RBC analysts make 18 changes to top stock picks portfolio

Daily roundup of research and analysis from The Globe and Mail’s market strategist Scott Barlow

18 changes

The RBC Capital Markets research department has made 18 changes to their Canadian Fundamental Equity Weighting Portfolio,

“The RBCCM Canadian Fundamental Equity Weighting (FEW) Portfolio is set by a committee within the Canadian equity research department and represents a model portfolio built around our analysts’ best ideas, giving consideration to sector and stock -specific weightings in the S&P/TSX Composite Index. The New Year 202 6 FEW Portfolio contains 51 stocks, with seven additions this quarter (Alamos Gold, Boyd Group, DRI Healthcare, EQB, Fairfax Financial, National Bank, TD Bank) , three weighting increases (Agnico Eagle Mines, Barrick, Loblaw), six deletion s (Bank of Montreal, Brookfield Asset Management, CCL, dentalcorp, GFL Environmental, Bank of Nova Scotia) and two weighting decrease s (CPKC, Sun Life )”

The stocks now are Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B), TELUS Corporation (T), Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC.A), Dollarama Inc. (DOL), Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD), Loblaw Companies Limited (L), Energy ARC Resources Ltd. (ARX), Cameco Corporation (CCO), Enbridge Inc. (ENB), Keyera Corp. (KEY), Pembina Pipeline Corporation (PPL), PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. (PSK), Suncor Energy Inc. (SU), Brookfield Corporation (BN), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM), EQB Inc. (EQB), Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (FFH), Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC), National Bank of Canada (NA), Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF), The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN), DRI Healthcare Trust (DHT.UN), AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. (ATRL), Boyd Group Services Inc (BYD), Canadian National Railway Company (CNR), Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (CP), Cargojet Inc. (CJT), Element Fleet Management Corp. (EFN), RB Global, Inc. (RBA), WSP Global Inc. (WSP), Constellation Software Inc. (CSU), Kinaxis Inc. (KXS), Lumine Group Inc (LMN), Shopify Inc. (SHOP), Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM), Alamos Gold Inc. (AGI), Artemis Gold Inc. (ARTG), Barrick Mining Corporation (ABX), Capstone Copper Corp. (CS), Interfor Corporation (IFP), OR Royalties Inc. (OR), Teck Resources Limited (TECK.B), First Capital REIT (FCR.UN), Granite REIT (GRT.UN), StorageVaultCanada Inc. (SVI), AltaGas Ltd. (ALA), Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP. (BIP.UN), Emera Incorporated (EMA) and Superior Plus Corp. (SPB).

Grand bargain between Alberta and Feds

Also from RBC research, energy analyst Maurice Choy outlined his winners and losers from the grand Canada/Alberta memorandum of understanding,

“Our view: As a follow-up to our Energy Insights report, titled Canada-Alberta MOU: Moving from “no” to “how”, we examine the MOU’s implications for the Canadian Energy Infrastructure sector, particularly the pipeline, midstream, and Alberta power companies. The MOU’s commitments affirm the rising optimism within the industry and among investors, reflecting the Canadian government’s favourably evolving engagement with the industry, which may ultimately help drive long-term, sustainable energy infrastructure growth. Key milestones in 2026 and 2027 should bolster investor confidence as progress unfolds, supporting increased infrastructure demand, particularly in Alberta. Big picture: (1) supportive measures enabling increased WCSB crude oil production should positively impact midstream and pipeline companies (e.g., Gibson Energy, Keyera, Pembina, and South Bow), noting that Enbridge’s Mainline Optimization phases and Southern Illinois Connector projects remain compelling solutions for WCSB egress in the near term; and (2) the suspension of the CER, pending revisions to the industrial carbon pricing framework, and a new policy framework to incentivize large-scale data center investments offer much-needed policy clarity, which should ultimately benefit Alberta power companies (i.e., Capital Power, TransAlta)”

Resilient growth but risks for 2026

TD Securities economists released their global macro outlook for 2026,

“Resilient Growth into 2026: After faring better than expected in 2025, we expect global GDP growth to ease only slightly from 3.0 per cent in 2025 to 2.8 per cent in 2026, supported by healthy private-sector balance sheets, cooling inflation, and robust consumption. Policy Tailwinds: Expansive fiscal policy and central banks approaching their terminal rates keep financial conditions supportive. Defence spending and AI-driven infrastructure investment fuel strong investment cycles in some countries. Tailwinds will help offset a continued rise in the US’ effective tariff rate. Risks Ahead: 2026 is likely to be marked by continued geopolitical uncertainty, sticky core inflation, and central banks transitioning from rate cuts to late-cycle normalization—underscoring potential volatility despite recent resilience. A “K-shaped” economy presents serious challenges to macro policymakers, especially when credit quality is deteriorating in some pockets of consumer credit. What’s Expected?: We think markets are largely unprepared for central banks to start thinking about rate hikes, and are overemphasizing the impact of AI on US growth.”

Bluesky post of the day

Diversion

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