Michael SprungManulife FinancialMFC.TOTOP PICKJul 29, 2015

Insurance companies are one of those that tend to do better in a high interest rate environment. Why? Present value of their liabilities gets discounted more. A leveraged way to play higher interest rates.

It has had a lot of traction and the price has risen. It won't get the multiple of banks today which are at their peak level. The dividend yield is stronger than the banks. He owns and is not selling but also not buying for clients...waiting for it to consolidate.
In answer to another part of the question on the trading, component, a big chunk of volume goes through the first half hour and last half hour of the trading day but this doesn't matter to their trading strategy.

Last week, they reported a good quarter. They have a big presence in Hong Kong, but the Chinese government has announced a tax on MFC's products for mainland Chinese residents. MFC has done quiet well and the insurer space too. Expectations are higher. 

Both fairly highly ranked, and moving up, in the Canadian equity universe. The banks have been dominating the top of the rankings, and the insurers have been catching up. TD is slightly higher ranked, with a bit better performance.

When two stocks are looking good and under accumulation, and you can't decide, you can always split your position between the two of them.

A bit overbought. Chart looks healthy, with higher highs and higher lows. 200-day MA continues to move higher. Financials in Canada are, in general, getting a little overvalued. Be cautious, be selective. 

Trading over 2x book value now. Not a lot of earnings growth, about 8-9% (still decent, but not explosive). 

Slow and steady does win the race.

Won't buy at current levels. Would consider in a market pullback.

They're freeing capital from their legacy businesses and doing well now. They have healthy growth in Asia and wealth management is doing well. Relative to the banks, MFC looks attractive.

Decent-sized miss on alternative portfolio results, so short-term penalty box. Longer term, nothing has changed. Reiterated 18% ROE target for 2027. Still a good story. Wait for weakness to add.

Concern over earnings may explain drop today. Chart and 200-day MA still look intact. Very nice dividend. As with the rest of the market, have to be careful of overbought situations. Still sees double-digit growth. Watch the charts for entry points.

In the doldrums following the financial crisis. Recently, taken the lead. The opportunity in this name has, perhaps, been fully realized.

He needs either a macro or company-specific hiccup to happen before putting new $$ to work in the market. At that time, you may want to take profits on this and deploy elsewhere. Watch out for headline contagion risk from private credit issues.

He just bought it. Great execution, fine asset management and is a cash cow. Can increase the dividend again. Yields nearly 5% and trades under 10x PE. They will keep buying back stock. Also, they have little credit exposure, so no credit worries.

Viewed as less dependable as SLF and less exciting at Great West Life. MFC is well-capitalized with a decent PE though lifecos aren't great growers. Is reliable.

Doesn't know why this has come off. Maybe profit-taking after a good run. Is a reasonable, long-term holding. Is seeing growth in Asia. Life insurance is a stable business. Pays a good dividend yield.

It has pulled back to 10X this year's earnings and is quite a lot lower than the banks' ratio. It has shown success in Asia and in wealth management.