Improving global growth and a roaring U.S. stock market was a big story at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Even flip-flopping from Trump administration officials on the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. dollar was not enough to dim the enthusiasm. President Trump, demonstrating his usual flare, touted his economic record in a speech to the WEF and said the U.S. was “open for business.”
In Canada, the news has also been good. The S&P/TSX Index rose 6% in 2017, which paled in comparison to the double-digit gains posted on the U.S. S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite. However, the Canadian financials group finished the year strongly — up 9%.
The International Monetary Fund boosted its forecast for Canadian economic growth to 2.3% in 2018 and 2% in 2019. This will tie Canada with Germany in the G7 if the growth projection holds up — both are forecast to trail U.S. growth at 2.7%. Some early projections have forecast that U.S. tax reform will boost corporate revenues by $6 trillion over the next decade. Global growth is expected to reach 3.9% in 2018 and 2019.
In a recent interview, Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz predicted that “money is going to remain easy for some time yet.” The comments come after the central bank elected to raise the benchmark rate 0.25% on January 17 after a slew of positive economic data appeared to force its hand.
These developments all point to positive things for markets in 2018. Here are two of my top income-yielding wealth management stocks to keep an eye on during this period.
CI Financial Corp. (TSX:CIX)
CI Financial is a Toronto-based wealth management company. The stock has been mostly flat in the first month of 2018 thus far, but shares are up 8.9% year over year as of close on January 26. The company released its 2017 third-quarter results on November 9, 2017.
Average assets under management were $143 billion as of October 31, 2017, compared to $112 billion on September 30, 2017, representing a 28% increase in a little over a year. Net income rose 3% to $140.8 million in the third quarter, and earnings per share climbed 8% to $0.55. The company is set to release its fourth-quarter results on February 15, 2018.
CI Financial maintained its monthly cash dividend of $0.12 per share, representing a 4.7% dividend yield.
IGM Financial Inc. (TSX:IGM)
IGM Financial is a Winnipeg-based financial services company. In addition to its investment funds, it also offers mortgage banking and other basic services. The stock is down 0.5% in 2018, but it has climbed 9.4% year over year. IGM Financial released its 2017 third-quarter results on November 10, 2017.
IGM Financial saw its net earnings drop to $173 million, or $0.72 per share, compared to $198 million, or $0.82 per share, in the prior year. For the nine-month period in 2017, net earnings were $551 million in comparison to $536 million in 2016. The company announced a dividend of $0.56 per share, representing a 5.1% dividend yield.
