With U.S. mega-cap tech dominating headlines and hogging investor attention, it’s easy to forget there’s a whole world of opportunity outside the usual suspects. Sam Baldwin, Senior Portfolio Manager at Guardian Capital LP, believes now is exactly the right time to turn that attention north—toward Canada.
In a July 2025 talk1, Baldwin makes a strong, clear case for Canadian equities. Not the market at large, but specific, high-quality companies with real staying power, smart capital discipline, and the potential for big upside. Or, as he puts it—“coiled springs.”
“We’re Seeing Select Canadian Equities Offering a Compelling Mix…”
That’s how Baldwin kicks things off—by flagging a pocket of the market that’s not just undervalued, but misunderstood. He outlined three key reasons why Canadian equities deserve a closer look:
- Resilient earnings and attractive valuations
- Tailwinds from domestic policy
- A broader, more diversified opportunity set compared to global peers—especially the U.S.
“Today relative to the US we see more balanced opportunities in Canada, particularly for active managers focused on companies with high quality growth characteristics,” Baldwin says.
He doesn’t sugarcoat his view on the U.S. either: “US Markets have been narrowly led by the mega cap tech companies which has created valuation concentration and elevated return expectations.” His point? Canada’s market structure offers something different—especially for investors who are willing to dig deeper.
Hunting for Coiled Springs
Baldwin’s approach with the Guardian Canadian Focused Equity Fund [Fund, ETF] is refreshingly unbound by benchmarks. “With this strategy we're not anchored to the index heavyweights,” he explains. “Rather, the fund is focused on identifying investment opportunities that have asymmetric return potential… backed by improving fundamentals and a resilient business model poised for growth.”
He calls these types of stocks “Coiled Springs”—companies that have been compressed by current valuations and sentiment, but have the potential to snap back sharply once the fundamentals kick in.
Canada’s Hidden Global Champions
Canada’s often seen as a resource-heavy market, but Baldwin argues that’s just one chapter of the story.
“Canada is home to many different companies that are global leaders in their sectors,” he says. And not just energy or materials—he’s talking about companies that “have built a very strong home base from Canada and grow beyond our borders into larger global entities that invest intelligently to create long term value.”
This blend of domestic stability and global reach, in Baldwin’s view, makes Canadian equities more dynamic than they’re often given credit for.
Breaking Free from the Benchmark
The Guardian Canadian Focused Equity Fund isn’t interested in mirroring the TSX—it’s out to beat it. “The Canadian Focused Equity Fund is benchmark agnostic and we can scour the Canadian market for what we believe are the investment opportunities that can provide meaningful active share for clients.”
Here’s how Baldwin breaks it down:
- A Focused, High-Conviction Portfolio “We're focused on delivering a high conviction portfolio of 15 to 20 stocks, each with their own unique catalyst to deliver strong returns irrespective of broader macroeconomic trends.”
- Asymmetric Upside “Having exposure to these coiled spring opportunities gives us conviction in the potential for greater upside relative to the downside risk being taken.”
- Real Diversification “We deliberately structure the portfolio to be quite different than the S&P/TSX index, which means it can be a diversifier alongside your existing Canadian equity exposure and complement what you already own.”
In other words, this isn’t just a different wrapper on the same basket of names—it’s a distinct, actively managed strategy with the potential to surprise.
The Bottom Line: Old-School Stock Picking with a New-School Edge
As passive flows continue to dominate global markets, Baldwin is makes the case for the power of fundamentals, focus, and flexibility. By tuning out index weightings and zooming in on quality Canadian companies that are under-appreciated and undervalued, he’s uncovering stories that might just be ready to spring into action.
And if he's right? These coiled springs could be ready to pop.
Footnotes:
1 "Video: Why Invest in Canadian Equities Now? - Guardian Capital." Guardian Capital LP, 23 July 2025 ↩︎
