Show Notes
Equity analyst Ian Turnbull shares insights from his latest trip to Japan, highlighting the unique aspects of Japanese society and corporate culture. From surplus and stakeholder capitalism to why you might get more than you pay for at a 7-Eleven convenience store, Ian reflects on the value of on-the-ground research, the trade-offs involved in capital allocation decisions, and pockets of real opportunity within Japan's evolving business landscape.
Key Takeaways On-the-ground research in Japan reveals unique cultural and corporate dynamics that are difficult to capture from afar; direct engagement with people and companies provides deeper context for investment decisions. Japanese corporate culture emphasizes stakeholder capitalism, with surplus value often distributed to customers, employees, suppliers, and society—sometimes at the expense of shareholder returns; this results in high-quality service, strong employee loyalty, and long-term relationships. Balance sheets in Japan tend to be conservative, offering downside protection but limiting upside potential; recent years have seen gradual shifts toward greater efficiency and shareholder focus, though progress is uneven and culturally nuanced. Digitalization and technology adoption present significant opportunities, as Japan faces labor shortages and lags in some areas of tech implementation; companies enabling digital transformation may be well-positioned for growth. Corporate transformation is occurring slowly, with some firms like Hitachi making deliberate, long-term changes to focus on higher-return areas and divest less profitable segments; this reflects a broader trend of incremental governance and capital allocation improvements.
Host: Rob Campbell, CFA– Institutional Portfolio Manager Guest: Ian Turnbull, CFA– Equity Analyst
This episode is available for download anywhere you get your podcasts. Founded in 1974, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. (pronounced "more") is a privately owned independent investment firm managing assets for institutional and individual investors. Mawer employs over 250 people in Canada, U.S., and Singapore. Visit Mawer at https://www.mawer.com. Follow us on social: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/mawer-investment-management/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mawerinvestmentmanagement/
More from Art of Boring
Germany's 10-year government bond, negative 0.5% during the pandemic, now yields 3.46%, while the UK's has climbed to 5.5% and Japan's to about 3%. International equity portfolio manager David Ragan examines what the rise in global rates means for how the team values companies. He explains why higher discount rates change the math on future cash flows, how a bank in Ireland became attractively priced once its post-crisis turnaround was overlooked, and why the team treats China's low risk-free rate as artificially depressed. Above all, he returns to a simple idea: the value of diversification.
Q3 2026 market update: Canadian investment-grade bonds returned roughly negative 3% while stock markets in many parts of the world ended September near record highs. Institutional portfolio manager Kevin Minas and investment counsellor Stu Morrow review the quarter, from oil above $100 a barrel and a more hawkish Fed to bond yields at multi-year highs. They discuss why hyperscalers borrowing over US$200 billion this year is crowding out other issuers, what a narrow AI-led rally means when more than half of the S&P 500 sits 20% below its peak, and whether the 60-40 portfolio still needs 40% in traditional bonds. The conversation closes on the quarter's asset allocation changes in the balanced strategy.
Canada-U.S. tariffs are back, and Canadian investors are asking what they mean for their portfolios. Canadian equity portfolio manager Vijay Viswanathan and fixed income portfolio manager Crista Caughlin break down the tariff picture and last month's Canada Investment Summit across stocks and bonds. They cover why the equity portfolio carries little trade-exposed revenue once exempt commodities like oil and potash are set aside, why unemployment matters more than tariffs for Canadian banks, and how a new business-investment tax deduction pulls the effective rate below the U.S. The conversation closes on a simple idea: what the summit needs now is shovels in the ground, not sound bites on TV.
Global credit is absorbing record corporate bond supply as the AI data centre build-out floods the market with debt, yet spreads remain at multi-decade tights. Global credit analysts Sandro Morassutti and Marty Lee revisit the risks the team flagged a year ago, AI-linked issuance, Fed credibility and independence, fiscal spending, and geopolitical risk, and explain why credit spreads have held while government yields have driven the move. They walk through term premium and the long end, why they favour short-dated high-quality credit, the modest duration they have added, and how they are positioned to act when a dislocation finally arrives.
Is AI compute demand durable? Emerging markets equity portfolio manager Wen Quan Cheong returns from a research trip across Taiwan and South Korea and examines AI chip demand, the semiconductor supply chain, and the companies with the strongest structural tailwinds. He breaks compute demand into training, alignment, and inference, explains why margins can widen further down the AI supply chain, and shares what TSMC, SK Hynix, and Samsung revealed about whether this capital cycle is different from the dot-com boom. He also explains how the team trimmed into a crowded AI trade, and makes the case for a non-AI idea: a port operator in the Philippines.