Mike Philbrick, CEO of ReSolve Asset Management, shares his outlook on Exchange-Traded Funds.

Mike Philbrick, CEO, ReSolve Asset Management

Focus: Exchange-Traded Funds

Top picks: Global X Silver Miners, VanEck Uranium + Nuclear Energy ETF, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap Index ETF

MARKET OUTLOOK:

When U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell noted recently that markets appear “fairly highly valued,” many investors heard echoes of Alan Greenspan’s famous “irrational exuberance” warning back in 1996. But history shows that such comments don’t necessarily mark a top. Looking back at valuation warnings from Greenspan, Janet Yellen, and Powell, the S&P 500 has never been negative 12 months later. In fact, returns were often strongly positive.

That matters in the current context. Yes, valuations are elevated, but calling this an internet-bubble repeat misses important differences. In 2000, Cisco traded at over 120 times forward earnings, and the Nasdaq sat 54 per cent above its 200-day moving average. Today, Nvidia—the AI bellwether—trades closer to 35 times forward earnings, and the Nasdaq is only about 14 per cent above its 200-day moving average. That’s stretched, but nowhere near the speculative extremes of the dot-com bubble.

What’s different is the AI adoption curve. This is not just a story of hype—it’s a massive buildout cycle in chips, data centres, and grid infrastructure. AI is moving from demos to deployment, driving real earnings, real investment, and real industrial demand. The bottlenecks are physical: power, copper, uranium, and capacity—not eyeballs or ad clicks.

So rather than an “irrational exuberance” moment, we may be in the early innings of a new growth regime. Valuations demand respect, but the drivers today—earnings breadth, industrial capex, and AI’s tangible impact—make this market very different from 2000. The bigger risk may be missing the structural shift, not chasing it.

TOP PICKS:

Mike Philbrick’s Top Picks: Global X Silver Miners, VanEck Uranium + Nuclear Energy & Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap Index Mike Philbrick, CEO of ReSolve Asset Management, shares his top stock picks to watch in the market.

Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL NYSEARCA)

Global X Silver Miners provides diversified exposure to global silver mining companies, offering investors a liquid way to gain leverage to silver prices through equities rather than bullion. It tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Total Return Index and includes producers and developers across Canada, Latin America, and beyond.

Silver is unique in that it serves a dual role: like gold, it is a precious metal and potential store of value in periods of monetary stress; but unlike gold, it also has critical industrial applications. Demand is rising in areas like solar panels, electronics, and data center infrastructure, making silver a direct beneficiary of the electrification and AI buildout themes.

Supply is tight following years of underinvestment, while global demand continues to rise—creating the potential for structural shortfalls. Against this backdrop, owning miners can provide higher torque to silver prices than bullion alone.

Of course, silver equities are volatile, sensitive both to commodity prices and broader market risk sentiment. For investors comfortable with that trade-off, SIL offers a straightforward, diversified way to capture the silver story—combining the defensive appeal of a precious metal with the growth opportunity of an industrial commodity.

VanEck Uranium + Nuclear Energy ETF (NLR NYSEARCA)

VanEck Uranium + Nuclear Energy provides diversified exposure to the nuclear energy value chain, including uranium miners, reactor operators, and equipment/service providers. It offers investors a way to capture the resurgence of nuclear as the world looks for reliable, low-carbon baseload power.

The story here is structural. As AI adoption accelerates, so does demand for round-the-clock electricity. Solar and wind can’t provide 24/7 reliability alone, and natural gas remains carbon intensive. That leaves nuclear as the only scalable, clean baseload option. Utilities are re-contracting uranium supply after a decade of underinvestment, while governments in the U.S., Europe, and Asia are backing both reactor life-extensions and new builds.

For investors, NLR balances mining torque with stable utility operators, making it less volatile than pure uranium equity funds while still offering strong leverage to the nuclear theme. Risks include policy reversals, project delays, and commodity price swings.

In a diversified portfolio, NLR is a direct play on the power bottleneck emerging from the AI and electrification buildout—a bridge between resource exposure and the utilities that deliver the energy.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap Index ETF (VEE TSX)

VEE offers broad, low-cost exposure to emerging market equities, tracking the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap Index. It includes companies of all sizes across Asia, Latin America, and beyond, with heavy allocations to China, India, Taiwan, and Brazil.

Emerging markets are where much of the next decade’s growth will come from—driven by demographics, rising middle classes, and industrialization. They’re also central to global supply chains for technology, energy, and critical materials. In the current environment of shifting trade policies and re-alignment away from China, countries like India and Mexico stand to gain as “winners” in tariff and supply-chain negotiations.

For Canadian investors, portfolios are often underweight EM—leaving growth and diversification on the table. VEE provides an efficient way to close that gap, with over 5,000 holdings, low fees, and a broad sector footprint.

Risks are real: political instability, currency volatility, and governance challenges. But the reward is access to faster-growing economies at valuations often well below developed markets.

In a global allocation, VEE works as the growth and diversification engine, complementing North American and European exposures and positioning investors for the multipolar world ahead.

DISCLOSUREPERSONALFAMILYPORTFOLIO/FUNDSIL NYSEARCANNNNLR NYSEARCANNNVEE TSXNNN

PAST PICKS: DECEMBER 6, 2024

Mike Philbrick’s Past Picks: Harvest Equal Weight Global Utilities Income, Fidelity All-in-One Equity & CI Galaxy Ethereum Mike Philbrick, CEO of ReSolve Asset Management, discusses his past stock picks and how they’re doing in the market today.

Harvest Equal Weight Global Utilities Income ETF (HUTL TSX)

Then: $17.94

Now: $18.59

Return: 4%

Total Return: 10%

Fidelity All-in-One Equity ETF (FEQT TSX)

Then: $14.71

Now: $16.24

Return: 10%

Total Return: 11%

CI Galaxy Ethereum ETF (ETHX/B TSX)

Then: $20.52

Now: $19.55

Return: -5%

Total Return: -5%

Total Return Average: 5%

DISCLOSUREPERSONALFAMILYPORTFOLIO/FUNDHUTL TSXNNNFEQT TSXNNYETHX/B TSXNNN