worse. Andrey Omelchak, president and CIO at LionGuard Capital Management, told BNNBloomberg.ca in a December interview that in 2025, Canadian investors should look to get exposure to U.S. markets. “U.S.
market dynamics are very positive and I’m of the view that they’ll probably continue, although we don’t have a crystal ball… there are very big developments coming up with the forthcoming new administration,” he said. “They’re going to lower taxes. That’s of course a direct benefit to the profitability of pretty much all U.S. companies. There’s deregulation coming, that’s a huge help to various industries; financials of course, and other industries in general.”U.S. president-elect Donald Trump will return to the White House later this month, and market sentiment around U.S. stock performance during a second Trump presidency has been on the rise ever since his re-election in November. But John Zechner, chairman and founder of J. Zechner Associates, told BNNBloomberg.ca that investors should be careful not to be swept up in the frenzy that’s shot U.S. valuations up in recent months. “My issue always is that when you pay for something that hasn’t happened yet, what’s your risk if it doesn’t happen? And we’re getting that in the stock market,” he said in a December interview. “You’re already paying. I mean look at how much of a rally you’ve had in the companies that would be beneficiaries of this; the financials… you’re already paying for it, so I guess that’s my issue a little bit – now it comes time to deliver.”Zechner said that when it comes to investing in Canadian equities in 2025, companies may have more attractive valuations as they tend to be tied to the global economy to a larger degree than many U.S. firm