What it Takes to Create Value for Investors
Author: The editor's desk
May 12, 2026
AGF Perspectives sat down with John Porter, AGF Investments’ new Chief Investment Officer (CIO), to discuss his approach to asset management and why firms that are nimble, collaborative and willing to evolve quickly have a real opportunity to differentiate themselves.
New job, new city. How are you settling in so far?
It’s an exciting transition for me and my family. Toronto is one of the great cities in the world and we’re looking forward to spending more time here. That said, I’m already fully immersed at work and energized by the opportunity ahead. This is a fascinating time to be in the asset management industry, and I genuinely love what I do.
What attracted you to AGF Investments and the CIO role?
It starts with the people. Asset management is ultimately a people business and I’ve been extremely impressed by how thoughtful, engaged and client-focused everyone at AGF Investments has been. There’s a strong cultural foundation here, and that matters enormously to me.
What is equally exciting, however, is the opportunity ahead. Historically, scale was viewed as an overwhelming advantage in asset management. Increasingly, I believe excessive size can also create bureaucracy and slow adaptation in a rapidly evolving industry. Firms that are nimble, collaborative and willing to evolve quickly have a real opportunity to differentiate themselves.
That’s what I see at AGF Investments. We have strong existing capabilities, a leadership team led by Chief Executive Officer, Judy Goldring, that embraces thoughtful evolution, and the ability to move with urgency when we identify opportunities for clients. Whether it’s embracing new technologies like AI, evolving our research process, or delivering investment solutions in ways clients increasingly prefer, I believe AGF Investments is exceptionally well positioned for the future.
Most importantly, I believe the best investment organizations of the next decade will look very different than the best investment organizations of the last decade — and that creates tremendous opportunity for firms willing to evolve.
What are the crucial elements to managing a successful investment management team?
There are many elements to success, but the two that are non-negotiable to me are collaboration and debate.
First, collaboration. We cannot operate in silos. The world of investing has become far too complex and interconnected for anyone to believe they can go it alone. We need ideas flowing freely across teams, investment styles, asset classes and levels of experience. The best insights often emerge when different perspectives challenge and sharpen one another.
Second, debate. I strongly believe healthy, respectful debate is a competitive advantage. As investors, we spend our days trying to answer difficult questions about the economy, markets, geopolitics, technology and human behavior — all areas where uncertainty is unavoidable. Nobody has a crystal ball. By openly debating ideas and challenging our assumptions, we become more informed, more thoughtful and ultimately better decision-makers for clients.
I also believe investment organizations need to be intentionally designed for the world we operate in today, not the world that existed 20 years ago. Markets are more interconnected, information moves faster and clients expect more. That requires research platforms that encourage collaboration across perspectives rather than rigid silos.
Do you have a particular investment style or philosophy that you follow?
Throughout my career, I’ve primarily been known as a fundamental, bottom-up investor with a growth orientation who sought out companies capable of disrupting their industries. When I was actively managing money, I tended to focus much more heavily on long-term business quality and earnings potential than on short-term valuation metrics.
As CIO, however, my role is different. One of the most fascinating aspects of investing is that there is no single “correct” approach. Great investors can succeed through very different styles, philosophies and processes. My responsibility is not to impose a house view on how people should invest, but rather to create an environment where talented investors with different perspectives have the resources, collaboration and support they need to perform at a high level.
That said, I will be relentless about fostering intellectual curiosity, open-mindedness and thoughtful debate across the organization.
What industry trends do you anticipate having an impact on how active asset management is delivered to clients in the future?
One of the most important qualities for any leader is the ability to objectively recognize structural changes taking place within the industry, even when those changes may be uncomfortable.
For example, over the last decade we’ve seen enormous flows move from actively managed equity strategies into passive solutions. I’ve heard many people argue this is simply cyclical and that clients will eventually return to active management in large numbers. I think it’s important to view this through the eyes of the client. Clients want strong outcomes, transparency and value — and they increasingly expect “more for less.”
That does not diminish my belief in active management. I believe in it wholeheartedly. But it does mean we need to remain open-minded about how we deliver actively managed strategies to clients, whether through ETFs, mutual funds, separately managed accounts or other evolving structures.
I also believe artificial intelligence will be one of the most transformative developments our industry has experienced in decades. Not because it replaces human judgment, but because it enhances our ability to process information, test ideas, identify patterns and ultimately make better decisions for clients. Firms that thoughtfully embrace these tools will have meaningful advantages over time.
Again, that’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about AGF Investments. I believe we have the culture, talent and agility to evolve alongside the industry rather than simply react to it.
What is your level of optimism about the current market environment?
In my career, I don’t believe there has been a better time to be a thoughtful long-term investor than now. By long term, I don’t necessarily mean buying something and ignoring it for five years. To me, long term means having the patience and discipline to think in terms of business fundamentals and earnings power over a 12-to-24-month horizon rather than reacting to daily market noise.
Ultimately, markets tend to follow earnings growth over time. Valuation, sentiment and geopolitics certainly matter, but durable earnings growth remains the most important driver of long-term equity returns. While there are clearly risks and uncertainties in the current environment, I remain excited about the opportunities ahead.
The key is avoiding the trap of extreme short-termism that increasingly dominates parts of the market today. There are many participants forced to react minute-by-minute or day-by-day because of their structure, liquidity profile or risk constraints. That’s an incredibly crowded and difficult game.
I want AGF Investments to continue focusing on what has always created value in investing: deep research, analytical rigor, independent thinking and the discipline to maintain perspective when others become consumed by short-term volatility.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of AGF, its subsidiaries or any of its affiliated companies, funds, or investment strategies.
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About AGF Management Limited
Founded in 1957, AGF Management Limited (AGF) is an independent and globally diverse asset management firm. Our companies deliver excellence in investing in the public and private markets through three business lines: AGF Investments, AGF Capital Partners and AGF Private Wealth.
AGF brings a disciplined approach, focused on incorporating sound, responsible and sustainable corporate practices. The firm’s collective investment expertise, driven by its fundamental, quantitative and private investing capabilities, extends globally to a wide range of clients, from financial advisors and their clients to high-net worth and institutional investors including pension plans, corporate plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations.
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, AGF has investment operations and client servicing teams on the ground in North America and Europe. AGF serves more than 800,000 investors. AGF trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol AGF.B.
For further information, please visit AGF.com.
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