Novartis AG (NVS)

It is a really strong global pharma company. They are turning around their eye care business acquisition and their cardiac drug which had a bungled launch. If they are successful they will do quite well. It could be a blockbuster.

Thinks pharmaceuticals had a rough bit of water, is the politics in the US. It hasn’t been resolved as to who is going to win. There has also been a lot of negativity around Valeant (VRX-N) and the whole sector, which is not done yet. Mrs. Clinton said she is going to clean this up. He would have a tendency to move his money somewhere else where there is more security.

60% of their business is in pharmaceuticals, 20% in ophthalmology and 20% in Sandoz, a biosimilar company, the 1^st one to get a biosimilar approved in the US. Attractive balance sheet.

(A Top Pick March 13/15. Down 22.73%.) This had swapped its businesses with Glaxo and the market didn’t like it. Also, there is a problem with the Swiss franc. However, you are still getting a 3.9% yield. A well-run drug company.

Suffering on the Pharma side like every other Pharma company. They are all having difficulty coming up with big blockbuster drugs. This company’s strong point is that it has a generic business that has done very well. Have a great business in eye care. He would step into this slowly. Not overly expensive.

Big, Swiss drug company. Pharma, contact lens, generics and OTC businesses. The growth prospects for the contact lens cleaner business is not good because of disposable contact lenses. They are thinking of selling it. The catalysts could be: guidance at the end of this month on 2016, a new heart medication being launched this year and a good pipeline which will get updated throughout the year.

Healthcare. Has a decent vaccine business as well as a decent generics business. This would be a good solid hold. Organic growth will have to be a big part of the equation in order to continue to grow EPS. Good stock.

A Swiss pharma company. A lot of the Swiss companies are so global in nature that it doesn’t have a massive impact. Their head office is in Switzerland, but their revenues are coming from elsewhere.

A Swiss healthcare company. One of the top 6 drug companies globally. Has major strength in cancer and multiple sclerosis. Able to do mid to high single digit revenue growth in underlying Swiss franc terms, which gives you low double-digit earnings growth. Did a big reorganization of its portfolio last year. Yield of 2.92%.

Likes pharma as a group. This group was out-of-favour for 10-12 years, so it is an under owned group. Plays directly into demographics. Very predictable cash flow stream. This company has some very good generic products and diabetes drugs. You will get high single digit revenue growth going forward as well as earnings growth and dividend growth.

(A Top Pick Oct 14/11. Up 10.17%.) Good dividend and last year they did increase it. Likes the sector for its defensive nature. With the Cdn$ above par, it is not a bad time to accumulate this one. Important to have healthcare exposure.