FidelityConnects: Q2 earnings: The consumer picture

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<b>Subtitles are AI Generated</b>

 

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Hello and welcome to Fidelity Connects, I'm Lauren Gardy.

 

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Consumers remain resilient in a K-shaped economy with cautious spending,

 

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persistent price sensitivity and value-seeking behaviours.

 

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We'll get a pulse check on how spending habits adjust to oil price hikes,

 

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employment pressures and tariff threats.

 

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And faced with slower population growth, lifestyle changes and AI

 

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adoption, can consumer staples still serve as a defensive play?

 

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Joining us to discuss how advisors should approach shifting consumer behaviours

 

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is equity research analyst, Chase Bethel.

 

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Chase covers North American consumer staples here at Fidelity.

 

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Welcome, Chase. Thank you so much for joining us today.

 

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Hi Lauren, great to be with you in studio today.

 

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Yeah, so we have a lot to discuss in a short period of time.

 

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Here's if you can just start off at a very high level.

 

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Curious to hear from your perspective in your day-to-day work.

 

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Key trends and changes you've seen unfold within the consumer and the sector

 

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you're covering so far this year.

 

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Happy to do so. As you alluded to in your introduction, Lauren, I think,

 

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you know, if we think about the words that we've been using to describe

 

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the consumer and even going back to entering

 

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2026 up to now, they haven't changed a whole lot.

 

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So words like uneven, resilient, choiceful,

 

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value seeking, those words have more or less continued to be at the forefront

 

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of what companies are saying about the consumer and the behaviour they're

 

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seeing. I guess, like, what has been...

 

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Evolving and changing is the outworking of those choices that the consumer is

 

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making and how that's manifesting in the demand patterns that we

 

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see within the consumer landscape.

 

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I guess added to that, it would be not just what has changed regarding the

 

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consumer, but also investor expectations where coming into 2026, I

 

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would say there was a bit more optimism, especially on the US side with tax

 

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refund season, the one big, beautiful bill and what that was expected to do

 

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from a stimulus standpoint and having seen consumers.

 

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Whether the tariffs that they had to contend with in the holiday.

 

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However, fast forward and we look at, we see the U.S.

 

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Iran conflict in the Middle East and we see investors now taking a

 

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bit more of a sanguine approach in looking at the consumer.

 

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Mm-hmm, lots of moving pieces there for sure.

 

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We're keeping the consumers on their toes.

 

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Curious how performance of the consumer staple sector has been over the past

 

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six months. Any comments there?

 

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So performance, I would say if we look at the overall,

 

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the consumer staple sector has underperformed the market.

 

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We see it today at about flat to down 1% versus the

 

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TSX or S&P, whichever you might look at between up 12 to 15%.

 

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So generally it's underperfored the market, there was a moment in time where in

 

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February, especially at the onset of the Middle East conflict, the

 

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sector did rally and did catch up to the market or rather it held as the market

 

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came down. But a lot of that outperformance has been given up.

 

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So we were more or less where we began the year in terms of lagging relative to

 

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the market. A lot of it has to do with just the focus on tech and the

 

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outperformance there.

 

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That makes sense. Very concentrated market leadership we've seen.

 

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So let's dive deeper into inflation.

 

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I'm curious how it really is impacting the end consumer and which

 

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areas of consumer staples are really impacted by this persistent higher

 

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and sticky inflation.

 

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For sure, so we've seen, I would say broadly speaking, especially

 

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as I think about food inflation, which is one of the more important variables,

 

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both food at home and away from home, begin to moderate

 

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from some of the highs we saw going back to 2022, 2023.

 

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So we're in now a zone of, let's call it three to 4% or two to 4%,

 

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depending on the month you look at.

 

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So still some inflation, but not as high as what we've

 

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seeing previously. And so there's...

 

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There's some manifestation in terms of what consumers are doing.

 

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So value seeking behaviour and how we see that.

 

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Generally speaking, discounters or those that are EDLP, which

 

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means everyday low price, are tending to be the ones that are gaining unit

 

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volume market share, which is one of the KPIs that investors are focused on

 

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right now. I'd say we've seen a levelling off of

 

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choices or substitution between eating away from home and at home, so a bit

 

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more even there. And then also I would say consumers are also, again, making

 

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choices even within the stores they go to.

 

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So let's say in the case of being at a discounter like Loblaw, which owns No

 

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Frills, and Maxi, we've heard from management that consumers in

 

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areas like beef, which have been seeing high inflation, trading down

 

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from steaks to ground beef, for example, so going into more entry-level cuts,

 

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or even in the cases of fresh produce, trading out of fresh vegetables

 

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into frozen vegetables.

 

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So consumers, they are still making some substitution choices to contend with

 

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inflation.

 

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So given that background, do companies and brands still hold

 

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pricing power or has the game changed a little bit more towards volume?

 

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Yeah, I think, I mean, it's a fantastic question.

 

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We do see examples of companies that are still able

 

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to take price and be successful doing so.

 

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I think about a company like Coca-Cola, which,

 

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so if we look at inflation by category, one of the areas that we've

 

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seen some continuation of inflation would be in non-alcoholic

 

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beverages, which would be like the carbonated soft drinks, vis-a-vis Coke, and

 

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we've see that company be able to take price.

 

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It's not always the sticker price itself.

 

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These companies are very savvy in terms of price pack architecture,

 

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enabling them to take price in different ways, sometimes not as obvious a

 

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consumer. We see examples like that.

 

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But yes, at the same time, we do see more of a focus on,

 

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okay, which companies then are in the absence of having some sort of pricing

 

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power can drive volume to achieve their growth objectives.

 

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That makes sense, and to add on top of this, of course, we've seen a

 

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big backdrop of tariffs over the past year.

 

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Could you walk us through really what's happened timeline-wise, I know we're at

 

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a point now where some are seeing rebates, curious, who really benefits from

 

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that? Is that getting passed on to the end consumer?

 

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Is it the company, or how does that work out from your perspective?

 

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Yeah, I would say it's been, so I was talking to

 

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a company yesterday, a US based retailer, and

 

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they described it as chaotic. I don't know that they want me to attribute that

 

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to them. But we did see, I wouldn't say that at no

 

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point in time from the companies I covered it, I see any abuse of

 

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tariffs or gouging per se in terms of passing on to consumers any more

 

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than what was the cost that they were being burdened with.

 

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So that cost would have been born by consumers primarily.

 

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And now we see consumers being more effectively being rebated,

 

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those costs. So yesterday we heard from Walmart in particular,

 

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that company would have had 2.9 billion of tariff refunds that they

 

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were eligible for directly.

 

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And we heard them that they plan to pass entirely or

 

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substantially all of that back to consumers by way of lower prices.

 

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So for Walmart, normally within a store there would be around 5,000

 

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rollbacks at any given time which are kind of.

 

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Time-limited discounts on products.

 

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In the first quarter, that was around 7,000, and now that's up to 11,000.

 

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So they've, by way of rollbacks, been able to give some of that cost

 

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back to the consumer through lower prices.

 

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Okay, very interesting.

 

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And that's great because we have the secure inflation tariffs and

 

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also consumers are paying higher prices at gas pumps.

 

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We've seen oil and gas shoot up there.

 

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How does that impact consumer staples? Are there specific cohorts of the

 

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consumer market or within the consumer staple that's impacted heavily?

 

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Yeah, so the way I think about it, having

 

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these tariff rebates come in, it's almost providing a bit of balance for the

 

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consumer because as they're contending with these higher prices, at least

 

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there's some release on the other side.

 

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Some of the statistics I look at would say that in the U.S.

 

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On average, households use or consume around

 

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11 billion gallons of gasoline.

 

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And so if you think about what a dollar impact of that would be for...

 

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The average household, that would mean around $80.

 

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So that's equivalent to a trip to the grocery store.

 

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So having these high prices has caused some behavioural changes

 

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with consumers. Again, going back to the commentary we heard from retailers

 

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such as Walmart, every time gas prices pass a

 

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certain threshold, in the U.S. It would be $4, is that kind of like

 

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psychological trigger. They would tend to see consumers actioning differently.

 

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Maybe they go to the pump, but they do less than a fill.

 

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Maybe they're just...

 

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Doing fewer trips and trying to consolidate.

 

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We've also seen in the data that I look at the dollar stores who

 

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were poor performers and call it 2023-24 having a

 

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bit of a revival. And I think part of that is my thesis there is they are

 

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tending to be closer to consumers by way of distance that needs to be driven.

 

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And so they're probably benefiting from these higher prices as well.

 

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Very interesting. And where does jobs data fit into all this and what is

 

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recent numbers telling you maybe about the outlook of the consumer and the

 

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health overall?

 

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So jobs have been remarkably stable in both geographies,

 

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whether we're in that kind of mid to high sixes unemployment in Canada or

 

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low fours in the US. And even in the U.S.

 

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I look at the U6 or measures of underemployment,

 

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which would talk about, you know, the degree to which consumers are in jobs

 

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that they would rather be in a different one.

 

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And that too has been stable at around 8%.

 

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And we're hearing from companies also that...

 

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They're seeing less turnover, which is helping them with things like the cost

 

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of acquiring or recruiting new

 

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employees, or even the cost of training, so that's having a benefit on

 

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efficiency within companies.

 

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But I think this is probably the most important variable here with helping

 

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consumers, because even as there have been these pressure points on their

 

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costs, they do have the security of being

 

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employed and having income, and that's been important.

 

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Just balancing mechanism in all of this.

 

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Yes, good. If we do happen to see weaker job data in the future,

 

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does that impact the defensiveness of consumer staples or increase

 

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it? How does that work?

 

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Yeah, so I think as we think about consumer staples,

 

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when I look at basically how do investors make money in this sector,

 

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there are three ways. So the first is when we have the onset of

 

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some economic weakness, such as a recession or the onset of the COVID-19

 

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pandemic. So consumer staplers tend to hold up better in such an environment.

 

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Then you can have self-help opportunities where.

 

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A company may have made a misstep, but you have a management change or a

 

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change in strategy that allows them to improve their results.

 

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And you can also have quality compounders, companies like Costco or

 

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in Canada, Alimentacion Cushitar or Dollarama that have done well over

 

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a very long period of time. So to your question, I think from

 

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a portfolio construction standpoint, consumer staples still have

 

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a relevant role to play in so far as if we were to see some weakness and the

 

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economy, this would be a sector that is...

 

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Better position in terms of the types of products that

 

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are being sold are frequency products that consumers generally need to have and

 

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they are not inclined to cut those back even if they are less

 

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certain about their jobs or if they face some unemployment for a period of

 

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time.

 

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Okay, that's reassuring to know.

 

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Let's pivot to GLP-1s. Of course, these pharmaceuticals have become more and

 

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more mainstream and increasingly popular.

 

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How do you see it directly impacting consumer trends, whether that's at the

 

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grocery store, lifestyle choices, or other?

 

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So as we see it today, the statistics that are available

 

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out there point to somewhere around 3.5 million Canadians

 

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are using GLP-1 drugs currently, which would be,

 

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let's call it around 8% of the adult population.

 

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And it's a bit higher in the U.S., call it low double digits or 11%.

 

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From the conversations I've had with companies and the studies I've read,

 

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we tend to see consumers.

 

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Tending to spend less on food as they take these drugs.

 

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And that is not just for the consumer or the person who has been prescribed

 

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the drug, but it trickles throughout the entire household.

 

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So we, Loblaw, for example, which owns both grocery and

 

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pharmacy by way of Sharpest Drug Mart, points to seeing spend down for grocery

 

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in the range of low single digits on average for households

 

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that take GLP-1 drugs.

 

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And within that, Tending to see.

 

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Less demand for things like packaged food and snacking

 

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products, sweet, salty confectionary, the things you would think about

 

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that when we might be inclined to graze at night or so on, and then

 

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increases across the board in fresh and seafood,

 

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certain areas of dairy are also seeing benefits.

 

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Okay, and on that topic, I was curious, I mean, is it creating opportunity for

 

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more health-focused producers to get into the market?

 

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It seems like there's protein in everything now and maybe smaller quantities,

 

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functional beverages, anything changing in that space.

 

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Yes, it is creating opportunity, it's also creating

 

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a bit of fragmentation at the same time.

 

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And so you could attempt to screen for companies that

 

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are, for example, making protein beverages, but what you would find,

 

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what they may not have been great investments because there've been other

 

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companies also launching products in the same space.

 

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And generally speaking, in the digital era that we live in,

 

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it's much easier for brands to...

 

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Get started and reach a certain level of sales relative to the past.

 

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I have a colleague that does research on Shopify and he was just

 

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testing like how long would it take him to kind of start up a website.

 

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I think it took him a little bit less than an hour.

 

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So you could do this relatively quickly and so yes there's

 

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growth in these sectors.

 

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It's a little harder especially for branded companies to cement a

 

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meaningful share because of all the different products that are coming in at

 

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the same time.

 

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Very understandable. So we're obviously in the midst of earnings season.

 

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Could you talk to us a little bit about what you've seen over the past week or

 

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so with company earnings reports? Really curious if they came in as expected or

 

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if there are any surprises or dispersions there.

 

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Yeah, there's been several, I would call it,

 

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I would say they're themes and they're also reinforcing what we've been talking

 

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about so far today. So first of all, changes in the

 

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way choices are being made or the dynamic way that they're

 

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being made. So for example, in the first quarter, I covered the

 

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automotive aftermarket retailers.

 

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They are the companies that sell parts to your local garage

 

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when you take your vehicle to be fixed. And so.

 

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Not exactly a staple, but staples like, because a car is

 

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really important in terms of getting one to work and so on.

 

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So those companies saw really strong results in the first quarter.

 

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Fast forward to this quarter and they're seeing, especially on the

 

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do-it-yourself side where someone might do their own oil change or fix their

 

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own vehicle. They're seeing now declines in their same story numbers for

 

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that same customer segment.

 

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We also heard from the likes of Walmart that they have seen a little bit of.

 

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Weakness in the consumer sequentially.

 

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I heard a similar thing from Loblaw in terms of just the

 

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market data on food tonnage, which is measured by Nielsen, seeing just

 

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a little bit of sequential weakness going from the first quarter to the second

 

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quarter.

 

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Interesting and a quick seasonal question anything changing with back-to-school

 

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shopping is it as expected a little bit of a pick-up Maybe same as previous

 

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years or or different this year

 

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So what we're hearing so far is, first of all, back to school

 

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in particular is about a week later than last year.

 

16:10.636 --> 16:14.306

So companies are saying back to college, which happened a bit earlier, is so

 

16:14.306 --> 16:18.377

far meeting their expectations, but still too early to call on back to

 

16:18.377 --> 16:22.514

schools. And I think another factor that is maybe even delaying that read

 

16:22.514 --> 16:26.518

a little bit more than normal is last year, when we had tariffs

 

16:26.518 --> 16:30.823

as a threat, many consumers actually went out and did their shopping early

 

16:30.823 --> 16:33.726

as they were trying to get ahead of these towers coming in.

 

16:33.726 --> 16:37.463

And so as we cycle that this year, where there is in that same sense of

 

16:37.463 --> 16:41.600

urgency, it's another reason why it'll take us a few weeks yet to really

 

16:41.600 --> 16:45.804

have the full conclusion on how is back to school gone and is it

 

16:45.804 --> 16:47.906

a win or not for retailers.

 

16:47.906 --> 16:50.409

We'll ask you that one in a couple of weeks then.

 

16:50.409 --> 16:52.344

You mentioned Shopify so briefly.

 

16:52.344 --> 16:56.315

On that topic, I'm curious to hear more about e-commerce and how that impacts

 

16:56.315 --> 17:00.919

consumer behaviour if it does. Does it benefit certain companies over others?

 

17:00.919 --> 17:05.391

So e-commerce continues to be a secular growth area,

 

17:05.391 --> 17:09.561

certainly within groceries, seeing double digit growth in

 

17:09.561 --> 17:13.599

e-commerce. I think there's, it's so multifaceted because

 

17:13.599 --> 17:17.803

there is the growth itself in terms of

 

17:17.803 --> 17:19.805

looking at an aggregate number.

 

17:19.805 --> 17:22.041

And then there's also what's happening within that.

 

17:22.041 --> 17:26.311

So one of the fastest growing areas of e-Commerce is also kind of like

 

17:26.345 --> 17:28.914

same day or immediate delivery commerce.

 

17:28.914 --> 17:30.816

And that continues to be.

 

17:30.816 --> 17:34.820

Again, using Walmart as an example, that's the fastest

 

17:34.820 --> 17:36.989

growing area of e-commerce.

 

17:36.989 --> 17:40.993

So consumers are generally, most of us don't

 

17:40.993 --> 17:42.694

know what we're gonna have for dinner tonight, right?

 

17:42.694 --> 17:46.698

And so as we make these decisions, not everyone is able to plan

 

17:46.698 --> 17:50.669

ahead to plan out what their grocery e-commerce bass is gonna be, so

 

17:50.669 --> 17:54.573

you tend to see a little bit more immediacy being important within that.

 

17:54.573 --> 17:58.744

And if I can also open up another tangent, best-in-class

 

17:58.744 --> 18:02.981

retailers are also... Using e-commerce as a way to erect

 

18:02.981 --> 18:07.753

alternative profit streams by way of digital advertising.

 

18:07.753 --> 18:11.757

So you can now, by way up the volume you get,

 

18:11.757 --> 18:15.894

go to a Procter and Gamble or a Coca-Cola and say, hey,

 

18:15.894 --> 18:19.932

if we work together, we can show an ad to a consumer that might be looking

 

18:19.932 --> 18:22.034

for a product in your category.

 

18:22.034 --> 18:26.004

And instead of advertising on television or some traditional

 

18:26.004 --> 18:30.075

media, you place an within my website and you

 

18:30.075 --> 18:34.680

could have a better feedback loop of measuring that return on your ad spend.

 

18:34.680 --> 18:38.283

And so companies are being successful in kind of standing up new businesses

 

18:38.283 --> 18:42.754

that help to support the cost of delivery related to e-commerce.

 

18:42.754 --> 18:46.825

Understood. So as you did touch on this earlier as well in our conversation,

 

18:46.825 --> 18:49.862

but taking a step back from all of these trends impacting the sector as a

 

18:49.862 --> 18:53.699

whole, could you leave our advisors listening with some thoughts on where

 

18:53.699 --> 18:57.603

consumer staples really fit in the portfolio given the valuation story that

 

18:57.603 --> 18:59.571

we're seeing today currently?

 

18:59.571 --> 19:01.306

100 percent.

 

19:01.306 --> 19:05.511

So I think as a starting point, one of my roles is not just to

 

19:05.511 --> 19:09.615

kind of judge the staples, but also to judge the judges and kind of

 

19:09.615 --> 19:12.784

finding out how are investors looking at the space.

 

19:12.784 --> 19:17.089

And the conclusion I come to is many investors, especially generalist

 

19:17.089 --> 19:21.193

portfolio managers, have kind of left the consumer space,

 

19:21.193 --> 19:24.763

probably because it just isn't as exciting as tech right now.

 

19:24.763 --> 19:29.134

And so I think the first advice would be, you know, Don't

 

19:29.134 --> 19:32.571

Don't be too hasty with the generalisation, because I think within this, and

 

19:32.571 --> 19:36.508

going back to what I talked about in terms of ways to make money, even

 

19:36.508 --> 19:40.913

if we don't have the market sell-off, there's still the self-help

 

19:40.913 --> 19:43.015

and there's the quality compounders.

 

19:43.015 --> 19:47.052

And so my job is to really still find those opportunities when the generous

 

19:47.052 --> 19:48.887

leave, the specialists stay.

 

19:48.887 --> 19:53.292

And so that's a value that we have here at Fidelity.

 

19:53.292 --> 19:58.030

And yes, valuations are very bifurcated

 

19:58.030 --> 20:01.700

between those that are loved and maybe hated.

 

20:01.700 --> 20:05.837

And again, we try our best to sift through and where

 

20:05.837 --> 20:09.875

it makes sense, we look to take advantage of where

 

20:09.875 --> 20:13.712

this dislocation is within the valuation opportunities that we see.

 

20:13.745 --> 20:17.115

So it sounds like a great sector for active management and equity research

 

20:17.115 --> 20:19.318

analysts like yourself to be covering.

 

20:19.318 --> 20:23.589

Is there anything that you would say is misunderstood by investors about

 

20:23.589 --> 20:28.627

consumer staples that you want to say, clarify for the audience today?

 

20:28.627 --> 20:32.631

Yeah, I don't know that it if it's misunderstood per se,

 

20:32.631 --> 20:36.568

but I would just make the point that consumer staples

 

20:36.568 --> 20:40.672

is changing if we if we piece together what we talked about

 

20:40.672 --> 20:44.643

regarding GLP one usage and what that's doing

 

20:44.643 --> 20:48.714

to Call it tonnage and we also pair

 

20:48.714 --> 20:53.218

that with in both the US and Canada slowing population growth Those

 

20:53.218 --> 20:57.322

would be two key drivers of volume for for for consumer stapless

 

20:57.356 --> 21:01.627

companies how many people there are and how much they're eating.

 

21:01.627 --> 21:05.998

And so in combination seeing downward pressures on both of those I think just

 

21:05.998 --> 21:10.202

speaks to the importance of really being selective within the

 

21:10.202 --> 21:14.806

space in terms of being invested, paying attention to

 

21:14.806 --> 21:18.243

the underlying trends at who has unit volume growth, who has market share

 

21:18.243 --> 21:22.214

growth and also the balance sheets to ensure that there is staying power

 

21:22.214 --> 21:25.250

for these companies and there's no risk around that.

 

21:25.250 --> 21:29.187

Amazing. And so within your coverage universe, you are covering North America,

 

21:29.187 --> 21:33.058

both Canada and the U.S. These trends we touched on today, they broadly affect

 

21:33.058 --> 21:34.860

both sides of the border.

 

21:34.860 --> 21:37.262

Is there anything specific that differentiates Canada and U.

 

21:37.262 --> 21:41.133

S. Right now and anything different you're seeing?

 

21:41.133 --> 21:45.437

I think, to your point, many of these trends are similar

 

21:45.437 --> 21:47.506

both geographies.

 

21:47.506 --> 21:51.543

One of the advantages I feel I have as one covering both geographes is

 

21:51.543 --> 21:55.580

Canada, especially on areas like e-commerce, is a little bit

 

21:55.580 --> 21:58.884

lagging in terms of the overall penetration of the category.

 

21:58.884 --> 22:02.054

So, it would be more, for example, in grocery, mid-single-digit to

 

22:02.054 --> 22:05.824

high-single-digital penetration here versus low-double-digits in the U.S.

 

22:05.824 --> 22:10.062

And so, but that creates opportunity to see what is working

 

22:10.062 --> 22:13.999

on one side of the border and then to evaluate the company's

 

22:13.999 --> 22:15.934

strategies on the other side.

 

22:15.934 --> 22:20.038

And so, but I would say between the two, it really is a matter of

 

22:20.038 --> 22:24.343

where we are on the timeline as opposed to seeing distinct changes or

 

22:24.343 --> 22:27.612

contrast between the to at this point in time.

 

22:27.612 --> 22:31.316

For the rest of our time today, Chase, I did want to ask you about actually you

 

22:31.316 --> 22:33.085

and your personal experience at Fidelity.

 

22:33.085 --> 22:35.787

We were discussing before our show today that you worked at a large Canadian

 

22:35.787 --> 22:38.290

bank and now you've come to Fidelity's equity research.

 

22:38.290 --> 22:42.294

I'm curious what led you to this firm and what you really love about working at

 

22:42.294 --> 22:43.662

F fidelity.

 

22:43.662 --> 22:47.299

Yes, so it's a great question.

 

22:47.299 --> 22:51.737

How I came to this firm actually, I can remember

 

22:51.737 --> 22:56.341

my introduction to finance going to Western Ivy Business School.

 

22:56.341 --> 23:00.312

The first DCF I did and always, and from that point on, being passionate about

 

23:00.312 --> 23:04.116

investing. So at that point in time, I actually signed up to do my CFA level

 

23:04.116 --> 23:07.686

one. And Fidelity was always a firm that had a strong brand.

 

23:07.686 --> 23:11.690

One of the most important and first books I read was Peter Lynch, one up

 

23:11.690 --> 23:13.458

on Wall Street. And so.

 

23:13.458 --> 23:17.062

When the when I saw the opportunity and there was actually a portfolio manager

 

23:17.062 --> 23:21.099

that worked here that had seen some of my work That encouraged me to apply

 

23:21.099 --> 23:25.904

for the role. And so having gone through the application process

 

23:25.904 --> 23:29.875

And being successful it was in many ways a dream come true Like this was a

 

23:29.875 --> 23:32.844

place that I always wanted to work and then I had the opportunity to come here

 

23:32.844 --> 23:37.449

and be a part Of this team and so it's been it's truly I've

 

23:37.449 --> 23:41.420

had a lot of learning just from being around so many successful investors

 

23:41.420 --> 23:45.390

and seeing best practises and also being available to any tools we have

 

23:45.390 --> 23:48.593

here to try and generate alpha for clients.

 

23:48.593 --> 23:51.997

Yes, your floor is an amazing place to learn from, I'm sure.

 

23:51.997 --> 23:55.734

What does a typical day look like for you, and how do you support our Fidelity

 

23:55.734 --> 23:59.137

Portfolio Managers directly with their investment theses?

 

23:59.137 --> 24:03.108

Well, I haven't had the same day yet in this business, so no two

 

24:03.108 --> 24:07.612

days look the same, but I summarise it as follows,

 

24:07.612 --> 24:12.150

like there's three words that come to mind, preparation,

 

24:12.150 --> 24:14.386

or prepare, analyse, and communicate.

 

24:14.386 --> 24:18.590

So at any given point in the day, I'm doing one or three

 

24:18.590 --> 24:22.527

of these things. I'm preparing for an earnings or an event

 

24:22.527 --> 24:25.864

that's coming up, or looking at a range of outcomes on something.

 

24:25.864 --> 24:29.835

I'm analysing some information I might have gotten earlier that day or the

 

24:29.835 --> 24:34.039

day before, or I'm communicating out by way of Teams or talking

 

24:34.039 --> 24:38.176

to our portfolio managers by walking along the floor for our

 

24:38.176 --> 24:41.379

portfolio manager in Montreal, maybe giving a phone call.

 

24:41.379 --> 24:44.483

And then I guess I'd overlay that with the word hustle.

 

24:44.483 --> 24:48.186

It's very much ingrained in our culture, like to have a sense of urgency and to

 

24:48.186 --> 24:52.224

hustle to try to skate as fast as we can to the puck, to use a hockey analogy.

 

24:52.224 --> 24:56.194

And so, yes, prepare, analyse, communicate.

 

24:56.194 --> 24:58.530

With a bit of hustle.

 

24:58.530 --> 25:03.068

Amazing, and I appreciate the hockey analogy, very fine form for a Canadian.

 

25:03.068 --> 25:05.770

Before we wrap up today, Chase, any final thoughts you would leave our audience

 

25:05.770 --> 25:09.307

with, whether that's on the outlook of consumer staples going forward or final

 

25:09.307 --> 25:10.442

thoughts there?

 

25:10.442 --> 25:14.479

Yeah, my final thought, I think where we began, it's a very dynamic time in the

 

25:14.479 --> 25:18.483

consumer space. I think that it's important

 

25:18.483 --> 25:22.854

to be selective within consumer staples, but to also don't generalise

 

25:22.854 --> 25:26.825

and ignore the space entirely because there are opportunities.

 

25:26.825 --> 25:30.896

And very much feeling, being at Fidelity gives us an advantage

 

25:30.896 --> 25:34.833

in terms of not just the investor set that we have as a team,

 

25:34.833 --> 25:39.838

but the tools we have to have an edge and to create alpha for our clients.

 

25:39.838 --> 25:42.707

Well, thank you very much, Chase. We will leave our discussion there today, but

 

25:42.707 --> 25:46.344

very much appreciate you sharing your words of wisdom with our advisor audience

 

25:46.344 --> 25:47.579

across Canada today.

 

25:47.579 --> 25:51.082

Thanks Lauren, great to be with you.

 

25:51.082 --> 25:53.151

Thanks for watching or listening to

 

25:53.184 --> 25:55.387

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