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(A Top Pick August 24/12. Up 6.41%.) Good management and some of their marketing approaches are good as well. He can see the telecom area continuing to be a growth area.

(A Top Pick August 24/12. Down 3.79%.) Still likes. They have been quite good in terms of using rail shipment for their semi-heavy oil. Pays a reasonable dividend. Great drilling opportunities where they operate. Have a whole bunch of sections where they haven’t drilled but it is the same as the section next door.

What bank would you buy and would you do it now or later? Canadian banks in general are pretty reasonable value right now. His favourite would be Toronto Dominion (TD-T). Has been pretty successful in expanding into the US market. He sees this as a pretty superior bank to some of the regional banks in the US so there is lots of room for them to make progress there.

Has been basically out of gas stocks, except for a small holding in this one. This has one of the best managements in the patch and has done very well. They are also into gas liquids which has helped. From a bottom-line standpoint. Gas is not going to be a good area to operate in for some time. It’s not the companies, just that there is a lot of gas. Until we can ship gas offshore (LNG), the gas industry is going to be facing some problems.

Not a bad company but, when there was a hint of higher interest rates coming, the stock dropped dramatically. Has other growth prospects and is doing a good job. Feels it was overdone.

Over the last while, they have made progress but they were in a pretty deep hole. Feels there was a lot of speculative money that went into to the stock. On a multiple basis, it looks very expensive. Have some opportunities in the Orient, but there are risks attached to that. Yield is not that exciting. He would prefer Power Financial (PWF-T) or Sun Life (SLF-T) instead. If looking for yield, you could probably get a lot more out of bank stocks with a lot less risk.

This company has been acting very well. A favourite of American investors. When they decide to invest in the energy sector in Canada, this one tends to pop up to the top of the list. If you are not in the oil sector at all, this is probably not a bad investment. 2.1% dividend yield.

In the gas side of the business and it is a tough business to be in. You can’t really see a lot of growth in these companies, given the new, cheap gas that is coming on. 4.6% yield.

Owns this and considers it a problem child in his portfolio. Has been struggling. Their coal-fired plants out West are facing replacement requirements. They just don’t seem to have a lot going for them. Keeps hoping they will cut a better deal in Alberta to give them a little bit more wiggle room. Dividend of about 7%. There have been times in the past when they have not earned their dividend but continued to pay. Expects this will be the pattern in the future. Getting a little concerned that if we don’t see any improvement in operating levels, at some point in time that dividend could be in danger.

Sold his holdings. Became very concerned about the apparent lack of control with the big Argentine/Chile project. There were environmental aspects that the company seemed to ignore.

Got out of the stock when they got into Madagascar as he felt there was too much to be spent. It was a huge project in a potentially unstable political environment. The positive side was that they had some super partners. Still doesn’t think it is clear enough for him to step back in. He wants to see how they operate, and if the politics settles down.

Really likes the pattern. It has built a good top. Sees earnings growth coming out of the oil shipments side and there is a pretty reasonable economy in Western Canada with a bumper crop, which means more grain shipments, and probably more fertilizer. Great growth potential. Reasonable multiple, especially compared to Canadian Pacific (CP-T).

There was a fairly significant US holding and then about 9 months ago Americans decided to lighten up on energy stocks. He hopes it will come back in favour. Bought this for the dividend, which is currently over 7%. Have not been making any acquisitions lately, so there is no dilution of the stocks. In the Bakken area, which is a higher-priced oil with better access to the US than the heavy crude.

A smorgasbord of financials. This is one place where you can diversify a little bit. Well managed. Pays a pretty reasonable dividend and have been good about increasing this. Good multiples. Good cash flow and long-term growth.