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Market. Growth stocks continue to lead the markets but if you strip out tech stocks then the market is down on the year. The FANG stocks are off their highs. We are seeing a rotation into a broader basket of stocks. In Canada it is the Cannabis stocks. They are our tech stocks. Aurora is higher today on a partnership with Coke. They have the strongest momentum on the TSX but he wants investors to rotate into value stocks. He does not want to crowd himself into a small group of growth stocks this late into the cycle. He prefers US and Canadian REITs for yield.

HOLD

Insurance companies do better in a rising interest rate environment. It is one of the better stocks in terms of price momentum and it is stable. Valuation, though, is a little high for him at 19 times earnings. They are well within their payout ratio, however. There are no balance sheet concerns, but he can find better alternatives in the space, making it a hold. See his pas picks today for a better alternative.

WEAK BUY

It has had a tougher go as of late. They are the most internationally exposed bank. They have theoretically greater risk, but they have been through multiple cycles like this and have been fine. It lacks the momentum he wants. He wants the share price to stabilize. They have been cutting costs and reconciling businesses and the fruits of this will come in the near future. We need to see them beat once or twice.

DON'T BUY

You have been through ups and down with this one including a name change from Valiant. It has decent price momentum. They are trying to reconcile their balance sheet. Forward numbers look a lot better than backward looking numbers. They are not cheap enough and it is still a volatile stock. They have too much debt so avoid it.

BUY

It is a long for him and a larger holding for him. It has good price momentum and good valuation. They beat on the recent quarter. It has an okay yield with a lot of room to move it.

SHORT

He avoids pipes and utilities in a rising interest rate environment. It is a small short position for him. The valuation is still pretty high. It has a big yield but the payout ratio is a concern.

WAIT

It is a neutral. It has picked up some momentum recently. There will be some share issuance as they bring in the income fund. This will be a positive after the noise has passed.

SHORT

It is a 6% dividend and the payout is only 46% but the problem is the other metrics. Price moment has been poor and there have been some misses. It is a small short for him as a hedge against other financial positions.

SHORT

He likes REITs where he is looking from yield perspective but he does not like the price momentum on this one so it is a small short. It has a low return on equity.

DON'T BUY

Another company that decided to change its name. It has rolled over so has negative price momentum. It is reasonably priced and beat on the recent quarter but the volatility and price momentum keep him away from it.

DON'T BUY

He was long on it for quite a while. It has been a great trade, but it has caught up to the NASDAQ strength and it has got too expensive for him even if not so relative to other tech stocks. It has great return on equity. It has a decent quarter and the balance sheet is pristine. A better yield would be helpful but it is too expensive right now for him.

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Jun 28/17, Up 30%) This is the non-bank financial that he likes a lot. They do not insure high risk mortgages and this was an issue with Home Capital and it caused the stock to sell off at the time he recommended this one. It is still cheap overall with a PE of 9 times. It has a solid balance sheet, and he still likes it. The concerns that kept it cheap are now behind them.

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Jun 28/17, Down 16%) It was a disappointment. It has a reasonable combination of price, price momentum and he sold it. It still has good return on equity but it missed on earnings due to a problem with integrating a new SAP system. There is always a chance that Rogers takes them in.

PAST TOP PICK

SHORT (A Top Pick Jun 28/17, Down 42%) It's been a wild ride. It has come off more recently. The thesis has not changed on this stock. It has terrible valuation with virtually no return on equity. It missed on the most recent quarter. It is not cheap and a highly volatile stock.

SELL

He has a small short in it. There was a triple whammy. Poor price momentum, valuation is still not cheap enough and it has become quite volatile. It used to be a stable stock. ROE is okay. It tells you they have too much debt. 13 times earnings. He needs to see stabilization in the business. The yield does not justify him buying it here. The real problem is that they just have not recovered from the financial side of their business.