Tales of surviving and thriving as a Canadian energy fund manager

Being an energy fund manager in Canada hasn’t been for the faint of heart for several years, and that was cemented in 2020 when the price of West Texas Intermediate crude plunged into negative territory.

Being an energy fund manager in Canada hasn’t been for the faint of heart for several years, and that was cemented in 2020 when the price of West Texas Intermediate crude plunged into negative territory for the first time in history in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investors in Canadian energy have dealt with everything from oil market collapses, to plummeting stock prices, to political (and legal) roadblocks, to climate concerns.

Yet Canadian energy fund managers who have stuck to their guns have learned to adapt, to calm client nerves, and perhaps most importantly, figure out where opportunities still exist in the sector.

And this year, they’re being handsomely rewarded.

“I was sitting at my desk on a special day in March of last year watching my fund fall 40 per cent in a day. Cenovus – not a small company – was down 50 per cent in a single day. When you feel like throwing up at the sheer quantum of money that you just lost, temporarily at least, for your clients, absolutely I think every successful money manager questions themselves sometimes,” said Eric Nuttall, partner and senior portfolio manager at Ninepoint Partners, in an interview.

Nuttall, who has nearly two decades of experience in energy-focused money management, is no stranger to fielding frantic client calls during oil downturns. His main concern during the height of the pandemic was clients selling their holdings out of fear and thus locking in a “generational loss.”