ETF Round Up: Insights from Étienne Joncas-Bouchard - September, 2026
Canadian ETF flows are continuing to see record inflows even as rising bond yields and interest-rate expectations have created some volatility over the past month. In this edition of the ETF Roundup, recorded on Fed Day, Étienne Joncas-Bouchard, Director of ETFs and Alternative Strategy at Fidelity Investments Canada, walked through the key themes shaping the market.
Record flows show investor resilience
August ETF flows came in near $16 billion, marking the 10th consecutive month above $13 billion. Year-to-date flows have reached $138 billion, already surpassing last year's record total. U.S. equity ETFs led the month at roughly $3.1 billion, followed by global equities at $2.9 billion. Fixed income staged a notable rebound, pulling in approximately $4 billion in net new assets. International developed and emerging markets trailed, partly due to high index concentration, the top three stocks in the emerging markets index represent close to 25% of the total index.
The growing case for active and quant strategies
Actively managed strategies continue to represent a significant share of Canada's fund market. While the ETF split leans closer to 65% passive and 35% active, he sees the clearest momentum in new product development, where issuances increasingly favor active, semi-active and quant approaches, alongside more sophisticated liquid alternative strategies using leverage and derivatives.
According to Étienne, advisors have increasingly been looking for specialized tools that can help navigate different market environments. It marks a notable evolution for an ETF space once dominated almost entirely by passive exposure.
Why value holds appeal
Value has remained a favored factor and style, supported in part by its historical resilience during periods of rising rates and yields. Strong earnings growth beyond technology reinforces the case, S&P 500 EPS growth year-to-date through Q2 was approximately 28%, excluding information technology. Étienne also noted that low volatility has served as a useful defensive hedge, particularly during recent periods of geopolitical tension.
Cryptocurrency as a diversifier
Bitcoin climbed more than 20% over the prior month. Within the all-in-one ETFs discussed during the webcast, it carries a 2% base allocation and is intended to serve as one component of a broader diversification framework. Étienne noted that portfolio diversification helped support the all-in-one strategy during varying market environments, including periods of significant cryptocurrency volatility.
How the all-in-one ETFs are built
Fidelity all-in-one ETFs hold 14 to 18 underlying globally diversified Fidelity ETFs. The strategy incorporates shorter-duration and corporate fixed-income exposure, which Étienne noted has been helpful during the recent rising-rate environment. The portfolios are designed to provide broad diversification across asset classes, regions and investment styles.
Key takeaway
Across flows, factors, and diversification, the consistent theme is discipline over market timing. Another key takeaway, is the importance of diversification and maintaining a long-term investment perspective.
