TOP PICK
Well protected and great payout. The dominant telco in eastern Canada. Payout of $2.90 giving you over 10%. Wire line telephone is not a growth business, so you don't own this for growth, only income.
TOP PICK
Well protected and great payout. A big mover of oil and oil liquids, regular and from the oil sands. Growing and adding capacity. Pays about 8.5% and not economically sensitive. Limited downside.
TOP PICK
Herbicide, pesticide and seed business. Global agricultural play. Had great earnings. Outlook is fabulous. Agricultural sector is not cheap compared to the rest of the market, but because this is not as well known as others and is Swiss based, has a lower multiple.
PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Feb 27/07. Down 20%.) Specialty property/casualty insurer. All financials in the US are down. Continuing to show better earnings and increasing dividends. Had a little bit of bad mortgage paper, but not a whole lot. Still a Buy.
PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Feb 27/07. Down 2.5 %.) Largest sensitive pressure label manufacturer globally. Also have other divisions, aluminum aerosol cans and plastic tubes. 85% to 90% of sales/earnings are outside of Canada. Some economic sensitivity, but not a lot. Still a Buy.
PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Feb 27/07. Down 15.2 %.) Went down with the Japanese market. Reinvented itself from the film business. One of the largest manufacturers of digital cameras and biggest provider of photo finishing paper as well as automated kiosks. Have a division that is the largest provider of material that goes into the LCD screens. Opportunity for long-term investors to Buy a great company.
COMMENT
Cash: Most of his accounts have 15% to 20% cash and most of them are balanced with bonds. On bonds, you can do better with quality dividend paying stocks, which will give you a comparable or better yield. You also get a tax credit on dividends and they grow over time.
BUY
Controls Investors Group (IGM-T), Great West (GWO-T), London life and Canada Life. Also have some holdings in Europe. Stock has come off largely because financials in general have been hit and is big in the mutual fund business. Good long-term Buy. Raises its dividends annually, usually twice a year.
COMMENT
In this particular market, there is no rush to buy anything right now. If you have a lot of cash, that's great, but chip away at things rather than going whole hog into the market.
DON'T BUY
There have been untold cockroaches coming out on US, European and Canadian banks. He believes there is more to come. Of the Canadian banks, this is the most exposed, to bad loans, subprimes, etc. Could drop further.
BUY
His favourite, long-term Canadian financial. The best managed life insurance Company in North America. Have fabulous overseas operations in the far east with great growth potential. As far as is known, it has little or no exposure in this bad subprime area. Good, long-term opportunity.
DON'T BUY
With the US going into a recession, it is not the time to be buying a car company. Expect there will be some soft sales. If he were going to buy one, this might be the one as it is in a turnaround situation. Coming out with attractive models that people want. Too early.
BUY
This is a great one to own for the long run, 3 to 5 years. One of the best managed large cap mining companies in the world. Great properties and great products in the right area.
COMMENT
This was the stock to own in the cable communications area for some time. Valuations got excessive and the stock has come off. There is also potential for new competition in the wireless area. In the near term, be cautious, but in the long-term it is a great franchise.
BUY
2 main parts to it, 1) holdings in Loblaws (L-T) and 2) bakery divisions throughout North America. Feels Loblaws is the dominant price in the stock, which has been hit a lot because Loblaws shares have come down a lot. (See comments under Loblaws (L-T).