Committed to this business for more than 25 years, National Bank Independent Network is one of Canada’s leading providers of custodial, trading, clearing, settlement and record keeping services to independent registered portfolio managers and introducing brokers through innovative product development, expert client care and leading technology. National Bank Independent Network is a division of National Bank Financial Inc., and is also a registered trademark of National Bank of Canada and a wholly owned subsidiary of National Bank of Canada, which is a public company listed on Canadian stock exchanges. National Bank Financial Inc. is a Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO).

→ www.nbin.ca

→ About BNRI: Information document

® The NATIONAL BANK INDEPENDENT NETWORK logo is a registered trademark of National Bank of Canada, used under license by authorized third parties.

Based on its strong financial position, close regulatory oversight, experienced management, best global execution technology and low cost, Interactive Brokers (IB) is increasingly the first choice for prime brokerage and clearing and custody for global financial advisers, funds and other investment professionals. Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. is a company listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the symbol “IBKR” with a market capitalization of over $30 billion (March 2021). IB LLC has been registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC since 1994 and is a member of the NYSE. The IB Group is currently registered and regulated in each of the 52 US states and territories as well as in more than 50 jurisdictions around the world, in addition to being a member of 120 international exchanges, clearinghouses and trading venues.

Interactive Brokers Canada Inc. is a member of CIPF and CIRO in Canada. Its head office is located at 1800 avenue McGill College, suite 2106 and can be reached at 514 287-0906.

→ www.interactivebrokers.com

→ www.interactivebrokers.ca (Canadian site)
→ About IB Canada: financial strength and client protection

Interactive Brokers ® is a registered trademark of Interactive Brokers LLC.

Ndex is the only fully independent, multi-custodian wealth management technology provider in Canada. Ndex has grown to support more than 1,300 companies managing more than $200 billion in assets for more than 14 million customers. It interacts with over 200 custodians across North America. Its platform unique approach provides the flexibility and scalability needed to serve a diverse industry. Its clients range from independent brokers and family offices to large wealth management, brokerage and accounting firms. ‍ Ndex’s fully integrated system supports both single and multi-custodian platforms. Its top-notch design supports portfolio management, CRM, securities management, trade order management, compliance, expense management, operations, reporting and tax reconciliation for our clients. Ndex’s adaptable platform is well positioned for expansion and supports operations around the world.

Ndex offices are located at 500 rue Saint-Jacques, suite 400 in Montreal and can be reached at 514 288-0908.

→ https://www.ndexsystems.com/about-us 

→ Ndex takes the security of customer information seriously and would never sell it; consult its privacy policy

Tested for You: Investing with ChatGPT
Mid-November 2025

Excerpt, freely translated by B-CAP

Les Affaires decided to test AI’s capabilities in portfolio construction by asking two versions of ChatGPT—one free and one paid—to produce an equally weighted list of 20 securities suitable for a Canadian investor. The list could include stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and Canadian Depositary Receipts (CDRs), based on the criteria shown on page 30. The resulting portfolios were then reviewed and analyzed by a panel of experts.

Blind Spots in the Approach

The portfolio managers invited to comment on the results were first asked to assess the process that led to the construction of the portfolios.

“The first blind spot is you,” replies Mathieu Bouthillier, founder, president, and portfolio manager at Bouthillier Capital. He argues that the history of queries made using the free version of ChatGPT ended up influencing the outputs. “The application wants to give you results it thinks you’ll like,” he says.

According to him, another way to approach the discussion with ChatGPT would have been to establish a dialogue with the application in order to identify the blind spots of the methodology. “You could have asked it to help you build your query. Your number of criteria is very high, and no company can score 100% on each of them,” he explains. (…)

Comments on the First Portfolio

(…) Mathieu Bouthillier also argues that the selection of securities depends heavily on the concept of strong and durable competitive barriers to entry. “At first glance, one might think they are all good companies. Yet the results suggest that the data analyzed isn’t very recent—Adobe, for example,” he notes. The software company, whose stock traded above US$600 in January 2024, has lost some of its shine since then. “Adobe was the undisputed leader in its field two years ago, but with the rise of AI, the company’s outlook has drastically changed. Several players, including Canva, are now disrupting its dominance,” he explains.

He adds that Nike and Nestlé fall into the category of companies whose pricing power has weakened since the end of the pandemic. “That said, I have to admit that over the years we have considered purchasing every one of the recommended securities—for instance in our Global Quality strategy—because they had a decent quantitative score,” says Mathieu Bouthillier. (…)

A Poorly Designed Second Portfolio

(…) “The key takeaway from the differences between the two portfolios is that the paid version of ChatGPT likely began its reasoning from a blank slate, rather than relying on your previous queries. That didn’t prevent design flaws. No client is going to call us asking to invest in three ESG ETFs. That would make no sense,” says Mathieu Bouthillier.

In his view, one might have obtained a better-diversified portfolio by instructing the AI to answer as though it were “an experienced investor working for the world’s largest asset-management firm. If that’s what you want, you need to specify it in the prompt,” he says. He believes the absence of financials or natural-resource companies stems from the list of criteria provided.

He argues that Canadian investors are no more required to invest in these sectors than investors in any other country.

→ Link to article

Les Affaires Group, specializing in business information, offers content that provides food for thought in terms of business strategy, management, entrepreneurship and personal finance. Les Affaires Group allows you to reach the Quebec business community every month through its publications, websites, events and databases.

Rising Stocks… and Others Grounded
June 19th, 2024

abstract, freely translated by B-CAP

Interest Rates Change the Game

The consumer appetite for travel has acted as a tailwind for publicly traded tourism sector companies over the past few years. However, the rise in interest rates, combined with increases in fuel, wages, and food costs, among others, has emerged as a serious headwind. As a result, some stocks have recorded impressive gains, while others have simply returned to their pre-pandemic levels or even lost ground.

“The environment of high interest rates has greatly influenced investor preference,” argues Mathieu Bouthillier, President and Founder of portfolio management firm Bouthillier Capital (B-Cap). “There is clearly a preference for higher-quality companies that have higher profit margins, barriers to entry, and the ability to raise prices, thus protecting their margins.”

According to him, companies in the tourism and travel sector can essentially be classified into two main categories: those with significant tangible assets (such as airlines and cruise lines) and those with few or none (such as online booking services like Booking Holdings [BKNG, $3,795.35 USD] or Airbnb [ABNB, $144.47 USD]). “Companies with few or no assets are clearly the ones that have performed the best,” he says, as they have not been as affected by the rise in borrowing costs. (…)

→ Link to article

Les Affaires Group, specializing in business information, offers content that provides food for thought in terms of business strategy, management, entrepreneurship and personal finance. Les Affaires Group allows you to reach the Quebec business community every month through its publications, websites, events and databases.

Montreal Emerging manager B-CAP:
An emerging manager based in Montreal with international pedigree.
May 11th, 2024

abstract

(…) The founder of the eponymous Bouthillier Capital is part of a new wave of Canadian emerging managers who have international pedigree. Mathieu Bouthillier has a Masters degree in Economics, with a specialization in finance, from the University of Edinburgh and has worked for JP Morgan in London. Before going on his own at Bouthillier Capital, better known as B-CAP, he worked for 8 years at BMO Nesbitt Burns managing money for high net worth clients.

B-CAP was founded in 2020 and has been officially managing money since January 2021. The firm has already attracted the support of some leading lights in the Montreal finance community as clients. It is registered in Quebec and Ontario. As part of a push into the institutional market, B-CAP has also constituted a board of advisors and added a financial director. Mathieu is himself a director of the Emerging Managers Board, an industry group.

At Nesbitt Burns, Mathieu quarterbacked his advisory team with deep research, analysis and a focus on investment strategy. B-CAP is a continuation of this rigorous work. The core philosophy is to invest systematically, minimizing discretionary decisions and the impact of emotions. Quantitative factors that drive investment return, such as total shareholder yield and return on equity are emphasized.

While B-CAP is a traditional full-service wealth management firm, its focus is on pioneering innovative investments strategies. The firm operates three equity-focused strategies in managed accounts: Defence, Adventurer and GTBT (for Good Times Bad Times, after the Led Zeppelin song).

→ Link to article

“A blog about Bay Street, money managers, funds, moguls, who’s killing it, who’s getting killed. No stock picks, no macro.”

Dividend Secrets: Unlocking Stock Market Success
April 11th, 2024

abstract, freely translated by B-CAP

(…) It is crucial to emphasize that growth opportunities (internal investments within the firm, acquisitions) represent an opportunity cost in relation to dividends.

This fundamental variable naturally varies across different sectors. Consequently, the signaling effect of dividend policy does not uniformly resonate across various types and profiles of firms. In industries with sluggish growth, more profitable companies tend to distinguish themselves from less profitable ones by adopting a more generous dividend policy. High-quality growth companies, characterized by high profit margins and significant corporate investment prospects, already possess distinctively superior attributes and thus may not need to signal their differentiation through dividend payments.

In this specific context, it is essential for researchers to incorporate qualitative attributes such as competitive advantage and innovation into their stock analyses. However, it is worth noting that many of these sought-after high-quality companies may have chosen to establish a dividend policy, often at minimal cost given their financial capacity to do so, and frequently amid rapid growth trajectories.

Our research demonstrates that to optimize long-term total returns for investors, it is vital to carefully assess the future dividends that companies can prudently afford. Companies with robust and expanding profit margins typically offer a steadfast and well-supported return on equity. Retaining a significant portion of earnings enables companies to finance new investment opportunities, thereby maximizing their growth potential. The combination of these two considerations lies at the core of the concept of sustainable growth (designated as g*). Moreover, it is crucial to highlight the growing importance of share buybacks directly undertaken by companies to reduce their outstanding shares. Hence, it is essential to consider the overall distribution accruing directly to the benefit of investors, encompassing not only dividends but also share buybacks.

→ Link to article

Les Affaires Group, specializing in business information, offers content that provides food for thought in terms of business strategy, management, entrepreneurship and personal finance. Les Affaires Group allows you to reach the Quebec business community every month through its publications, websites, events and databases.

Miser sur la face cachée de l’IA (freely translated to “Focussing on AI’s Hidden Side”)
September 6th, 2023

abstract, freely translated by B-CAP

Who will win the race?

This is the multi-billion dollar question. For the moment, some experts believe it is better to avoid responding by investing in the suppliers of all the current leaders in the sector.

Bouthillier Capital (B-Cap) president and portfolio manager Mathieu Bouthillier puts companies like Broadcom (AVGO, US$851.82) on par with TSMC. “On the other hand, Applied Materials (AMAT, US$144.36), which we hold in our portfolio, produces the components that allow them to produce wafers and semiconductors,” he says. (…)

“With an indirect investment, you become a little more agnostic about who will win the artificial intelligence race, because the company that will have the best technology will need equipment,” explains Mathieu Bouthillier.

Cloud computing giants are getting organized

And data center operators are going to need equipment. A McKinsey & Company study estimates that global spending on data center construction will reach US$31 billion in 2022 and predicts that it will grow at a compound annual rate of 5.4% per year by 2030 for reach US$49 billion.

“The companies at the forefront of the data center industry form an oligopoly between Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon (AMZN, US$133.26), Microsoft Azure (MSFT, US$322.98) ) and Google Cloud, a subsidiary of Alphabet (GOOGL, US$129.88),” maintains Mathieu Bouthillier.

These companies, like all other data center operators, have cost reduction goals and are working to design custom-made processors for their infrastructures. To achieve this, they need software specialized in digital design. “On this side, two companies, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS, US$232.51) and Synopsys (SNPS, US$442.24), control 70% of the global market,” says the B-Cap manager.

The portfolio manager says he is monitoring these two companies carefully, while specifying that the securities, although of “good quality”, are expensively valued. “But on the stock market, if you only buy inexpensive stocks, you often end up with a portfolio that is not worth much,” he says, adding that even in the event that the economic environment deteriorates almost everywhere in the world, around the world, developers will continue to work on their next iterations of microprocessors, which means that both software designers could do well.

→ Link to article

Les Affaires Group, specializing in business information, offers content that provides food for thought in terms of business strategy, management, entrepreneurship and personal finance. Les Affaires Group allows you to reach the Quebec business community every month through its publications, websites, events and databases.

B-CAP’s Determination and Agility
February 2022

abstract

Its journey having incidentally started in the unprecedented context of a pandemic, Bouthillier Capital (B-CAP) made it its mission to deliver competitive performances for investors by implementing innovative strategies. The firm’s investment approaches combine capital protection and growth, in addition to pursuing atypical investment opportunities with high performance potential.

(…)

The pandemic has shown better than anything before it the importance of promoting local economies, which is an indispensable value for B-CAP. While many local businesses have taken advantage of the very positive impact of the crisis, the firm leverages this momentum to enhance its reputation in Montréal and in the province of Québec by joining forces with local programs and business partners.

“Being able to talk to one’s portfolio manager directly has a lot of value for many investors”, B-CAP’s Founder says. Also, Mathieu notes how the Québec institutional sector seems to be supporting local companies more and more. It’s in Québec’s cultural DNA to recognize and promote local success stories and talent.

“It is getting difficult to justify choosing investments that are sold by people who don’t know the strategy being used, and in other words can’t describe it to you with true transparency”, he explains.

→ Link to article

The texts in the Emerging Managers series are written by the CGE and aim to raise awareness of emerging Canadian managers, their investment strategies, and their achievements.

Profile on Independence
Mathieu Bouthillier, Founder & President, Bouthillier Capital (B-CAP)
January 2022

abstract

Mathieu’s diverse experiences and breadth of perspective culminated in a bold vision: an independent, unbiased and educated investment approach. “I wanted to be able to leverage my expertise in research and analysis and my breadth of experience to help people achieve their financial goals.”

At a large organization, this vision would be difficult if not impossible to achieve. In the wealth management divisions of Canadian banking institutions, for example, stocks are sometimes limited to a pre-determined list, which would typically be large cap stocks. Bond inventory available for trading may be in short supply. As for more exotic discretionary strategies incorporating options and warrants, it’s mostly impossible, and certainly frowned upon.

Mathieu added, “The trend that I have witnessed across the industry is that advisors streamline their clients’ books so that they all have similar portfolios that are simple and safe. But there are lots of opportunities in the stock market for those who can see beyond these traditional models.“

“In the brokerage and institutional worlds, you’re going to be restricted in terms of products and mandates.” he explained. “Independence offers opportunities for creativity.”

→ link to article

BUSINESS BUILDERS: Insights and resources for business leaders and financial professionals.
© NBIN, Division of NBF Inc. All rights reserved 2020

Summer Months’ 2nd Thursday
June 9th, July 14th and August 11th, 2022
B-CAP Office, 577 ave de Brixton, Saint-Lambert

Limited places available
Contact mbouthillier@b-cap.ca

What could be better than having a bite together to get to know each other better, discuss the stock markets, economics or sports…

Bouthillier Capital (B-CAP) invites you to its office and taste delicious pizzas cooked on site in the Neapolitan way, at 577 avenue de Brixton in Saint-Lambert, between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

→ RSVP

Avril 28th, 2022, 14:30
Saint-James Club

Conference on invitation only

Special Guest: Joaquin Kritz Lara, Chief Economist, Numera Analytics

Who Is This Conference For?
The angle of this event is to inform the target audience about economic conditions, geopolitical issues and certain market positions, as perceived by the speakers.
The ultimate goal is to introduce participating firms, including B-CAP’s GTBT portfolio management strategy, in particular how it incorporates various economic signals, including those of Numera Analytics, into its investment decisions.
Thus, the targeted audience is comprised of existing and potential customers (HNW, Family Office, Pension funds, etc.), allocators (consultants, FoF and other organizations), various influencers and active or retired members of the securities industry.

→ Invitation (pdf format)

→ RSVP

Numera Analytics is a global provider of macroeconomic and sectoral research. Our team of accomplished economists and industry specialists produce comprehensive analysis and rigorous market studies to guide investment decisions, commercial strategy and risk management.
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