Andrey Omelchak, Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Office, LionGuard Capital Management Focus: North American small and mid-cap equities Top Picks: Magellan Aerospace, Stingray Group, Black Diamond Group MARKET OUTLOOK: The market environment in 2026 has been affected by heightened volatility reflecting a combination of geopolitical developments and their impact on global growth, interest rates path and risk on risk off sentiment. Markets today are increasingly driven by investment themes, which attract massive fund flows and create powerful momentum to the upside until said theme abates. For investors who recognize these dynamics and position accordingly, while staying true to fundamental principles, this creates a particularly compelling opportunity set. For example, in Canada we are seeing the early stages of a “Build Canada” multi-year investment cycle, with increasing visibility into large-scale infrastructure, power, defence, and domestic capabilities projects. Defence spending especially is booming across Canada and allied nations, driving a sharp increase in bidding pipelines and contract opportunities across a range of businesses. Power shortage and other grid constraints, largely fuelled by massive data centers buildout, has been another powerful theme with structural tailwinds. One of the most notable developments over the past nine months has been the large selloff across software-as-a-service (SaaS) and broader software businesses. After a violent period of multiple compression, valuations have reset meaningfully. We are now seeing signs of a bottoming process, with investors increasingly capable to distinguish between AI beneficiaries and structurally challenged businesses. - Market-moving news, fast: Get the BNN Bloomberg App now - Sign up for the Market Call Top Picks newsletter at bnnbloomberg.ca/subscribe TOP PICKS: Magellan Aerospace (TSX: MAL) In our view, one of the most underappreciated ways to invest in booming global defence cycle. The company sits at the center of mission-critical aerospace and defence supply chains, with deep relationships across