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Better luck next year to those who shorted Canadian banks.

There are was a lot of talk at the start of the year about the Great White Short, as some hedge funds bet against the Canadian banks on the expectation that a slowing Canadian economy would hit financials hard.

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But that didn’t play out and anyone who went short lost out on a great rally. The S&P/TSX Capped Financials index is up 21.7% year to date after a year of record profits, numerous dividend hikes and a couple of stock splits.

As we can see from the numbers, anyone who shorted didn’t do so well

“I wouldn’t bet against Canadian banks and, as we can see from the numbers, anyone who shorted didn’t do so well,” said Adrian Mastracci, a portfolio manager at KCM Wealth Management in Vancouver.

This year has been a milestone for the country’s banks, with Royal Bank of Canada becoming the first Canadian bank to hit $100-billion in market capitalization. Investors who held onto bank stocks were rewarded with dividend hikes from the big six banks and returns that easily beat the S&P/TSX composite’s 9.2% rise.