By Jon McKinney
Managing Partner, ZLC Wealth
Portfolio Manager, Q Wealth Partners

“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy” – George Gershwin

By the time you read this (if you read this!), I’ll be at my family’s summer cabin on Savary Island, up near Desolation Sound just past Powell River at the top of the Sunshine Coast. The cabin has been in my family for most of my life and it’s where I have spent a special part of each summer, first with my siblings and my parents as I was growing up, and later with my kids and now grandkids. Over the years my parents worked hard to maintain and pay for the cabin – they often called Savary Island “Slavery Island”! – but there’s no doubt they loved it.

I feel so lucky that my parents gave us the opportunity to enjoy the cabin. Fishing, swimming, and waterskiing were always a big part of my summers. But as is often the case, good fortune has its own challenges. At some point (I hope many years off) my parents will not be around, and the cabin will be willed to me and my siblings. This is a lovely thing, but there are five of us, and my parents have 13 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren (my daughter-in-law is due with number 15 in July!). Summer is only so long, and with many interested parties cabin ownership is complicated.

Summer vacation is a time to relax, to read and perhaps a time to look at your life, to look at what you’ve done and to understand what matters most to you. Over our lives we have built a family, a career and (hopefully!) we have accumulated some assets. Personal assets like our car and home, recreational assets; a cabin or maybe a boat, and investment assets like our accounts at Q Wealth.

Death and Taxes
The thing is, we all know there is no taking any of this with us. Benjamin Franklin famously said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” As financial planners, the inevitability of death is something we think about. We would not be doing our job if didn’t think about naming beneficiaries, having up-to-date wills, anticipating capital gains, planning for date-of-death taxes, and the need for insurance.

Our team includes those like me that help our clients with investments and the many advisors who are experts in financial planning and insurance solutions. Our advisors are at the ready when you want to have the chat. If there is one piece of summer advice that I think is worth making it is make time to have that chat. Whether it is a chat with your family or with your advisors about your future; or ideally everyone together. We’re not getting any younger. Cabin owners will tell you the cabin is often the most difficult asset to divide, so, if you own a cabin or not, a little planning is the best thing we can leave behind.

“Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace.” – Nelson Mandela

The ZLC + Q Wealth Approach
ZLC brings more than seven decades of trusted financial expertise serving Western Canadian business owners and their families. Founded 80 years ago by Hal Zlotnik and expanded under Garry Zlotnik’s leadership, ZLC has grown into a boutique advisory firm deeply committed to independent thinking, tailored portfolio management, family-business succession planning and philanthropic impact.

Our investment management team at ZLC Wealth is now part of the Quintessence Wealth network which allows us to enhance our service platform while staying true to our heritage of providing personalized, wealth advice that is tailored with expertise. Our clients have always benefited from the depth of our experience and the flexibility to choose from a range of established managers. With Q Wealth’s national reach and institutional infrastructure, we’ll be able to scale our boutique model without compromising the high-touch service our clients expect.

About Q Wealth Partners
Q Wealth Partners is a nationwide, innovative Portfolio Manager in Canada. Its unique Partnership model empowers advisors to serve their clients better, with all the benefits of owning a wealth management firm. Securities advice is enabled by Q Wealth’s Portfolio Management and Investment Fund Manager registrations.

Enabled by the efficiencies of Q Wealth’s core services, investment, and technology platform, Q Wealth Partner advisors spend their time differently – instead of spending the bulk of their days in the proverbial weeds, they spend it providing high levels of service to clients across the entire wealth and life management spectrum.

Q Wealth and Q Wealth Partners are trade names of Quintessence Wealth, a registered Portfolio Manager.

~ Jon McKinney
Managing Partner, ZLC Wealth
Portfolio Manager, Q Wealth Partners

Below is a review of the market trends in Q2 2026 quarter prepared by Yin Chan, CFA, our Wealth Analyst.

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Quarterly Market Commentary – Q2 2026

The second quarter was a reminder that markets do not need a perfect economic backdrop to move higher. After a difficult March, equity markets recovered quickly in April and continued to build on that momentum through the quarter. By late June, both the S&P 500 and the S&P/TSX were trading near record levels again.

At first glance, that recovery may look surprising. The economic data was not particularly strong. In Canada, growth remained soft and the labour market was still showing signs of pressure. In the U.S., the economy was more resilient, but inflation remained sticky enough to keep the Federal Reserve cautious. Rate cuts, which investors had expected earlier in the year, continued to be pushed further out.
So the rally was not really about a perfect economy. It was more about the market realizing that the worst-case scenario from March was becoming less likely.

During the second quarter, that geopolitical pressure started to ease. Oil prices came down from the extreme levels seen earlier, and markets became more comfortable that a major supply shock was less likely. The geopolitical situation remains uncertain, but the market no longer had to price in the same immediate risk. That change gave equities room to recover.

Interest rates were still an important part of the story. Central banks remain in a difficult position. Inflation has come down from its peak, but it has not fully disappeared. At the same time, growth is not strong enough for policymakers to ignore the risk of slowing too much. This is especially true in Canada, where the economy looks weaker than the US economy. The Bank of Canada has more reason to consider easing, but it still must be careful if inflation expectations rise again.

In the US, the Federal Reserve had even less room to move quickly. The labour market has cooled, but it has not broken. Corporate earnings are still holding up, and inflation remains above target. Because of that, investors had to adjust to the idea that rates may stay higher for longer than they expected at the beginning of the year.

Normally, that would be a headwind for equities. But this quarter showed that higher rates do not automatically stop the market if earnings remain strong and investors believe the growth story is still intact. That was most visible in the U.S. market, where large technology companies continued to lead.

Artificial intelligence remained the main driver of market leadership. AI is no longer just a story about excitement or future potential. Companies keep spending money on data centres, semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, software, and power capacity. That investment cycle has supported earnings expectations for many of the largest technology companies and helped lift the broader U.S. index.

At the same time, the AI trade also became more volatile. The market is now very sensitive to anything that questions the return on AI spending. When investors believe AI investment will translate into future earnings, valuations can move higher very quickly. But when they start to worry that spending is too aggressive, or that valuations have moved too far ahead of fundamentals, the same stocks can sell off just as quickly.

The SpaceX IPO was a good example of this change. Its public listing became one of the most talked-about events of the quarter. The stock initially attracted significant investor demand, supported by excitement around space, satellites, Starlink, defense technology, and the broader Elon Musk ecosystem. But after the initial surge, the stock became highly volatile. That volatility was important because it showed both sides of the current market. Investors are still willing to pay for growth and innovation, but they are also becoming more selective when valuations become stretched.

The same point applies to the broader IPO market. After several quiet years, the market is preparing for a new wave of technology IPOs. Companies tied to AI, cloud infrastructure, fintech, defence technology, data, and automation are expected to test public markets. Names such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and other late-stage private technology companies have attracted significant attention.

This is usually a sign that risk appetite has improved. Private companies do not rush to go public when markets are closed or investors are highly defensive. A stronger IPO pipeline tells us that companies and bankers believe public market demand has returned. That is positive for sentiment.

However, it also creates a risk. A busy IPO market can absorb a lot of investor capital. If too many large companies become public at aggressive valuations, investors may need to sell existing holdings to make room. That can create pressure in other parts of the market. It can also be a sign that expectations are becoming very optimistic.

Canada’s market had a different character. The S&P/TSX also performed well, but it was driven by a more balanced mix of financials, energy, materials, gold, and selective technology exposure. The Canadian market is less dependent on the AI trade than the U.S. market. That helped provide a different source of return. Even though Canada’s economy was not particularly strong, the market benefited from global resource demand, improving sentiment, and a more defensive sector composition.

Overall, Q2 was a strong quarter for markets, but not because the economy was perfect. It was strong because the worst fears from March did not materialize, oil stabilized, earnings remained resilient, and investors regained confidence in long-term growth themes such as AI and technology.

In that sense, the quarter supported the value of a diversified, all-weather approach. Staying invested allowed portfolios to benefit from the rebound, while diversification helped manage the uncertainty around oil, interest rates, technology leadership, and geopolitics. In a market that moved from fear to optimism very quickly, that balance was the most important part of the result.

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Admin Notes

Client Portal – D1G1T
Your client portal is now live on D1G1T, giving you convenient access to your investments, performance, and reports in one place.
If you haven’t logged in yet, we encourage you to do so and explore the platform. Our team is always here if you need assistance.

Account Transfer – Qweatlh
We are currently in the process of transferring accounts to Q Wealth and will keep you updated as the transition progresses.
If you would like assistance, or if you have any other questions or comments, please contact us and we will be happy to help.

It is our privilege to be your Wealth Managers.

Disclaimer:

The content of this email is provided intended only for the use of the recipient and may not be copied or distributed without the consent of ZLC Wealth Inc. The content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation to purchase any particular security, portfolio, or investment product.

ZLC Wealth Inc. (ZLC Wealth) is a registered portfolio manager and exempt market dealer. Quintessence Wealth (Q Wealth) is a partnership that is owned by its partners, including ZLC Wealth. Q Wealth is registered as a portfolio manager, exempt market dealer and investment fund manager. The portfolio manager registration allows Q Wealth and ZLC Wealth to provide investment advice to its clients. The exempt market dealer registration allows Q Wealth and ZLC Wealth to engage in trading activity.

In becoming a partner firm of Q Wealth, ZLC Wealth intends to surrender its registration as Portfolio Manager and Exempt Market Dealer and only provide wealth management services such as financial planning, estate and retirement planning, insurance, group benefits and others to its clients.

As a client of Q Wealth, you may receive services from both Q Wealth and ZLC Wealth. Only individuals approved as advising representatives and dealing representatives are permitted to give investment or trading advice (Securities Advice).

ZLC Financial Inc. (ZLC Financial) owns 100% of ZLC Wealth. It provides services through licensed insurance agents, brokers and sales representatives. ZLC Financial may separately provide insurance and other advice or services, including related financial, tax, estate, and retirement planning services. These services are provided solely by ZLC Financial.

Both ZLC Wealth and ZLC Financial do business under the trade name ZLC. Q Wealth Partners is a registered trade name of Quintessence Wealth. Please visit www.qwealth.com for more information.

Sources:
1. https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/crude-oil
2. https://tradingeconomics.com/canada/interest-rate
3. https://www.investing.com/equities/spacex-chart

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