The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that it is not surprising that gold and materials are the main drivers of the strong first half posted by the Toronto Stock Exchange. Columnist Gordon Pape writes that the gold price has been surging since June of last year, driven by central bank purchases and by investors seeking safe havens during a period of market turbulence. As for materials, prices of some key metals are in the stratosphere. Copper was trading at record highs even before being given a further boost by U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats. Platinum has just pulled back after touching a new record high. Uranium is up about 20 per cent from its March low. None of this should surprise readers who have been watching the markets, but what they may not have noticed is the strong showing of Canadian small-cap stocks in recent years. Over the past three years, the return for the S&P/TSX Small Cap Index is the same as for the S&P/TSX composite. So far in 2025, small caps are up 14.6 per cent, compared with 9.3 per cent for the composite. Many of these small companies are in the high-flying materials sector. Small caps tend to be underrated by investors, but that may soon change.