Stephen Takacsy, B. Eng, MBA

Hopefully, not too old fashioned. He's a fundamental, bottom-up stock picker. Purposely tries to be different from the main indices in Canada. He has an all-cap strategy -- so small, mid-caps, and large. Very different industry weightings than the TSX. Tends not to invest in oil/gas, mining, or resource sectors. Keeps fairly low weightings in the banks, though he likes them.

All so he and his team can offer something different, which they've been doing for 18 years. They've beat the TSX over that time, with an annual compound rate of return of over 10%. The TSX has been just over 7%.

His other specialty is Canadian corporate bonds in fixed income. Very credit-driven. Has also trounced the bond index, with an annual compound rate of almost 6.5%, compared to the bond index at just over 3%.

AUM are just over $300M, and he has 3 funds.

Declining inflation, which encourages central banks to cut rates. Yet still a growing economy and very strong employment numbers. Putting that all together is like rocket fuel for bonds, and for the stock market. Market breadth has widened beyond the Mag 7 to other sectors.

Very cautious on anything driven by the consumer. Consumer in Canada has really slowed down, unemployment is ticking up. 

Talk of tariffs by Trump is more bark than bite; last time he was elected, not much happened. Trump is certainly going after cheap exports from China. That said, his firm's equity portfolio in Canada is fairly immune to any tariffs -- not much exposure to exporters or resources. Most of the businesses are domestic or have manufacturing within the US, or they sell goods exempt from tariffs (such as FDA-approved products). Lots of his investments are in service companies, such as IT or engineering. 

Tariffs shouldn't be a problem. Now improving operations and margins. Juice not growing as much as in the past, due to concerns about sugar intake. Not expensive, very well managed. Not a liquid stock. For a long-term value investor.

He's never owned it. Quite acquisitive in the past. Topline has slowed, hard to see how it's going to move the needle for a decent growth rate.

Sector's had a rough ride, with the pandemic plus higher input costs. Wine consumption has flattened. Last results showed significant margin improvement. Growth is challenged, making small tuck-in acquisitions. Expects majority shareholder to eventually take it private.

Very good operators and acquirers. Post-pandemic funk, excess inventory had to be marked down. It'll take time for things to normalize. Murky construction and renovation outlook in US. More housing activity may be a good time to step back in.

Cash hoards in money market funds are going to come out, go into stocks and bonds. Corporate bonds still have some very attractive yields, with the average in his fund being 5.4% -- still well above inflation even on an after-tax basis. Preferred shares have also been on a rip the last 2 years.

Money will find its way to Canadian stocks. The loonie is quite washed out. The additional 50 bps rate cut today didn't cause the forex rate to move, so it was already baked in. Loonie's basing here, and US stocks are expensive. Better value in Canada, US stocks have been quite frothy. Every country has been in a funk except the US, so money should move into more reasonably priced markets.

Yes, lower rates do encourage home buying and investments in real estate. So the sector should perk up, but it won't be as liquid as stocks and not for everybody.

He doesn't own any REITs. Many have external management, which he doesn't like. At different times, he has been in and out of CAR.UN and BEI.UN. Sees better value elsewhere, you have to pick your spots, and it's really a question of timing. They can be a great trade, as they got crushed when rates were rising.

Sold mobile unit. Leaders in embedded home, infrastructure, and satcom. Fixed balance sheet. Turned around, next year should be really strong with new product launches. Might be acquired. Excellent technology, solid clients.

Bought in just before the takeout deal was nixed by the French government. Rocket ride lately on the nuclear bid hype, so he sold. De facto world gold standard in nuclear valves. Cheap vs. tangible book value. May buy again if cheap enough. Sees eventual takeover.

Sells to hospitals, now expanding to pharmacies. Gold standard in US hospital network system. Recurring software revenues growing by over 30% a year, gross margins have expanded to over 70%. Guidance that EBITDA margins will exceed 10% next year. Trades at 3.5x revenues, huge discount to US peers. High quality.

Taken out at 62% premium to last trading price. Shows how undervalued many small- and mid-caps are on the TSX. Over 18 years, he's had ~45 takeovers in his portfolio.

Benefiting from the Freedom Mobile purchase. Able to expand in Ontario and Western Canada without deploying too much capex. Very high ROE and free cashflow, allowing them to lower debt and obtain investment-grade rating on bonds. Aggressively buying back shares. Best-performing telecom stock this year.

Very well managed. Still able to grow dividend because of its free cashflow. Competition in Canada will stay intense but rational.

Ambitious projects sucked up a lot of capital. Projects now being completed on time and on budget. Divested assets to strengthen balance sheet. What are they going to do for growth going forward? Executive shuffles. Will be challenged for a while. He owns BLX.