Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM.TO)

It is a benchmark name but fully valued. Has an excellent management team. It faces a growth deficit relative to its peers but might have more torque to the upside. He likes B2 Gold which provides enormous opportunity in Mali and Indonesia. He is not too concerned about the political situations there but they are not as safe an area as Northern Ontario or Quebec.

Biggest single equity holding he has in client portfolios. He did trim, as it got to be way too big a position. Like the gold price, has stagnated over the last few months. Sees it as portfolio protection, insulates from inflation and geopolitical concerns. Tariff issues are still to be resolved, and there's still the impact of tariffs to look at (earnings, inflation, interest rates, the dollar). 

Best gold-mining company in the world. Yield is 1.35%.

Great way for most people to get exposure to precious metals, which has a multi-year bull market in front of it. Generates a ton of cash. This year will see ~30% growth in cashflow generation over last year, even assuming lower gold prices from where they are now. 

Paying down debt; once it gets to a certain level, they'll look at increasing dividends. Consistent share buybacks. In safe jurisdictions. Proven best operators in the business. Relatively long reserve life, lots of opportunity to increase reserves at existing mines. Yield is 1.35%.

Single finest precious metals mining operating company in the world. So it's the most valuable, even though its production is not as high as ABX or NGT. Exemplary corporate and safety cultures, and people like to work there. Grounded in Canada, skilled Mexican miner vis-a-vis politics and sociology. This name, along with WPM and FNV, needs to be in every single precious metals portfolio.

(Disclaimer:  AEM is sponsoring his symposium next week.)

Believes we're in very early stages of a gold bull market. Best operator. 5 of their major projects have exploration growth opportunities. Great dividend growth. Last year's acquisition of O3 Mining is a positive. 

Multiple will go up once people realize how much cash the company will generate. If gold just stays where it is at $3400, generates a ton of cash. He guesses that gold prices will go higher, which means the whole group will be revalued. Yield is 1.36%.

Best in class. High valuation. Trades at a well-deserved premium to peers, though they took it on the chin after Q1. Fosters lots of partnerships and JVs -- not just about giving $$, but willingly offers advice and feedback. Corporate culture is very positive.

He continues to be bullish on gold. Still owns, but took partial profits just before it reported. Nothing against AEM, but wanted to spread the risk via another gold producer with more torque. Major thrust behind the move has been the gold price moving higher.

Chart shows yet another lovely story for gold. Trend is your friend till it ends (silly rhyme, but there's truth to it). It can always pull back to the trendline. But until it breaks lows and highs and the chart starts looking terrible, just go with it. Buy on dips.

It's one of his best performers with fine margins and they cleaned up their balance sheet. They pay a small dividend, but grows rapidly. More momentum in gold to come.

Perhaps the best gold operator. They delivered an excellent quarter last week and operate at low costs. They definitely benefit from high gold prices.

Nice beat on recent earnings announcement. $600M in free cashflow. 3% higher production. Importantly, 3-6% lower costs than market expected. Very important that they maintained guidance for projects. Not cheap at 23x 2026 earnings.

Gold will keep working if clarity doesn't come from the US administration. Risk is that you get something that's necessary and sufficient from them; clarity and good policy would cause gold to fall off a lot, and the rest of the market will rally. Don't add here.

Gold's done well. She typically doesn't invest in commodity sectors. If you want gold exposure, one preference has always been AEM for its low-political-risk regions, growing mining operations, and good execution by very good management. Performed very well long-term over the cycle.