Get On Board: Darren Sisson's Locomotive Logic for 2025
Navigating Global Volatility: How Darren Sissons is Building a Resilient Portfolio with Big Pharma, Industrial Gases, and Cross-Continent Railways
Darren Sissons, partner and portfolio manager at Campbell, Lee & Ross Investment Management, is no stranger to navigating volatile markets. His latest appearance on BNN Bloomberg offers a sharp look at where smart money should be headed in today’s politically charged, economically fragile global landscape. With a steady hand and a global lens, Sissons has laid out a focused strategy that leans on resilience, diversification, and future-ready innovation. His top picks—AstraZeneca, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, and Linde Plc—aren’t just solid companies. They represent stability in a world that’s anything but.
2025: A Trump-Driven Reset
The backdrop for Sissons’ outlook is shaped by what can only be described as a second Trump Shockwave. While the 2024 market boom had much to do with bipartisan electioneering and massive U.S. stimulus, 2025 has been a different beast entirely. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has reignited trade wars, particularly targeting China. With executive orders flying fast and rhetoric growing hotter—like the controversial “fifty-first state” comments—many global investors have found themselves rattled. But Sissons argues that this volatility brings opportunity, especially for investors who understand the cyclical nature of Trump's economic influence.
Opportunities in the Rubble
In his view, growth stocks in the U.S. were grossly overvalued by the end of 2024. A decade of gains pushed valuations into unsustainable territory. But the Trump-driven correction has created a once-in-a-cycle buying window—especially for growth-at-a-reasonable-price (GARP) plays. Biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks, which had been overlooked amid the AI craze, now shine with promise. Med-tech, logistics, and segments of the software industry are also entering value territory, drawing the attention of long-view investors.
Avoiding China, Focusing on Resilience
Sissons believes that strategic avoidance of China-linked equities remains crucial. The lesson from Trump’s first administration still holds true: China is the prime geopolitical target. Instead, the focus should shift toward industries that either benefit from reshaped trade alliances or are neutral to geopolitical shocks. It's a sharp-edged form of portfolio insulation. Sissons also warns against blind optimism. Markets appear to be pricing in the successful resolution of the ongoing tariff standoff—but he cautions that only the UK has finalized a deal so far. Other trade partners are largely on the sidelines, waiting, watching, and resisting Washington’s pressure.
AstraZeneca: A Biopharma Powerhouse
With this context in mind, Sissons reveals his top three investment picks. First up is AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant that’s carving out global leadership in oncology, cardiometabolic, respiratory, and rare diseases. In just the past six months, the company has received approval for two major new drugs, a signal that its R&D machine is operating at full throttle. Its active pipeline offers a steady stream of near-term commercialization opportunities—something Wall Street is beginning to reprice after years of underappreciation.
But AstraZeneca isn’t just a one-trick pony. The company’s dividend yield of 2.4% adds income stability, while its proven R&D capabilities, boosted by a clever tuck-in acquisition strategy, give it a long-term growth engine. Investors who bet on AstraZeneca over the past decade have seen an impressive 12.3% annualized return in Canadian dollars. And that’s without factoring in the strategic upside of an aging global population and the rising demand for oncology and rare disease treatments. If you’re looking for a stock that balances defensive characteristics with innovation, AstraZeneca checks every box.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City: Riding the Rails of North American Trade
Sissons’ second pick is Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), the only single-line railroad that connects Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. While many investors are skittish about ongoing tariff headlines, Sissons sees that noise for what it is: temporary distraction. The deeply integrated nature of North American supply chains all but ensures that commodities, finished goods, and partial products will continue to move seamlessly across CPKC’s network. Railroads, especially one with this geographic reach, aren’t just businesses—they’re arteries of modern commerce.
In 2023, the company paused its share buyback program as it integrated Kansas City Southern into its operations. Now, with the merger completed, CPKC has reignited shareholder value creation by announcing a buyback of 37 million shares, roughly 4% of its market cap. Sissons sees this as more than a one-time event. It signals confidence in long-term cash flow and the return of regular buybacks as a strategic capital deployment tool. For investors seeking exposure to industrials with a backbone-of-the-economy role, CPKC delivers both stability and scale.
Linde Plc: The Invisible Giant Powering Everything
The final name on Sissons’ list is Linde Plc, an industrial gas titan that flies under the radar but powers nearly every major sector on the planet. From oxygen for hospitals to hydrogen for refineries, and from CO2 in soda fountains to argon used in welding, Linde is embedded in modern life in ways most consumers never notice. But institutional investors do—and Sissons is doubling down.
What makes Linde particularly attractive is its rock-solid business model. Most of its contracts are long-term, “take or pay” agreements, which means clients pay whether or not they fully utilize the service. That locks in dependable cash flows even in rough markets. On top of that, Linde’s growth model revolves around committing to large-scale infrastructure and industrial projects that produce multi-year profit spreads. This is growth built on contracts, not hype.
In terms of returns, Linde has quietly delivered a staggering 17.9% annualized return in Canadian dollars over the past decade. That’s the kind of performance that turns patient capital into serious wealth. As more industries lean into decarbonization and hydrogen plays expand, Linde’s relevance and profitability are only going to grow. For investors seeking an inflation-resistant, contract-backed growth engine, Linde is a no-brainer.
A Balanced Portfolio Strategy for an Unbalanced World
Each of Sissons’ picks brings something different to the table—pharma innovation, rail infrastructure, and industrial gas dominance—but they all reflect the same underlying strategy: invest in critical services, avoid geopolitical sinkholes, and prioritize long-term fundamentals over short-term hype. This is the kind of portfolio positioning that thrives amid chaos. It doesn’t chase headlines; it builds wealth.
While most of the market remains distracted by the noise of politics, inflation, and central bank speculation, Sissons is tuning into the signal. His top picks for May 2025 show a preference for companies with real earnings, durable business models, and the capacity to adapt in a world where trade deals can be torn up overnight. This isn’t just smart investing. It’s a blueprint for survival.
Conclusion
Darren Sissons’ market outlook is both sobering and optimistic. He doesn’t sugarcoat the turbulence of a Trump-led geopolitical arena, nor does he buy into the optimism that everything will resolve cleanly. Instead, he builds a portfolio that reflects reality. In AstraZeneca, CPKC, and Linde, he’s identified companies that are not only weathering the storm but quietly compounding returns. These aren’t speculative moonshots—they’re the bedrock of a smart, resilient investment strategy. If the rest of 2025 looks anything like the first half, these three names could become the quiet champions of a volatile year.