Today’s paradigm is that growth is good and value is bad. Big dividend payers like BCE are out of favour and telecoms are down significantly globally. However, telecom companies tend to grow with the economy. If Canadian GDP grows 10%, the telecom market will grow 10% along with it. BCE provides a fairly safe income stream and at its current level, he would add more.

(A Top Pick August 11, 2017. Up 1%). This is still a core holding. They have made some smart acquisitions in the last year. At this level, he thinks it is attractive. They are increasing their dividend, which makes the rise in interest rates less of a challenge for the price of this stock than for the price of other interest-sensitive stocks that are not growing their dividends. He expects more of the baby boomers to buy stocks like this, to get stable income with a little bit of growth.

(A Top Pick August 11, 2017. Down 45%). At its current price, he thinks this is a cheap story. Aviation has worked well for GE; energy has not. With the re-industrialization of the US, GE is likely to do better. Higher interest rates will work for GE Capital. The chart is not pretty but when you buy a marquee capital goods company, they tend to recover and the dividends come back.

(A Top Pick August 11, 2017. Down 14%). This is a funds-flow story. Earnings this year grew 20% but they made some major acquisitions. There is nothing wrong with the fundamentals of this company. The balance sheet is very strong and they can continue to do acquisitions. This is one of his core holdings and he expects it to do well in the future. Over the long term, this stock has done well and the dividend has increased year over year. He sees its current price as a buying opportunity.

Buffett has bought many private companies at good prices and they have performed well over time. Recently, the stock has underperformed. He is running into the law of large numbers: when a company gets very large, it is hard to continue to grow at the same rate. The company’s management is evolving, but what will happen to the share price when Buffett dies?

This company lost its identity as it evolved. Was it primarily a drug company or a marketer of generics? Its price dropped substantially after its main drug came off patent. Since then, the CEO left and the Board has reorganized. However, Teva still has a lot of debt. The debt load was moderate, but earnings have fallen so much that the debt has become relatively much more important, making this a risky investment. 16. 3M (MMM-N)(Doesn’t own)(Buy on weakness). This company did very well when value stocks were in favor, and has traded down. It is modestly priced compared to its historical levels, not cheap. This would be a good company to buy at a discount and hold for a long time.

This suffered in the global crisis, like all other banks. They do business in the US, Latin America and Spain and are doing OK. Higher interest rates are coming and they will be good for the banks. This should do well in the next 3-to-5 years.