Sid Mokhtari, chief market technician at CIBC Capital Markets.Supplied
In January, two sectors posted impressive gains – energy and materials- with price returns of 10.6 per cent and 8.9 per cent, respectively.
For portfolio managers who had underweight positions in these two sectors, it may have been a challenging month from a relative performance perspective.
This was the case for CIBC’s chief market technician Sid Mokhtari.
In January, his basket of top picks declined 3.04 per cent, underperforming the S&P/TSX Composite Index, which rallied 0.67 per cent.
His portfolio of top picks did not hold energy stocks or precious metals stocks, which contributed to the portfolio’s relative underperformance. However, not holding gold and silver stocks proved to be the correct call at month end with many precious metals stocks realizing double-digit losses on the final trading day of January.
Mr. Mokhtari publishes a monthly report with his top 10 stock ideas. He screens and selects stocks from the largest 100 members by market capitalization within the S&P/TSX Composite Index. His technically driven stock recommendations have consistently outperformed the broader index across a wide range of market conditions.
His disciplined process has delivered strong long-term returns. His stock selections have outperformed the S&P/TSX Composite Index for the past four calendar years.
In 2025, his portfolio of stock selections rallied 51.3 per cent, compared to a 28.3 per cent price return for the S&P/TSX Composite Index. His stock selections also outperformed the TSX Index in 2024, 2023 and 2022 by 5.8 percentage points, 6.3 percentage points and 2.7 percentage points, respectively.
For February, his basket of stock selections includes nine new stocks and one carryover from the prior month.
In the materials sector, he added three stocks to his basket of top picks – Methanex Corp. (MX-T), NGEx Minerals Ltd. (NGEX-T), and Orla Mining Ltd. (OLA-T), and there is one carryover from January - Nutrien Ltd. (NTR-T).
In the energy space, he added Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. (PEY-T), Suncor Energy Inc. (SU-T) and Whitecap Resources Inc. (WCP-T).
In financials, Bank of Montreal (BMO-T) and IGM Financial Inc. (IGM-T) were selected.
Lastly, in industrials, AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. (ATRL-T) was included in his basket of top picks.
According to Mr. Mokhtari, over the past 30 years, the S&P/TSX Composite Index has delivered an average return of 0.7 per cent in February. Amongst the leading sectors are industrials and energy with gains of 1.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. The technology sector is the leading laggard with an average return of negative 1.4 per cent.
In his best ideas report published on Feb. 1, he stated, “For 2026, we recommend a more cautious approach with a lower directional bias, given the convergence of two cycles — year two in the U.S. presidential cycle and year four in a bull market cycle. We favour a balanced strategy, incorporating both GARP [growth at a reasonable price] and defensive factors such as quality, lagging value, and some low-volatility exposure, all adjusted for relative strength and momentum.”
Early next week, watch for an in-depth Q&A featuring Mr. Mokhtari’s insights on equity markets, stocks and ETFs.
If you have a question that you would like to ask Mr. Mokhtari, send an email to jdowty@globeandmail.com and in the subject line state, “question for Mr. Mokhtari.” Unfortunately, not all questions submitted can be covered.