Articles by Geoff Castle

Fixed Income – February 2024

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights: Positive contributors included convertible notes from Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. and Bandwidth Inc., and from our position in Lucid Group. A few weak spots included our position in the credit of SSR Mining Inc due […]

March 6, 2024

Fixed Income – January 2024

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights: Through December and January, the Fund initiated a position in the bonds of Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. which is the largest worldwide pure-play company in the mining and refining of platinum group metals. January saw […]

February 6, 2024

Strategic Growth and Income Fund – Q4 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

“The main reason investors struggle with how to react to bad news is that they really haven’t figured out why they own the stocks they own.” – Bill Nygren Highlights Solid quarter caps off positive […]

January 19, 2024

Fixed Income – December 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights: December’s outperformance was driven by some deeply discounted and distressed lines including the preferred shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which rallied more than 30%. We added to our position in McDermott International […]

January 4, 2024

Fixed Income – November 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights: November saw a major turn in bond market direction leading to positive returns throughout the fixed income markets. Investment grade securities staged a huge turnaround and there were some very strong returns amongst higher […]

December 7, 2023

Fixed Income – October 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights: October was a volatile month characterized by sharply lower risk asset prices combined with higher risk-free rates across the curve. We are generally constructive on the bond market heading into the end of the […]

November 6, 2023

Strategic Growth and Income Fund – Q3 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

“It’s not whether you’re right or wrong that’s important, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong.” – George Soros Highlights The Fund recorded positive performance […]

October 27, 2023

Fixed Income – September 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights: The Fund had several pockets of strength in September, including energy-related securities, a pharma company, and U.S.-based marijuana companies. Higher risk-free rates caused most bonds within the Fund to fall in price. We have […]

October 10, 2023

Fixed Income – August 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights: • Positive contributors to the Fund were Cineworld Group PLC and Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae). Detractors included Canadian rate-reset preferred shares due to negative price momentum, and Emergent BioSolutions, which we have […]

September 7, 2023

Fixed Income – July 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights: Positive contributors included First Majestic Silver Corp., which rallied from multi-year lows, and our holdings of Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc. notes, which attracted bids due to their attractive double-digit yield to a 2025 put […]

August 8, 2023

Strategic Growth and Income Fund – Q2 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights Within the Fund’s equity holdings, strong positive contributions came from Onex Corp. (TSX: ONEX), ARC Resources Ltd. (TSX: ARX), and Burford Capital Ltd. (NYSE: BUR). Detractors included Brookfield Corporation (TSX: BN), Texas Pacific Land […]

July 20, 2023

Fixed Income – June 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

HIGHLIGHTS  Positive contributors included: Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to be acquired leading to a gain of more than 10% in that position; OPKO Health Inc. on the FDA’s approval of the company’s NGENLA growth hormone therapy; […]

July 7, 2023

Fixed Income – May 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

HIGHLIGHTS  Overall, a choppy month from a combination of wider credit spreads, higher sovereign rates and uncertainty surrounding the U.S. debt ceiling. Positive contributors were Cineworld Group PLC, Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc, and Emergent BioSolutions Inc […]

June 7, 2023

Fixed Income – April 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

HIGHLIGHTS  The strongest contributors to the Fund were Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc., Emergent BioSolutions Inc., Esperion Therapeutics Inc., and Bausch Health. Decliners in the Fund included McDermott International Inc., PHI Group Inc., and American Tire Distributors […]

May 4, 2023

Balanced Funds – Q1 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

HIGHLIGHTS The Fund returned 2.6% in the first quarter. Over the last three years, performance has been strong at 17.3%1. One of the major areas of market concern during the quarter was the meltdown of […]

May 1, 2023

Bond Universe – Jan-Mar 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights For the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Fund generated a 1.9% return.[1] Several high-quality, defensive, relatively longer-dated lines, such as Loblaw Companies Ltd., Verisign Inc. and Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. bolstered performance. […]

April 13, 2023

Fixed Income – March 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund returned -0.5%[1] in March. Although the period was a strong one for the high-grade part of the portfolio, a few idiosyncratic events in particular lines and widening spreads in lower-tier […]

April 10, 2023

Fixed Income – February 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

HIGHLIGHTS  The Pender Corporate Bond Fund had a relatively strong performance amidst a market that saw larger price declines in both high yield and investment grade bond benchmarks. We added a position in the 2028 […]

March 6, 2023

Fixed Income – January 2023

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights Most of the holdings of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund rose as lower benchmark yields coincided with narrowing spreads for corporate bonds. Significant performers included positions in discounted convertible bonds as holdings in Eventbrite […]

February 6, 2023

Balanced Funds – Q4 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

HIGHLIGHTS Our equity exposure to energy companies led the way with Spartan Delta Corp. (TSX: SDE), ARC Resources Ltd. (TSX: ARX), and Texas Pacific Land Corporation (NYSE: TPL) among the top five contributors. Defense contractor […]

January 19, 2023

Bond Universe – Oct-Dec 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

For the three months ended December 31, 2022, the Pender Bond Universe Fund generated a 0.8%[1] return, outperforming its benchmark by approximately 70bp. For the full year of 2022, the Fund returned -6.4%1, realizing a […]

January 13, 2023

Fixed Income – December 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights Positive contributors in December were Chinese property developer Country Garden Holdings Company Limited, Emergent BioSolutions Inc., and Carriage Services, Inc., while detractors included National CineMedia LLC, and rising government bond yields that drove investment […]

January 6, 2023

Fixed Income – November 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

HIGHLIGHTS We expect a further easing of inflation pressures as consumers and companies digest the impact of significantly higher rates. We find the prices of relatively strong corporate credits in the three to seven-year tenors […]

December 6, 2022

Fixed Income – October 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights During October there were some bright spots and some challenges, the latter from lower prices across the investment-grade bond complex reacting to a higher yield curve. Bright spots included our positions in McDermott International, […]

November 7, 2022

Balanced Funds – Q3 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights Policymakers in most parts of the world have raised rates this year with the count and pace continuing to mount. The US Bond Market has had a -0.3% annualized return over the last five […]

October 28, 2022

Fixed Income – September 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

Highlights: The Fund has thus far held above the summer lows, all the while seeing much improved forward-looking returns available in credit markets. The four factors to identify good entry points are: price, positioning, flows […]

October 7, 2022

Fixed Income – August 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund continued its rebound from the summer’s lows, returning 0.4[1] in August. Download PDF The Fund’s return was bolstered by strong line-item performance in some high conviction credits including Intercept Pharmaceuticals, […]

September 9, 2022

Bond Universe – Q2 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

For the three months ending July 31, the Fund generated a small but positive return of 0.1%[1], breaking the string of negative quarters that have resulted from the aggressive rate hiking cycle the Fed and […]

August 15, 2022

Fixed Income – July 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund emerged from July with a positive return of 1.9%[1]. The compressed spring of lower bond prices unwound a bit in the month as a potential slowdown in inflation provided the […]

August 5, 2022

Balanced Funds – Q2 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

Dear Unitholders, The second quarter of 2022 was challenging for investors. Macro trends from the first quarter of the year continued and the headwinds intensified. The war in Ukraine, elevated commodity prices, and persistent and […]

July 22, 2022

Fixed Income – June 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund emerged from June, a volatile month, down 3.2%[1]. Although the result was hardly what we had hoped for, the month did seem to show signs of slowing inflation which may […]

July 8, 2022

Bond Universe – April 2022

Written by Geoff Castle

In the quarter ended April 30, 2022, the Fund outperformed its benchmark. With the FTSE/TMX Canada Universe Bond Index down 7.0% over the past three months, the Pender Bond Universe Fund’s (PBUF) Class F return […]

May 12, 2022

Fixed Income – Manager’s Commentary – July 2021

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund netted -0.2%[1] in July, as idiosyncratic factors outweighed an otherwise positive fixed income market. Download PDF The Fund encountered softness led by energy services player FTSI, an issue sometimes prone […]

August 6, 2021

Fixed Income – Manager’s Commentary – September 2020

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund gained 0.5%[1] in September, continuing the positive trend that the Fund began after March 2020. The Fund’s performance came amidst an environment of modestly declining risk-free interest rates and a more challenging high yield market that […]

October 5, 2020

Manager’s Commentary – Geoff Castle – May 2017

Written by Geoff Castle

The Pender Corporate Bond Fund returned 0.5% in May. Leading this performance was our position in the distressed credit of Global Brokerage Inc, which surprised creditors positively with a $56M non-core asset disposition. We saw […]

June 5, 2017

Manager’s Commentary – Geoff Castle – December 2015

Written by Geoff Castle

Monthly Update The Pender Corporate Bond Fund returned -1.6%* in December. Price declines were fairly broad-based across the Fund but particularly impacted longer-duration and lower-rated securities. Most of the price movement took place in the […]

January 7, 2016