As inflation persists, Mackenzie expects investors to focus more on inflation-protecting funds to protect their portfolios. Mathews notes that there are several diversification options to manage inflation risk, including protected securities, gold, commodities, real estate and real estate investment trusts (REITs.
Mackenzie expects investors to buy more exposure to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology as more companies use them. So, Mathews expects more products and more assets to flow into him, although he warned that products that haven’t resonated or played up his investment thesis could be shut down.
Mackenzie also expects developed and emerging market ETFs to grow. They amounted to $8 billion in total net inflows in 2021, compared to $6 billion that would flow into Canadian- and US-focused ETFs.
“There are going to be a lot of benefits for investors going more global,” Mathews said, “so we anticipate that they will allocate more to both the index and active solutions available in Canada.”
Finally, asset allocation ETFs, which are all-in-one portfolios that offer investors different combinations of core equity and fixed income ETF exposure, are gaining popularity with Canadians. They accounted for 11% of Canadian ETF net inflows in 2021, and Mackenzie expects this to continue.
