Media
Milestones
2001
2003
2003
2008
2013
2021
Forstrong Global is founded on the conviction that Canadian investors need to become more globally focused as a result of a more interconnected world
2001
Tyler Mordy joins the firm from Deutsche Bank
2003
The firm’s flagship Global Balanced and Global Growth strategies are launched
2003
Forstrong’s Global Income strategy goes live
2008
iA Financial Group acquires 73.3% of Forstrong Global as part of broader acquisition
2013
Employees and independent shareholders buy out iA Financial Group’s majority stake as company signals expansion plans
2021
Unearthing the story behind the story
An investment regime change is happening, and Tyler Mordy believes Forstrong Global’s macro approach can help investors benefit
Forstrong’s macro view and investment strategies, Mordy stresses, offset the high volatility of Canadian assets. “We offer exposure to investment classes that are not well represented in traditionally balanced or domestic-centric portfolios,” he says. “And what our track record shows is that this macro style should offer a return stream that is differentiated from classic stock-picking approaches and even pairs very well with them.”
For Canadians living in a highly cyclical economy, this has become increasingly crucial to get right. Breaking down this new world order requires an understanding of not just the initial effect, but the second- and third-order effects of significant trends and events. There’s always a story behind the story – and the carbon transition is a prime example of how Forstrong stands out. While policy debates rage, COP26 takes the headlines and pro-fossil-fuel advocates argue with renewable enthusiasts, the copper industry is stealthily emerging as a key macro trend. As the
electrification of the world marches on, copper is critical to its infrastructure. Take that deeper, and you see that Latin America – and in particular Chile – is the world's largest copper export producer.
“Chilean assets are extremely cheap right now, and they are on very few investors’ radar,” Mordy says. “If there is an investment topic that is neatly framed, with a strong polarity of views, then there is usually another story behind that. Our team digs into the fundamentals the causality to determine where capital is likely to flow.”
Going this deep often trips up investors who are too ideological or political, which can lead to an “unhelpful, rigid mindset”, Mordy says. "Many clients can sense change is happening but struggle to articulate it". That’s where Forstrong’s strategic foresight comes in. While many firms can’t respond quickly enough, Forstrong’s investment team is able to rapidly address the confusion by bringing a macro framework to interpret the path forward. Many global super trends around interest rates, demographics, the carbon transition and secular stagnation are coming to an end all at the same time.
“We are at the endpoint of so many macro trends that have been with us for a long time,” Mordy says. “Our team's key focus is ensuring that we correctly anticipate these trends, understand their impact on capital markets and best position our clients to benefit from them.”
It’s enough to leave even Nostradamus perplexed, but Forstrong Global is already three steps ahead, asking the questions nobody else is asking to see what nobody else is seeing.
Spotlight
Forstrong Global has a well-earned reputation for global macro thought leadership. The company’s top-down macro thematic approach identifies significant long-term secular trends and their underlying influences on capital markets. Focusing on investment themes versus securities selection allows the firm to deliver investment strategies that offset the high volatility of Canadian assets – with a goal of delivering safer, more predictable returns for clients.
Company Profile
15
TEAM MEMBERS
200
COMBINED YEARS OF GLOBAL INVESTING EXPERIENCE
45%
EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP
$1.5 billion
ASSETS MANAGED FOR INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS, FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS AND INSTITUTIONS
18 years
TRACK RECORD ACTIVELY MANAGING GLOBAL STRATEGIES EXCLUSIVELY WITH ETFS (the longest in
the world)
Bio
Spotlight
Milestones
Media
Accolades
Company Profile
Years of Experience
21
Fast Facts
Started career at Deutsche Bank Asset Management in London, UK
Built an investment team at Forstrong with an expertise in extensive global macro research and analysis
Named as one of the top ETF strategists in the world and a “money manager for the modern era” by ETF.com
Tyler Mordy
CEO and CIO at Forstrong Global
Career highlight
Read on
"The typical balanced portfolio, split roughly between North American stocks and Canadian bonds, is a recipe for disaster"
Tyler Mordy,
Forstrong Global
"Our track record shows that our macro style should offer a return stream that is differentiated from classic stock-picking approaches and even pairs very well with them"
Tyler Mordy
Forstrong Global
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Media
Milestones
Spotlight
Fundserv is the indispensable connectivity hub for the Canadian investment industry. Headquartered in Toronto, we electronically connect Manufacturers, Distributors, and Intermediaries, enabling them to buy, sell, and transfer investment funds. With more than 100 employees, Fundserv serves hundreds of members—executing up to 63 million yearly network transactions—and provides online access to more than 70,000 investment fund products.
Established in 1993, Fundserv is a private corporation that is owned by the industry we serve. Our 10 shareholders are a cross-section of Manufacturers, Distributors, and Service Providers who represent our members.
We operate using a cost-recovery model, meaning any unused profit may be rebated back to our members. In addition to our network and applications, we lead and facilitate industry committees and working groups that promote automation initiatives and establish the industry’s electronic standards.
By ensuring every trade is processed timely, accurately, and securely, Fundserv has rightfully earned a reputation for service excellence—a hallmark of more than 25 years in the investment industry.
Company Profile
Karen Adams
President and CEO at Fundserv
Career highlight
Before becoming CEO of Fundserv, Karen Adams held a variety of leadership roles around the world – and she learned that listening and understanding are key to both providing service and developing talent
Read on
Bio
Spotlight
Milestones
Media
Accolades
Company Profile
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Media
Milestones
2011
2012
2015
2016
2019
2021
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2011
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2012
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2015
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2016
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2019
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2021
Unearthing the story behind the story
Karen Adams has had a remarkable journey to her current role as CEO of Fundserv. Originally from Toronto, Adams earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics at Queens University, followed by an MBA in international finance at the University of British Columbia. After graduating, she set off across the globe, holding various positions with HSBC that took her to London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul and Mumbai.
That global experience gave Adams a unique perspective, prompting her to develop a leadership style that’s based on developing relationships with each individual, listening and understanding to help them reach their potential. That approach goes well beyond her own team, allowing Fundserv to succeed in creating solutions for its members.
“Having worked in many different countries, people ask if I am an expert in multicultural leadership,” Adams says. “I always say there is no such thing because that assumes you manage people based on their background. I have learned that people all want the same things: to develop our careers, give our kids a good future, etc. When she returned to Canada learned that people all
Forstrong’s macro view and investment strategies, Mordy stresses, offset the high volatility of Canadian assets. “We offer exposure to investment classes that are not well represented in traditionally balanced or domestic-centric portfolios,” he says. “And what our track record shows is that this macro style should offer a return stream that is differentiated from classic stock-picking approaches and even pairs very well with them.”
For Canadians living in a highly cyclical economy, this has become increasingly crucial to get right. Breaking down this new world order requires an understanding of not just the initial effect, but the second- and third-order effects of significant trends and events. There’s always a story behind the story – and the carbon transition is a prime example of how Forstrong stands out. While policy debates rage, COP26 takes the headlines and pro-fossil-fuel advocates argue with renewable enthusiasts, the copper industry is stealthily emerging as a key macro trend. As the electrification of the world marches on, copper is critical to its infrastructure. Take that deeper, and you see that Latin America – and in particular Chile – is the world's largest copper export producer.
“Chilean assets are extremely cheap right now, and they are on very few investors’ radar,” Mordy says. “If there is an investment topic that is neatly framed, with a strong polarity of views, then there is usually another story behind that. Our team digs into the fundamentals the causality to determine where capital is likely to flow.”
Going this deep often trips up investors who are too ideological or political , which can lead to an “unhelpful, rigid mindset”, Mordy says. "Many clients can sense change is happening but struggle to articulate it. That’s where Forstrong’s strategic foresight comes in. While many firms can’t respond quickly enough, Forstrong’s investment team is able to rapidly address the confusion by bringing a macro framework to interpret the path forward. Many global super trends around interest rates, demographics, the carbon transition and secular stagnation are coming to an end all at the same time.
“We are at the endpoint of so many macro trends that have been with us for a long time,” Mordy says. “Our team's key focus is ensuring that we correctly anticipate these trends, understand their impact on capital markets and best position our clients to benefit from them.”
It’s enough to leave even Nostradamus perplexed, but Forstrong Global is already three steps ahead, asking the questions nobody else is asking to see what nobody else is seeing.
Spotlight
Fundserv is the indispensable connectivity hub for the Canadian investment industry. Headquartered in Toronto, we electronically connect Manufacturers, Distributors, and Intermediaries, enabling them to buy, sell, and transfer investment funds. With more than 100 employees, Fundserv serves hundreds of members—executing up to 63 million yearly network transactions—and provides online access to more than 70,000 investment fund products.
Established in 1993, Fundserv is a private corporation that is owned by the industry we serve. Our 10 shareholders are a cross-section of Manufacturers, Distributors, and Service Providers who represent our members.
We operate using a cost-recovery model, meaning any unused profit may be rebated back to our members. In addition to our network and applications, we lead and facilitate industry committees and working groups that promote automation initiatives and establish the industry’s electronic standards.
By ensuring every trade is processed timely, accurately, and securely, Fundserv has rightfully earned a reputation for service excellence—a hallmark of more than 25 years in the investment industry.
Company Profile
Karen Adams
President and CEO at Fundserv
Career highlight
Before becoming CEO of Fundserv, Karen Adams held a variety of leadership roles around the world – and she learned that listening and understanding are key to both providing service and developing talent
Read on
"The typical balanced portfolio, split roughly between North American stocks and Canadian bonds,
is a recipe for disaster"
Tyler Mordy,
Forstrong Global
"Our track record shows that our macro style should offer a return stream that is differentiated from classic stock-picking approaches and even pairs very well with them"
Tyler Mordy
Forstrong Global
Bio
Spotlight
Milestones
Media
Accolades
Company Profile
The investment industry is full of people claiming to be the next Nostradamus when it comes to predicting cycles, markets and returns. Very few, if any, do it with the style and success of Forstrong Global, which has forged its reputation by identifying and articulating the story behind the story.
Forstrong’s approach is prescient: highlighting changes in investment rules and trends from a top-down global macro perspective. Or, as CEO and CIO Tyler Mordy puts it, “We ask the questions that nobody else is asking to see what nobody else is seeing.”
This is critical, as Mordy believes we are currently undergoing a seismic investment regime transition that will set the stage for the next decade.
9
NUMBER OF GLOBAL FOCUS INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
Favorite investment quote
"The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see."
–Winston Churchill
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Years of Experience
21
Favorite investment quote
"The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see."
–Winston Churchill
Fast Facts
Started career at Deutsche Bank Asset Management in London, UK
Built an investment team at Forstrong with an expertise in extensive global macro research and analysis
Named as one of the top ETF strategists in the world and a “money manager for the modern era” by ETF.com
Following the post-2008 global financial crisis era of low growth, low inflation, secular stagnation and austerity, the pandemic has provided an opportunity to kickstart sluggish economies and usher in a period of rising growth, rising inflation, and a global economy that will look very different than the past.
“We are at a hinge moment in history – a transitional time where investment leadership is completely changing,” Mordy says. “We’re getting enough signals, but the issue is that many investors have a difficult time recognizing the change and, instead, anchor themselves to the past regime. But the playbook that has worked so well for the past decade – even the past four decades – isn't going to work in the future. For example, the typical balanced portfolio, split roughly between North American stocks and Canadian bonds, is a recipe for disaster. We believe we can better prepare investors for the new environment over the next decade, equipping individual investors for a more successful retirement or providing financial professionals and institutions sophisticated global exposures to better navigate the new environment.”
With this regime change already underway, Forstrong has moved swiftly to position itself. In early November 2021, through employees and independent shareholders, including renowned investor Philip Armstrong, it purchased the majority stake in the business held by iA Financial Group. This will allow Forstrong to build on its global macro expertise, research and analytics; expand the investment team; and create more innovative macro strategies for clients.
The buyout represents another major step forward for Forstrong, which was founded 20 years ago on the fundamental belief that investing needed to become more global. World trends were shifting, and clients were becoming more aware of these macro shifts. In 2001, China joined the World Trade Organization, and the world was becoming more and more interconnected. Borders were falling. Trade was radically increasing among countries, and financial flows were becoming more fluid across the globe. The cycles we’ve all lived through since – the GFC in 2008, the EU crisis in 2011 and, most recently, the the pandemic in 2020 – have merely reinforced this new hyper level of connectedness. A problem somewhere is now a problem everywhere, and a macro lens is mandatory for managing risk.
“We cannot unwind globalization,” Mordy says. “China is a case in point. The country will continue to be the fastest-growing market for nearly everything for the foreseeable future. China’s retail sales are larger than America’s, and China is the largest market for nearly all consumer goods, from autos to personal electronics and luxury goods. Foreign business will not abandon the Chinese market any time soon, even if the political climate becomes more hostile.”
Understanding the impact of this from a macro global perspective is where Forstrong “plays in a different sandbox than others,” Mordy says. Its top-down perspective allows it to frame things quickly and identify the most important factors for capital markets. When the market crashed in March 2020, Mordy and his team swiftly identified it as a transitory shock rather than a classic recession. The latter typically starts with large global imbalances, and when the downturn occurs, a long workout period is needed to restore the economy – just as we saw after 2008. That perspective, however, led Forstrong to correctly conclude that the recovery would be V-shaped and markets would quickly rebound.
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