PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick May 23/23, Up 2%)

Auto loan business that has low capital requirements. Disciplined capital allocation process - willing to buy back shares at correct time. Only willing to under write loans at sensible prices. Not a founder led business, but believes culture at company still strong. Will keep shares in business. Buying on share price weakness. 

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick May 23/23, Down 50%)

Scott based company that builds testing equipment in telecom business. Not recurring revenue - hard on bottom line at times. Founder led/owned - strong management. Has been buying shares on price weakness. Once telecom spending recovers - company share price will appreciate. Good business for long term investors. 

DON'T BUY

Company is not founder led/owned - no skin in the game with this company. Would not consider investing due to this. Better options in the markets for investors. 

BUY

Very strong business - founder led & owned. Exception creator of wealth the past ~20 years. Has owned shares since 2014. Very good consolidator of convenience stores. High quality capital allocation skills. Recent 7-Eleven M&A is interesting, but depends on the final price that is settled on. Would recommend holding and/or buying. 

WATCH

Has been watching business for a long term. Not a capital light business. Long term, company has been good at increasing shareholder wealth. Worth investigating for interested investors. Doesn't own shares at this time, but could be a good investment. 

HOLD

Has looked at business. Company is founder led/owned, with light asset requirements. However, company doesn't have history of strong returns on capital. Will take time for business to prove itself. Also, worried about restrictions on business (banned in New York etc.). Good if already own, but would not invest more at this time. 

DON'T BUY

Does not own shares in the business. Natural resource stocks are not asset light - require lots of capital. Also, company is a price "taker" - no control. Oil and gas is also a commodity which makes it hard to determine outlook. In summary, very hard to determine outlook of business - not good for investors. Would rather a high quality business that is predictable. 

HOLD

Owns shares in Microsoft and Meta - not Google. Strong company, but doesn't own shares. Anti-trust problems actually a good sign for business - means company is very strong. Is a good company if already own. Even if company is broken up - would be good for investors (lots of good assets). 

HOLD

Founder led/owned, but doesn't own shares. Company founder takes a lot of big/risky "swings". Difficult to determine earnings outlook. Interest rates also weigh heavily on insurance style business. Would recommend holding. 

BUY ON WEAKNESS

Excellent business - very high quality earnings. Nature of product is very durable - drinking fluids not going away. Recent share price weakness, a good time to invest, but would recommend investing on further weakness. Multiple still a little high - despite quality of company. 

DON'T BUY

Familiar with business. Good at M&A, but has used a lot of debt in business model. Better options like Constellation Software available for investors. Doesn't own shares. 

WEAK BUY

Business doesn't have opportunity to reinvest earnings. Dividend payout good, but would rather high rate of return on capital. Compared to a high quality business like Constellation Software - not as good a business. Company will benefit from lower interest rates, but believes there better options for investors out there. Also not founder led/owned. 

BUY ON WEAKNESS

Owns shares in company, and has owned for years. Very good business with low debt, high quality revenues, low capital requirements, sticky products, good tech stack. Overall a great business that would recommend investing in. High amounts of free cash flow with ability to compound earnings (low dividend payout too). Only knock would be that the valuation is very high - would recommend investing at a lower price. 

PARTIAL BUY
Trevor Rose’s Insights - Trevor’s most-liked answers from 5i Research

GH has been steadily climbing over the past few years, and it has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Analyst estimates have mostly been rising for the name, and its valuation has mostly contracted over the past few years while its price has grinded higher - a trend that we like to see. Free cash flows are strong, and it boasts a shareholder yield of 11.4%, made up of a 2.2% buyback yield, debt paydown of 5% and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Its recent momentum has been strong, up 20% on the year, but including dividends, it has basically been flat since 2014. Management has done a good job of controlling costs and improving margins. While forward growth is expected to be minimal, at a 10.7X forward earnings valuation and with a strong shareholder yield, we think it looks interesting here.
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PARTIAL BUY
Trevor Rose’s Insights - Trevor’s most-liked answers from 5i Research

PLZ.UN is an open-ended Canadian REIT whose portfolio largely consists of open-air centres and stand-alone small box retail outlets. It pays a distribution yield of 7.1%, sales growth has been improving recently, margins have stabilized, and its free cash flow is sufficient for its distribution payments. It trades at an OK valuation of 12X forward earnings, and it is trading below its book value. We think it is a slightly risky REIT due to its small size and minimal growth rates. We would consider it 'OK' as part of a basket of higher risk income names, but not overly attractive as a single holding.
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