Monthly commentary - Mackenzie Greenchip Team

Written by the Mackenzie Greenchip Team

Portfolio Manager Monthly Insights

Key takeaways

Environmental indexes and the Greenchip strategy slightly outperformed during the month, with the Greenchip strategy positive in Canadian dollar terms every month of 2025.  

Canada-domiciled copper miners were standout performers (all up more than 10%) in December, while other material exposures such as Australian metals recycler SIMS or Canadian high purity iron miner Champion Iron also contributed.

Macroeconomic recap

Equity markets closed a remarkable 2025 notching further small gains in December.  Some early weakness was rectified with another interest rate cut in the US announced in the middle of the month, and trading stayed positive through the low-liquidity holiday period.  Along with the rate cut, the Federal Reserve also restarted its Quantitative Easing program at a hefty $40 billion per month.  This may have been spurred by the fact that long-term (10-year and higher) interest rates are higher now than they were when the Fed began cutting rates nearly two years ago.  As the dominant global currency turns further to outright monetization, and as geopolitical tensions ratchet higher with Venezuela and multiple ocean vessel seizures in focus this month, trading in commodity markets is signaling potential momentous change.  Silver gained almost 30% in December alone, while nearly tripling for the year, and London’s metal exchange began to delay physical delivery to industrial users (among which the largest is the solar sector).  Gold and copper followed pace to a lesser degree, as did most industrial metals.  Energy and agricultural commodities remain much more subdued as they are not stockpiled in the same proportion and fossil energy has faced waning demand while agriculture has rising supply due to recent bumper crops.

Current positioning and Outlook

Environmental indexes and the Greenchip strategy slightly outperformed, with the Greenchip strategy positive in Canadian dollar terms every month of 2025.  Canada-domiciled copper miners were the standout performers (all up more than 10%) while other material exposures such as Australian metals recycler SIMS or Canadian high purity iron miner Champion Iron also contributed.  On the downside, Brazil, which has been among the world’s best performing markets in 2025, saw a drawdown in stock prices and the currency after Jair Bolsonaro threw his support behind his son Flavio as the right-wing candidate for elections in October 2026.  Offshore wind developer Orsted and New England utility Eversource were also weak as the Trump administration issued a second stop-work order on large Atlantic offshore developments.  An injunction was issued against the first stop-work order, and we expect a similar outcome with this latest attempt.

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