Highlighting Success, Informing Strategies

As September draws to a close, markets are sending an unmistakable message: the Metals Supercycle is no longer theory - it's happening. Gold, silver and copper are breaking records, financings are flowing, and miners across the curve are being re-rated in real time. For our feature article, our Capital Markets team takes a deep dive into how the Supercycle has unfolded in the equity markets thus far, and where we can expect it to go. Also, with the tech sectors' enduring momentum, we look to the prediction markets to gauge how the hottest tech stories may unfold in the next few months.

August offers a natural pause - a moment to reflect on what has been accomplished so far in 2025, and what lies ahead. In that spirit, we did not write a feature article this month. Instead, we've looked to the prediction markets to gauge how some of the hottest stories, business and otherwise, will unfold over the next few months.

As summer heats up, so too does the economic conversation. Markets are navigating a season defined by trade friction, policy recalibration, sectoral divergence and artificial intelligence, with signals that are anything but static. As AI adoption accelerates and tech platforms compete for computational scale, demand for the physical building blocks of these systems - lithium, cobalt, copper, graphite and rare earths - is intensifying. These are no longer just mining stories, they're infrastructure, supply chain and geopolitical stories unfolding in real time. This month, we take a deeper dive into the opportunities surrounding the convergence of critical minerals and the tech boom.

As June winds down, Canadian businesses head into the summer with guarded optimism. A long anticipated trade deal with the U.S - which appears within reach - and new legislation aimed at removing interprovincial trade barriers could unlock fresh domestic opportunities and attract new capital inflows. We've already started to see increased deal flow an renewed appetite for growth. But the landscape continues to shift and remains complex; lending conditions continue to tighten under Basel III, geopolitical tensions cast a shadow over global trade, and regulatory oversight is ramping up. No shift however is as far-reaching, or as immediate as the adoption of artificial intelligence. In this month's issue, we spotlight a rapidly accelerating trend: Canadian issuers pivoting into digital currencies and decentralized AI. Is this just another small-cap identity shift, or is this the emergence of a real, investable sector? Find out in this month's issue.

The shifting landscape continues. Global financial markets remain unsettled as evolving trade negotiations under the current U.S. administration introduce fresh uncertainty. Canadian markets, in particular, have felt the impact, with over $35 billion in foreign capital withdrawn in Q1 2025 alone - a clear sign of declining international confidence. The trend underscores broader investor caution amid geopolitical tensions, shifting interest rate expectations, and ambiguous trade policies that continue to disrupt capital flows across North America. As investors reassess their strategies, this month's update builds on last month's IWG by highlighting one of Grove's new clients, Steepe & Co., an Investment Fund Manager offering alternative non-listed private funds - an increasingly relevant option for portfolio rebalancing in today's environment.

April 2025 has been a turbulent month for global financial markets. A major shift in American economic policy - reverberating across every jurisdiction - has forced investors worldwide to reassess risk, abandon old assumptions, and adopt new strategies. Industrials, technology, and consumer discretionary have been among the hardest hit, while alternative, defensive and safe haven assets such as gold have demonstrated notable resilience. In recognition of gold prices reaching all-time highs, IWG profiles gold and explores what this means for the markets and for investment in gold issuers.