Innovation pushes REQT lower amid AI chip sell-off
Value Factors Beat Momentum Again While Innovation Weighs on Returns
Régis Holstein and Anthony HolsteinTuesday, July 28, 2026
| Region | Value | Momentum | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | +0.68% | −1.66% | +2.35% |
| Canada | +1.03% | −0.14% | +1.17% |
| International | +0.29% | −2.11% | +2.41% |
Across all three regions we invest in (U.S., Canada and International), the model's "value" underlying ETFs (FCUV, FCCV, FCIV from Fidelity) beat the "momentum" funds by a wide margin (an average difference of +1.98%), with the international gap being the largest at +2.41%. In the U.S., Canada, and internationally, we split our investments perfectly evenly between two types of funds. "Momentum" ETFs buy stocks with improving fundamentals that have recently outperformed and may continue to do so over the medium term, while "value" ETFs buy stocks that are undervalued relative to their intrinsic value. Because we hold them equally, a day like today, where one strategy wins big and the other loses, mostly just results in them canceling each other out. Our overall portfolio (REQT) closed down slightly at −0.35% , driven mostly by the international momentum exposure through FCIM (down −2.11%), emerging markets with ZEM (down −1.89%) and the whole global innovation sleeve being down significantly today, down −1.18%.
The Canadian portion of our portfolio was the only area that saw gains, finishing up +0.48% and adding +0.10% to REQT. This was mostly driven by FCCV (up +1.03% ) and ZCN (up +0.53% ). Unfortunately, the rest of the portfolio lost value. The Innovation sector took the hardest hit percentage-wise, dropping −1.18% , largely because ORBX (down −2.22% ) and CIF (down −1.58% ) performed poorly.
| Fund | Today |
|---|---|
| REQT this model portfolio | −0.35% |
| TEQT TD All-Equity | +0.09% |
| XEQT iShares Core Equity | +0.07% |
| ZEQT BMO All-Equity | +0.04% |
| VEQT Vanguard All-Equity | +0.02% |
| FEQT Fidelity All-in-One Equity | +0.00% |
| GEQT iShares ESG Equity | −0.01% |
| HEQT Global X All-Equity | −0.04% |
| CAGE Avantis / CIBC All-Equity | −0.09% |
For a third consecutive day, the REQT model was the worst performer against the all-in-one ETFs which have barely moved today. At market close, XEQT was up +0.07%, TEQT up +0.09%, FEQT ended flat at +0.00% and CAGE ended the day at −0.09%. Our 15% innovation sleeve makes REQT's volatility a little higher than the other all-in-ones.
Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow for the next report!