Strategic Alternatives

U.S. tariffs are on pause for 90 days, but sizeable 10% tariffs imposed on most countries on April 5 remains in place, and it, along with steep tariffs on imports from China, could have significant implications for U.S. inflation and growth.In this episode we join Frances Donald, Chief Economist at RBC do with Josh Lipsky, Senior Director of the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center as they discuss the latest developments in U.S. and global trade policy and their impact on economic growth.This episode was recorded on April 7, 2025.

Boomers are turning 65 in big numbers, and starting to think seriously about their financial future. Many of those in the middle-income bracket turn to CNO Financial Group. The demographics are in its favor, but how has CNO turned its business around in a notoriously tough market space? CEO Gary Bhojwani reveals its recipe for success at RBC's Global Financial Institutions conference.Watch here: Securing the future of an underserved group: Middle-income America | RBCCM

In this episode we'll join Janet Wilkinson, Managing Director and Head of Global Markets Flow Sales, EMEA, as she moderates a discussion with two RBC Capital Markets experts, Peter Schaffrik, Chief European Macro Strategist and Ken Herbert, Senior Aerospace and Defense Analyst, as they'll unpack the economic impact of UK and European defense spending shifts and discuss how defense companies are positioning themselves in this evolving landscape.

2025 is set to be one of the most volatile geopolitical years in many of our lifetimes. The overwhelming uncertainty is causing “analysis paralysis” for decision-makers, slowing large-scale investment and hiring decisions, as companies try to get clarity on what matters and what doesn't. At RBC Capital Markets' Global Financial Institutions Conference, RBC Chief Economist Frances Donald spoke to Helima Croft, Head of Global Commodity Strategy and MENA Research, and Fred Kempe, President and CEO of the Atlantic Council, about the top risks and potential outcomes on global trade and tariffs, implications for energy markets, Russia-Ukraine negotiations, intervention in the Middle East, and more.

When headlines can tilt the capital markets from one day to the next, how can issuers, corporates, sponsors and investors stay on course? In this episode of Strategic Alternatives, RBC experts analyze capital raising opportunities for 2025 amid geopolitical uncertainty. Vito Sperduto, Head of RBC Capital Markets, U.S., is joined Rob McCormack, Global Head, Dept Capital Markets; John Kolz, Global Co-Head, Equity Capital Markets; and John Cokinos, Global Head of Leveraged Finance and Capital Markets.

Banks enjoyed strong earnings and wielded big balance sheets in 2024, but can the momentum last another year? The answer is yes, at least in the U.S. market, according to the experts in RBC Capital Markets' global banks outlook. Gerard Cassidy, Global Co-Head of Financials Research and Head of US Bank Strategy, and Anke Reingen, Global Co-Head of Financials Research and European Banks, join host Peter Dawkins, Vice President, European Equity Research, to explore the economic and regulatory tailwinds, and the potential pitfalls, in this episode of Strategic Alternatives.

The global energy transition may be buffeted by political winds, but its progress is unstoppable. With new data revealing investment soared past $2 trillion in 2024, how can innovative companies position themselves for a piece of the pie this year? Ralph Ibendahl, Global Head of Energy Transition Banking, offers his latest insights on the next stage of energy transition in conversation with Trevor Gardner, Head of Global Banking Coverage.

The ABS market has evolved, expanding into new and non-traditional asset classes while attracting a broader investor base. Which sectors are driving this growth, and how might U.S. policy shifts shape the market's trajectory? ABS specialists Sofia Shields and Nick Rogers share their insights in this episode of Strategic Alternatives.

Sponsor-backed deals are recovering steadily rather than spectacularly, but 2025 offers strong signs for cross-border activity in particular. In this episode of Strategic Alternatives, RBC Capital Markets' Co-Heads of Global Financial Sponsor Coverage – Harold Varah, Graham Tufts and Ram Amarnath – assess the trends and opportunities for the year ahead.

After tariffs were delayed, RBC's Chief Economist Frances Donald spoke with Ram Amarnath, Co-Head of Global Financial Sponsors and Head of Canadian Diversified Industries at RBC Capital Markets, about the potential impact of 25% tariffs on the Canadian economy and what corporations, investors and policymakers in Canada and the U.S. need to think about in the weeks and months ahead.

In this episode, Lori Calvasina, Head of US Equity Strategy, is joined by two of her macro partners at RBC Capital Markets, Head of US Rates Strategy, Blake Gwinn, and Equity Derivative Strategist Amy Wu Silverman. With 2024 winding down, all of their outlook reports out, and too many December investor meetings behind them to even count, these three thought leaders at RBC Capital Markets came together to discuss their thoughts on the equity market, the bond market, and volatility in the year ahead. The conversation took place on December 19th, 2024.

Recession looks avoidable for Europe in 2025, but significant growth is still elusive. This episode of RBC Capital Market's Strategic Alternatives considers the prospects, weighing political volatility in the region, central banks' rate-cutting cycles, and potential U.S. interventions. What does all this mean for investors? Janet Wilkinson, Head of Fixed Income & Currencies Flow Sales, EMEA, is joined by Peter Schaffrik, Chief European Macro Strategist, and Cathal Kennedy, Senior U.K. Economist.

Australia's hopes for some strengthening in growth in 2025 rest on a pickup in household spending to support the public demand currently underpinning the economy. Meanwhile, housing, immigration, and inflation pose interlinked challenges – with geopolitical risks on the horizon. Chief Economist, Su-Lin Ong, and Macro Rates Strategist, Rob Thompson, join Rod Ireland, Head of Global Markets, APAC, to assess the prospects in this episode of RBC Capital Markets' Strategic Alternatives podcast.

2025 will see the U.S. economy diverge even further from other developed nations, in ways that begin to look structural rather than cyclical. That's one of the predictions from RBC Capital Markets' Chief Economist Frances Donald and U.S. Economist Mike Reid in their outlook for the next year. They join Vito Sperduto, Head of RBC Capital Markets U.S. to weigh the economic impact of the incoming administration's policies – and the tough line the Fed will need to tread in 2025.

Canada enters 2025 facing huge uncertainties at home and abroad. But one thing seems clear: it is set on a very different path to its powerful neighbor in terms of both economic growth potential and monetary policy. In this episode of Strategic Alternatives, Lindsay Patrick, Head of Strategy, Marketing and Sustainability is joined by RBC Chief Economist Frances Donald to analyze why Canada and the U.S. are diverging so starkly and to assess Canada's efforts to address its housing and affordability crises in the year ahead.

Lighter regulation under the next U.S. administration may make dealmaking simpler, at least in some sectors, but how will M&A be affected by Trump's other plans? In this episode of Strategic Alternatives, Ben Mandell, Global Head of M&A, is joined by RBC Capital Markets' M&A experts from across the globe to analyze how the change of regime and other factors will influence transactions in 2025.

At RBC's 2024 Global Technology, Internet, Media, and Telecom (TIMT) Conference, equity capital markets bankers sat down to discuss the key trends in the tech sector, and how this will catalyze activity in the IPO and broader equity market, M&A, private markets and more moving into 2025.

In 2025, Fixed income returns across the world will depend partly on the continuing resilience of the U.S. economy, and how far the Federal Reserve takes its current easing cycle. But macroeconomic variations among different markets will also be a big influence. In this episode of the Strategic Alternatives podcast, RBC Capital Market specialists from major global markets sift the key factors to offer informed predictions.

At RBC's Global Industrials conference in Las Vegas, Vito Sperduto, Head of RBC Capital Markets U.S., and Lori Calvasina, Head of U.S. equity strategy talk about the key themes shaping equity markets right now, and how investors are thinking about and factoring in the potential impact of the US election.

Last autumn the Industrials M&A landscape was subdued at best. This year the mood at RBC's Global Industrials Conference was very different, with a revived corporate scene and private equity increasingly active. Joshua Rosenbaum, Global Head of Industrials, joins the Strategic Alternatives podcast to discuss the most promising sectors, and whether the shadow of the global financial crisis is finally clearing.

With over $1 trillion in transactions under his belt, Larry Grafstein, Deputy Chairman, Global Investment Banking, RBC Capital Markets, shares career insights and deal strategies. This episode was originally recorded with The Investment Banking Leaders Podcast on September 23, 2024.

As U.S. issuances surge and redemptions from the low-rate era come due, the debt markets are in a dynamic phase, but what can issuers and investors expect next? Vito Sperduto is joined by Robert McCormack, Global Head of Debt Capital Markets, and Allison MacKinnon, Head of UK & European Corporate Debt Capital Markets, to discuss the developments.

Despite uncertainty around elections in Europe and the U.S., issuers have accelerated their funding plans in what has been a positive year for global bond markets. Head of European Debt Capital Markets and Syndicate, Robert Lamb and Co-head, Canadian Debt Capital Markets, Patrick McDonald explore the trends shaping debt capital markets.

The Trans Mountain Pipeline is up and running; the LNG Canada export facility is gearing up. The promise of new routes and markets for Canadian products is focusing investors' attention on the market as never before. RBC Canadian energy specialists, Jeff Cormack and Michael Povaschuk, join the Energy Transition in Focus podcast to predict what this means for companies in the sector.

In a shifting financial landscape, banks are emerging as compelling value investments, driven by modest GDP growth and anticipated Fed rate cuts. Co-Head of Global Financials Research, Gerard Cassidy, explores the latest trends in bank stocks, regulatory changes, and M&A opportunities.

Covid put paid to the notion of fintech as a secular growth market, yet the sector continues to evolve, diversify, and transform financial providers. Fintech analyst, Dan Perlin, reveals why the mood at RBC's fintech conference was better than the market would suggest, and explains that a long-awaited consumer dip could ultimately benefit the sector.

Private capital is critical to energy transition efforts, but much of it to date has been channeled to renewables and electric vehicles. What are the prospects of attracting funds to other sub-sectors, and early-stage innovators? In this episode of Strategic Alternatives, host Beatrix Pratte-Ness is joined by RBC specialists Ralph Ibendahl, Paul Betts, and Barrie Laver to assess the prospects for the market.

On this episode of Strategic Alternatives, we share a rebroadcast of the Meb Faber Show podcast episode, featuring Lori Calvasina, Head of US Equity Strategy at RBC Capital Markets, in which she explains why the US market has become more sentiment driven in the post COVID era. She shares her thoughts on the valuations of the top 10 stocks and the broad market. She also touches on small cap stocks, takeaways from earnings season, and her early thoughts on 2025.

On this episode of Strategic Alternatives, we share a rebroadcast of an iCapital Beyond 60/40 podcast episode, featuring Amy Wu Silverman, Managing Director and Equity Derivatives Strategist of RBC, in which she shares how options market trends can indicate public sentiment.

With a combined deal value of $29bn under their belts this year, four CEOs reflect on what they've learned from their successes – and failures. Roberto Bellini (who sold BELLUS Health), Mark McKenna (Prometheus), Bill Meury (Karuna Therapeutics) and Dan O'Connor (Ambrx Biopharma) also consider the current market for biopharma M&A and what buyers are seeking today.

RBC Global Energy's Nick Woodruff and Tim Perry discuss the trends shaping the landscape of commodities, energy, and infrastructure investments coming out of RBC's 2024 Energy, Power & Infrastructure Conference (EPIC) in New York.

This year has seen a pick-up in equity activity across healthcare, with a wider range of firms showing promise for value creation, and a stronger investor appetite for a pipeline of private companies that are set to go public. RBC's John Kolz, John Hoffman, and Jason Levitz met at this year's RBC Capital Markets Global Healthcare Conference to discuss the latest indicators from investors and corporates.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Wil Snape-Rogers, Executive Director, and Danielle Hundt, Chief Program Officer, of Play Rugby USA, join Vito Sperduto to discuss how they are using the power of sport to help young people flourish—both mentally and physically.

External forces are weighing heavily on energy markets in very different ways. While enforcement of merger competition rules puts strain on M&A deals, AI advances offer potential for both increased demand and business efficiencies. RBC Global Energy's Nick Woodruff and Tim Perry consider the likely effects on the industry with host Vito Sperduto.

Oil and gas markets have reached a low- or no-growth business model, yet recent months have produced a surge in M&A activity not seen for a generation. Tim Perry and Nick Woodruff, of RBC's Global Energy team, join Vito Sperduto to take the temperature of the sector and analyze the current state of energy valuations.

John Kolz, Global Co-Head, Equity Capital Markets, Paul Betts, Managing Director, M&A, Europe and Beatrix Pratte-Ness, Associate, M&A, Europe, explore key themes shaping private placement transactions across Europe, and the interplay between private and public markets and M&A activity.

Late 2023 saw a pick-up in equity capital markets activity in financial services. Insurance and business development corporations show particular promise for 2024, while there is keen investor appetite for a pipeline of alternative asset managers set to go public. RBC's J.T. Deignan, MD and Head of Real Estate and Financial Institutions Equity Capital Markets, and Neil Chawhan, MD, Insurance Investment Banking, take a look ahead.

After the tech IPO drought of 2023, what is the state of the market this year? Do software and AI companies have a path to go public? Jesse Chasse, MD and Head of Technology, Equity Capital Markets at RBC, joins Dan Nathan on the Okay, Computer podcast to analyze the prospects for a market revival.

Looming elections are likely to be a barrier to M&A deal activity beyond September. But deal activity across non-banking areas of the sector remains robust, and attendees at RBC Capital Markets' Financial Institutions Conference suggest a positive sentiment. Vinnie Badinehal, Head of Financial Institutions, and Jason Braunstein, Head of Financial Institutions M&A, assess the sector's progress.

With fewer, more gradual interest rate cuts than expected now on the cards, what does the remainder of 2024 have in store for financial sector M&A? And how will the regulators' evolving response to proposed deals affect the banks' appetite? Vinnie Badinehal, Head of Financial Institutions, and Jason Braunstein, Head of Financial Institutions M&A, join to assess the sector's mood.

Consolidation may be the theme of 2024 for retail's most fragmented sectors. But how will the regulatory atmosphere, the U.S. election and geopolitical tensions affect potential deals? Douglas Trauber, Global Head of Consumer and Retail, and Hugh Paisley, Co-Head, U.S. Consumer and Retail Investing, join to identify high-activity sectors and assess the external challenges retailers face.

With a soft economic landing more likely, consumers seem ready to spend. However, retailers need to find ways to provide better customer experiences while managing costs. As they seek to capture extra capabilities, not least in tech, does this herald a new wave of deals in the sector? Douglas Trauber, Global Head of Consumer and Retail, and Hugh Paisley, Co-Head, U.S. Consumer and Retail Investing, join to analyze how retailers can stay competitive in 2024.

Familiar fixtures are set to return to private equity M&A. Conventional financing is starting to look more attractive again; traditional sales are poised to return to the mix. Meanwhile, cyclical industrials are among the sectors well placed to lead the way in deal activity. John Cokinos, Global Head of Leveraged Finance and Capital Markets, and Hank Johnson, Co-Head of U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions, join to explore the factors impacting the private equity M&A environment and what we can expect in 2024.

Private equity assets have mounted to $3 trillion as sponsors maintain their grip. Will 2024 see a long-awaited surge of exits? What conditions do players need to trigger a revival of M&A and LBO activity? John Cokinos, Global Head of Leveraged Finance and Capital Markets, and Hank Johnson, Co-Head of U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions, join to explore the factors impacting the private equity M&A environment and what we can expect in 2024.

After a year of macro volatility, equity markets look set to rebound in 2024, with a return to micro fundamentals, a stronger breadth of transactions, and a new set of risks and rewards for investors and issuers to balance.

It's taken longer than predicted, but a steady interest rate environment is laying the ground for an M&A recovery in North America and Europe. Revised expectations offer attractive opportunities for early buyers – just one of the ways in which events of the past few years will influence the shape of 2024's deals.

As the U.S. economy shows positive signs for growth, inflation, and interest rates in 2024, RBC Capital Markets' RBC Capital Markets' Michael Reid, Blake Gwinn, Vito Sperduto and Larry Grafstein analyze the challenges posed by consumer spending, political gridlock, and quantitative tightening.

Macro Rates Strategist Robert Thompson analyzes Australia's challenges such as softening growth, persistent inflation, and a weaker labor market heading into 2024, as well as examining key swing factors to monitor and what this all means for the RBA, bond market and investors.

Growth is poor, labor is a concern, but inflation seems to have been punctured. Nathan Janzen, Assistant Chief Economist, Canada, examines what the economic signs herald for Canada's future in 2024.

There are widespread expectations that UK and EU inflation will hit target levels in 2024 – yet many obstacles remain. Peter Schaffrik, Chief European Macro Strategist and Cathal Kennedy, UK Senior Economist analyze the inflationary outlook, prospects for European growth, and how the effects of interest rate rises are still playing out across the continent

Going into the next election, US regulators are more likely to double down than back off their focus on big M&A deals and they're looking most closely at consumer-facing businesses. Vito Sperduto, Head of Global M&A, sat down with Andrew Lipman, Partner at Morgan Lewis at RBC's Global Technology, Internet, Media and Telecommunications (TIMT) Conference to discuss how antitrust will continue to affect US regulation in our current environment.