Canadian Clients Want to Sell America: Brian Belski

Liberal Leader Mark Carney promised his government would get back in the business of homebuilding with a plan he’s pitching as Canada’s most ambitious since World War II.

Carney announced Monday that a reelected Liberal government would create a new entity called “Build Canada Homes,” which would act as a developer to build affordable housing, including on public lands.

Brian Belski, Chief Investment Strategist at BMO Capital Markets, explains why many of his firm's Canadian clients are in the mood to sell their US-based assets in light of President Donald Trump's trade war and tariff threats, and why he believes that mindset to be a flawed long-term strategy. Brian speaks with Tom Keene and Paul Sweeney on Bloomberg Radio.

Traders are on edge as Trump plans on Wednesday to announce sweeping levies on all of America’s trading partners. On the final session of a brutal first three months of the year, the S&P and Nasdaq 100 on pace for their worst quarters since 2022. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now sees a 35% chance of a US recession, echoing similar warnings from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Moody’s.

The S&P 500 has shed more than 5% this year, trailing the MSCI All Country World Index excluding the US Index’s more than 6% gain. That’s the widest gap in any quarter since 1988, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s an unprecedented reversal after the S&P 500 entered 2025 coming off two consecutive years of 20% gains, the first time that’s happened this century.

But the boom left positioning stretched, valuations pricey and the market vulnerable. That has forced investors to seek traditional havens like gold as worries build over a potential mix of worsening inflation and a slowing economy. The equal-weight version of the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are performing better than the regular S&P index this year, a combination that since early 1990 has only happened 26% of the time.

“Traders are nervous and continue to hide from risk by plowing into safety on fears the econony is slowing much faster than initally thought,” said Scott Colyer chief executive at Advisors Asset Management. “This is going to be really tough for investors until we know more about the size and scope of tariffs and the impact on profit growth.”

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