Private Giving Foundation - Celebrating One Year Anniversary with the TD Greystone Private Balanced Plus Fund - TD Bank
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Private
Giving
Foundation
Celebrating One Year
Anniversary with the
TD Greystone Private
Balanced Plus Fund
APRIL 2021
Private Giving Foundation celebrates its one-year to a more diversified overweight in equities, capturing
anniversary (Feb 2021) with a new investment dividend equities and regions that underperformed.
mandate – the TD Greystone Private Balanced
Plus Fund. Jo-Anne Ryan, Executive Director, PGF,
interviews Vice President and Director, TD Asset
Jo-Anne: What has been the one-year performance
Management Inc, Jafer Naqvi who reflects on the for the fund, and what are you forecasting going
past year and shares his insights on the future. forward? What is your overall economic outlook
Jafer Naqvi
and key themes in 2021 and beyond?
Jafer: Since inception, the fund has provided double digit
returns after launching during one of the most aggressive
Jo-Anne: PGF hired TD Asset Management Inc. (TDAM) sell-offs in market history. Going forward we see lower
to manage its investments through the TD Greystone interest rates as the primary challenge with preserving
Private Balanced Plus Fund the month before the purchasing power and growing the capital base. Despite
pandemic turned our world as we knew it, upside down. these challenges, we think the fund is positioned well
How did the pandemic influence your investment with its diverse equity mix, private real estate, private
decisions? Which industries were the winners and losers infrastructure and private commercial mortgage holdings.
in 2020? Is there hope for the losers going forward? We would expect mid-single digit returns over the long run
Jafer: The events of 2020 reinforced our belief in the power with higher potential in early 2021. We think in the short
of prudent asset class diversification and disciplined run there are two primary factors that will support equity
investment management. During the rapid market sell- markets. Expectations for earnings growth we believe
off in February and March, the fundamental picture was will continue to be revised higher and policy makers will
very cloudy with respect to the pandemic and long-term continue to provide accommodation. We will be watching
investment implications. We did however lean on prudent for excesses if assets continue to appreciate in price.
risk management rules and the guidance of the policy
benchmark to rebalance into equities in late March. Jo-Anne: The pandemic has brought focus to systemic
We also recognized the importance of technology in a inequalities. How has this impacted the role of
lockdown world and carried an overweight exposure to capital markets and Environmental, Social, and
assets that could grow revenues in such an environment. Governance (ESG) investing. What is the approach
Equities with a growth bias, particularly in the U.S., were to ESG at TDAM and has that changed since many
the clear winners in 2020 and outperformed dividend inequalities were brought to light in 2020?
oriented and lower volatility equities both during the sell- Jafer: At TDAM, our core thesis is one in which we favor
off and in the subsequent market recovery. Into 2021, we an integrated engagement approach to ESG factors. We
do see tremendous opportunity in some of the laggards believe that, as investors in a broad array of investment
from the prior calendar year. In fact, we have moved classes, we have a significant role to play in being a
Continued on page 2
positive influence for continued improvement in ESG. From a positioning standpoint, we believe core class
More specifically, we believe that considering ESG factors “A” type office properties that are built to institutional
provides us with a more robust view of potential risks and standards (e.g. LEED®) and are located in major transit
opportunities. With our fiduciary duty to our clients and linked urban locations will exhibit less volatility over
prospective investors, we focus on ESG issues that we can the long-term. While it is still early to make a definitive
influence and are likely to impact the long-term value of an prediction as to the demand for office space given
investment. We strive towards having a fully integrated ESG flexible work arrangements, we believe physical
engagement process as part of all our investment products. office space will continue to play an important role
in attracting and retaining talent, facilitating social
We have recently staffed a dedicated ESG Research interaction and spontaneous collaboration, and
and Engagement team that will work alongside and improving the health and well-being of employees.
support the various investment teams with ESG research, Furthermore, telecommuting is also less conducive
ESG integration and active ownership efforts. This for key demographics that live in smaller dwellings
team will work to ensure that we have consistency (e.g. condominiums/apartments buildings) and/or
in our ESG approach across all asset classes and need to manage caregiver duties. Therefore, despite
that we are fully representing the various ownership complexities with how tenants will return to work, and a
positions that we may have across strategies. slowdown in leasing momentum, we maintain conviction
in having a strategic allocation to office assets within
Jo-Anne: With many people working from our private real estate equity and debt strategies.
home (including myself), how will that
impact the future of commercial real estate Jo-Anne: On a personal and selfish note, when do
including our investments in real assets? you think leisure travel will return to normal?
Jafer: We are cognizant of the uncertainty that the office Jafer: It's difficult to see what normal will mean in a post
sector faces as it reacts to macro-economic risks. Unlike pandemic world. There are likely changes to our behavior
past cycles, office fundamentals are in a healthier position patterns from the shock that will stay with us for a while.
than during the 2008 global financial crisis. The office The positive news is that regions that have contained
sector has shown greater resilience compared to other the spread of the virus appear to be functioning closer
real asset sectors due to stable rental collections and to a pre-pandemic world with respect to gatherings
few rental abatements. Office owners are, for the most and within border travel. Personally, while there may be
part, well capitalized with modest levels of leverage and some hurdles to cross border travel, I look forward to a
are likely to fare better maintaining cash flow liquidity. deeper appreciation when seeing the world again.
Private Giving Foundation | April 2021 2
Happy 20 Year Anniversary to Canada Helps In the early days, CanadaHelps (Canadahelps.org) was the Fund. Examples of such funds include the seniors one of the first platforms to offer online donations for care fund, COVID-19 pandemic charity adaptation and charities. In subsequent years, it launched monthly giving innovation fund, and Black Solidarity Fund. PGF donors options, Charity Gift Cards, and recently during the who wish to raise funds for a special occasion may do so pandemic, it launched Cause Funds. Cause Funds are an through Canadahelps.org. They can assist in setting up innovative new way for Canadian donors to support the a web page that may be used to solicit donations from causes they are passionate about while still ensuring the family and friends. These donations may then be directed gift goes to a registered charity. Donations to the Cause to a specific charity or to your PGF account. For more Funds are distributed equally amongst the charities in information, please contact joanne.ryan@td.com Send an eCard on CanadaHelps Perspective from PGF donors David and Christine Anderson on the impact of their giving The pandemic has had a significant impact on the world For many years the Andersons have supported education but nowhere is that impact greater felt then in lower- programs, including The Sunshine School, a school for income countries, many of whom may be poorly positioned children with special needs, and the Learning Centre, an to endure increased unemployment rates and the health after-school tutoring program. They’ve also supported challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. various food security programs in SVG. With the onset The rapid onset of the pandemic has forced Christine of the pandemic, tourism, which is a major driver of the and David Anderson to re-examine their philanthropic island's economy, has for the most part ceased, local efforts in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) where businesses are failing, unemployment rates are rising they have a home on the small island of Bequia. and demand for food security support has increased Private Giving Foundation | April 2021 3
exponentially. Unlike some western countries there is arguably less support available (government and otherwise) for many of those impacted by the pandemic. In an effort to help address the vaccine equity challenge, the Anderson’s philanthropic efforts have now turned to raising approximately $1.4 MM USD (roughly $1.8 MM CDN) to acquire vaccines on behalf of SVG with the goal of providing vaccinations for the entire population of 110,000 people in SVG. Donations of vaccine from some western countries have been received but it is estimated that this program will span several years to support the purchase of booster vaccines as well to address the challenges caused by mutations of the virus. This effort has been generously supported by John and Anne Clark who have agreed to provide $400K USD to the Grenadines Initiative vaccine program provided that matching funding can be secured. The Andersons are now reaching out to other philanthropists for support in matching the Clark’s funding. For more information, please visit https://andersonfoundation.ca/ and https:// grenadinesinitiative.ca/ or write to joanne.ryan@td.com David and Christine Anderson Photo from The Grenadines Initiative Private Giving Foundation | April 2021 4
Tax Time By now many of you may have completed your income tax return for the 2020 calendar year. Now may be an opportune time to start planning for 2021. Please reach out to your advisor to explore the options available to implement tax- efficient strategies as part of your overall plan. Private Giving Foundation | April 2021 5
On behalf of the PGF Board of Directors, thank you for establishing a legacy of giving. Your generosity has shone
through during this unprecedented year. As a result, many charitable organizations received funds from the
kindness of PGF donors that were used directly to help individuals and families that were negatively impacted
by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sending you warm wishes for a glorious Spring. Enjoy the warmer days!
We welcome your questions and comments. Please direct them to
joanne.ryan@td.com or call 416-308-6735.
Jo-Anne Ryan, Vice-President, Philanthropy, Wealth Advisory Services,
TD Wealth & Executive Director, Private Giving Foundation
www.tdwealth.ca/privategiving | twitter: @charityjune30
As of March 31, 2021. Testimonials contained herein are unsolicited. They have been reviewed and approved in writing for public use.
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