The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that Canadian stocks just notched their best year relative to U.S. shares in two decades, and money managers are betting the outperformance has further to run as investors concerned with volatility in American equities seek calmer markets. The Post's Stephanie Hughes writes that the S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped 28 per cent last year, far outpacing the S&P 500's 16-per-cent gain. The trend has carried into January, with the Canadian benchmark up 3.7 per cent, compared with a 1.7-per-cent advance for U.S. stocks. Just two weeks into the new year, a string of shock developments -- including the abrupt ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a criminal probe targeting the Federal Reserve and major banking policy announcements delivered via social media -- have unsettled U.S. markets and pushed investors toward less volatile alternatives. The U.S. is "becoming less competitive," said Laura Lau, chief investment officer at Brompton Funds. "So we just felt that the other countries are starting to step up and realize that they've been letting basically the U.S. eat their lunch." Ms. Lau in particular likes Canadian gold miners like Agnico Eagle Mines.