COMMENT
Are people too euphoric? No. Markets are full of optimism. Though there will be bumps along the road, we continue to make new highs as worldwide vaccine progress continues. US stimulus plans should bridge economies until we reach herd immunity. The IMF has boosted world growth GDP for the second time in 3 months, the strongest annual GDP expansion since 1980. Safe to favour equities over bonds, cyclicals over defensives, and corporate bonds over government ones. Commodity prices should continue to gain traction.
COMMENT
Inflation. One of the risks to consider. We might see 2% inflation, but not excessive. Bond yields have calmed down. Another bump in the road would be if the Covid variants get out of hand. Rapid vaccine rollout in US and parts of Europe will help the reopening trade and cyclical stocks. Though we're not feeling it here in Canada yet.
COMMENT
Canada or US now? Has been overweight US for many years. Now it's time to look at Canada and internationally, including Asia and Europe. In Europe, it's value and financial stocks. You can't beat the depth and breadth of the companies in the US, but now's the time to look beyond.
COMMENT
Which US bank to buy? US banks are great, one of the top performing industries in the S&P. Focus on valuation, trading below or near book value like WFC, Citi, and CFG.
BUY
US banks are great, one of the top performing industries in the S&P. WFC has a great valuation, trading around book value, and it didn't do that great in 2020.
BUY
One of the larger regionals. Has done very well. More in retail and commercial banking. Still cheap. Great yield of 3.5%.
DON'T BUY

Grocery business is extremely competitive. He'd rather focus on Costco, Walmart, Amazon through Whole Foods. Private label investment putting pressure on margins plus its unionized workforce have been headwinds. 15x earnings for a 5% growth rate is not compelling at this part of the cycle.

BUY ON WEAKNESS
Global name. Just hit a new high today, a positive technical indicator. Fee is 46 basis points. He likes the commodity sector, but prefers the industrial metals like copper or aluminum. But lumber's not far behind. Getting a bit overbought, so could be due for a pause. Perhaps buy some and wait for a pullback to buy more.
COMMENT
Fee is 72 basis points. Europe is a value space, which has started to outperform growth. He'd rather own the underlying securities, as you get a better return without the covered call overlay.
BUY

HD vs. LOW Staying at home has benefited both. Post-pandemic, they can benefit even further from pent-up demand for larger, professional contracts. LOW has outperformed HD since last March, trading at 20x earnings vs. 24x for HD. LOW has a stronger growth rate, 14% vs. HD at 9%. Both names are great, but LOW gets the edge.

BUY

LOW vs. HD Staying at home has benefited both. Post-pandemic, they can benefit even further from pent-up demand for larger, professional contracts. LOW has outperformed HD since last March, trading at 20x earnings vs. 24x for HD. LOW has a stronger growth rate, 14% vs. HD at 9%. Both names are great, but LOW gets the edge.

BUY
Likes the US financials here. Trading at 13x, with a 20% earnings growth rate. Decent valuation. 1.5x price to book.
COMMENT
Fears of real estate crash in Canada? There's been talk of this for a very long time. You never know when this will happen. Looking at price metrics, we're right up there. We might have a small correction. But he wouldn't avoid banks or lenders on this basis.
BUY
A great name long-term. Data usage is doubling in the US every 2 years. They'll constantly need to upgrade. EMs will also need massive investment to upgrade from 4G to 5G. Visibility of revenues is strong. At a bit of a premium.
PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Jun 09/20, Up 33%) Outperformed the broader TSX. Will continue to do well as vaccines roll out for the next 12 months. Solid balance sheet. Higher octane stock, expect some turbulence.