BUY

Basket of Canadian banks, no covered call. Past year's total return is nearly 14%. As well, better return over 3 years than ZWB.

Over the past year, total return for ZWB was ~9.5%.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Mar 26/24, Up 44%)

Still adding for new clients. Key has been that it has very little competition, unlike US counterparts. You pay up for that position, at 35x forward PE, but you get 15% earnings growth going forward. 

Beneficiary of cumulative effects of inflation and uncertainty in Canadian economy. Recession-resilient business model. Outpaced the TSX since its IPO in 2009.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Mar 26/24, Down 41%)

Sentiment's pretty rough on this name. Fairly cheap at 22x forward PE, 18% earnings growth. Regulatory scrutiny. Lost a bit of market share to LLY (which he still holds). Below 200-day MA, which is moving down. Growth of GLP-1 drugs is there, so he's keeping an eye on it for future.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Mar 26/24, Up 23%)

He sold and put profits into CRWD (and then took profits on that, too). Like FTNT, still great names to own long term, as cybersecurity threats are only going to get bigger. Secular demand for software and services will continue. PANW is 53x forward PE, for 15% earnings growth, so he needs a lower PE to be interested. Capex slowdown from businesses in this area.

DON'T BUY

Down ~30% from recent highs, but still above 200-day MA, which is also moving higher. Technically, shares still look sound. Pricey at 61x forward PE for 20-25% earnings growth, a PEG ratio of 2.5x. He prefers US names for tech.

BUY ON WEAKNESS

Likes it. Financials should be one of the leaders coming out of the current environment, as they were before the recent volatility. Down ~22% from recent highs last month on recession concerns. 200-day MA seems to be support where you can buy. As Buffett says, "Be greedy when others are fearful."

One of the leaders in investment banking and wealth management. Will benefit from deregulation and potential increase of M&A activity.

WEAK BUY

Names are the usual tech suspects. For him, he'd rather pick and choose names for his portfolio, as some names are very expensive and some are very reasonable. MER is 39 bps, and you can probably find cheaper ones in the US. Down 14% from highs, but still up 6.6% in a 1-year timeframe. 

Might make sense for an investor who wants a broader approach and not as much Pepto Bismol ;)

BUY

Really likes. Attractive valuation. Down ~11% from highs last November. Pretty nice dividend of 4.3%. Holding above the 200-day MA, which is moving upwards. Insurance space gives you decent growth with protectiveness of the dividend.

DON'T BUY

Dividend seems likely to be ratcheted back to get cashflow back up. Challenging time for most telecom stocks. Earnings will be challenged for this name, because of types of businesses it's in. He wants growth.

BUY

Recently purchased. Cheap at 25x forward PE, 31% growth rate, meaning PEG ratio is below 1 (rare in the tech space). Sentiment's changed on tech. Drop of 25-26% from previous highs, trading bit below 200-day MA but that's still trending higher. Will lead when market recovers.

WEAK BUY

Based on the DJIA 100 dividend index. Names like ABBV, KO, AMGN, BMY. Higher-dividend names. Composition looks good, has performed well. Nothing against it. MER is 6 bps. Yield is 3.9%.

He prefers VIG slightly more, as increasing dividends is important especially if inflation moves higher.

DON'T BUY

Technically, looks challenged. Down ~57% from highs back in March 2024. Below 200-day MA, which is trending lower. Instead, buy NVDA on its momentum and stronger sentiment.

HOLD
AAPL vs. AMZN

Down 19% from recent highs. PEG ratio is 2x. Discounted due to concerns over momentum in China, but he thinks that's overplayed. If he had to choose today, he'd choose AMZN because it's a bit cheaper.

BUY
AMZN vs. AAPL

Paying 30x PE for 14-15% growth. You're buying this for the cloud, which is growing very quickly. Slightly cheaper than AAPL today, so he'd pick this one.

TOP PICK

Recent purchase. It's down 24% from recent highs, so it was an attractive entry point. Global travel demand remains resilient; higher than pre-pandemic, and holding steady. Consumer remains resilient. Lots of brands allows it to server diverse customer segments. Improved digital platform. Strong cashflow. Yield is 1.0%.

Interestingly, remote work trend allows people to work from...wherever. Earnings growth rate is ~19%, paying only 11x forward earnings, so a pretty good PEG ratio.

(Analysts’ price target is $212.19)