From this chair, last year’s top story was what has been coined “U.S. exceptionalism.” Catalyzed by the impact of an unprecedented amount of fiscal stimulus and ongoing ample liquidity, U.S. growth topped consensus estimates for the third straight year. Handily so for 2024, causing global investors to pile into U.S. stocks, in turn fueling a second consecutive year of >20% price gains for the S&P 500 (SPX) and a bull market in the U.S. dollar (USD). The ‘Magnificent 7’ (M7) accounted for 53% of last year’s price appreciation for the SPX (46% of total return) while the value of the equal-weighted SPX increased +13%. Price gains for Canada’s TSX totalled 17.8% (21.5% total return). This commentary will recap some highlights of last year, discuss our macro-outlook, the positioning of our funds, and the double-digit net gains of our funds.