STOCKCHASE

He is a believer. They have done very well. Loan losses are less than the banks. Credit card division has done very well. Well-managed company that raises it dividend regularly and likely to keep rising. Risk is if Real Estate does in Canada what it did in parts of the US. He doesn’t see bubble conditions.

2010-07-06

TOP PICK

41.900

Mortgage lender that specializes in self employed, immigrants, etc. Well managed. With new mortgage rules they should have a great Q2. Least levered bank or trust company in Canada.

2010-06-29

WEAK BUY

43.300

Douglas Kee

Sold out when the market rolled over because of their mortgage business. He is re-considering it.

2010-06-02

PAST TOP PICK

46.850

(A Top Pick Oct 16/09. Up 27.01%.) Still loves this one.

2010-05-14

TOP PICK

47.500

Peter Imhof

Alternative lender. Have done a phenomenal job of growing their earnings over the last 12 years. Super cheap. Expect they will earn $5 this year. Pays a dividend. Reporting next week and expects analysts will have to raise estimates.

2010-04-30

TOP PICK

44.950

Barry Schwarrtz

Trading at a very cheap multiple and they are doing everything right. There's a huge demand for their mortgage. Increasing their market share.

2010-04-20

PAST TOP PICK

42.960

(Top Pick Oct 16/09, Up 16%) Well-managed company, high return on equity. P/E multiple has been compressing over time. Good earnings potential over the next 12 months.

2010-03-23

PAST TOP PICK

41.140

(Top Pick Oct 16/09, Up 12.51%) Doing very well.

2010-02-24

HOLD

41.140

Paul Gardner, CFA

He is mad because he saw it and looked at it and missed it. Last year would have been a great time to get into this story. It is the sub-prime market in Canada. Their earnings didn’t drop. Now it is expensive. The sub-prime market will probably deteriorate, although not as much as in the US.

2010-02-24

WEAK BUY

43.500

Martin Hubbes, CFA

Interesting company, very well managed. An interesting part of the market. Their clients are not as risky as you would think. For a long-term investor, it is a good investment.

2010-02-18

TOP PICK

39.120

Single best financial services investment in Canada. Unbelievable franchise. This is based on the consistency of the equity. Every year profits go up by about 25%, year after year. Although it has been flat for the last couple of years the multiple has compressed significantly.

2010-01-22

TOP PICK

41.550

Barry Schwarrtz

Mortgage lender that got slaughtered as people expected a similar situation that happened in the US. The exact opposite happened. Loan losses have been negligible. Raised its dividend 15X over the last 8 years. Great balance sheet.

2010-01-04

HOLD

42.050

Jeff Parent

Big selloff in 08-09, which was unfounded. Reached an all-time high recently. Has a fairly big problem because it has never been really far beyond this level. If it breaks through, that's a very good sign but he thinks it's unlikely. Sell at the goes below $38.

2009-12-04

PAST TOP PICK

42.920

(A Top Pick Oct 16/09. Up 17%.) Consistently high ROE year after year. 12 or 13th year in a row they have grown by 25% annually. Superb management.

2009-12-03

DON'T BUY

40.550

Michael Sprung

Issue mortgages were banks sometimes won't. Have done extremely well over the last little while. Fully valued at this time.

2009-11-27

TOP PICK

37.080

Hasn't had a sub 25% growth year in the last decade. Expecting to see another gangbuster year. Cheap. 1.6% yield.

2009-10-16

PAST TOP PICK

16.500

(A Top Pick Feb 21/08. Sold last fall for $27 so he was Down 28%.)

2009-02-13

DON'T BUY

16.100

Peter Hodson

Doing reasonably well. Still growing and well managed. Has a great niche and yet the stock hasn't done a whole lot to make the market interested. Unfortunately, the market is nervous about real estate. It will ultimately do quite well when we come out of this problem. Still thinks the real estate market will be a little bit weak.

2009-02-12

DON'T BUY

16.620

David Cockfield

Involved in the secondary mortgage market and do the loans that the banks won't do. Very good at this and have an excellent record. The market is bothered because we are going into a recession and things are slowing.

2009-01-23

BUY

23.310

Had a good quarter but was surprised when the stock went down. May have been a “sell on news” situation. Their default rate on mortgages is the best in North America. Good growth rate. Has been oversold. 2.2% yield.

2008-11-06

TOP PICK

38.200

Housing mortgages. Has had fabulous results. Did not end up in the subprime mess.

2008-02-21

TOP PICK

42.000

Allan Jacobs

Company has grown 36% a year over the last 13 years and the multiple has gone up. It is a great company. It is an alternative lending company.Their loan losses are low. Gradually getting into lower risk commercial mortgages. Bought around 35.

2007-10-30

PAST TOP PICK

37.850

Then $28.67 Buying more of it. It's a non-traditional mortgage business. A market the the banks have always found difficult. Their credit loss is very low. The price earnings multiple has move towards the bank range. Thinks it's going to be a steady grower.

2007-10-23

Comment

35.500

John O'Connell, CFA

It is probably fighting the concerns on what is going to happen to the real estate market. They tend to make higher ratio loans than what most banks do. Stock has held up reasonably well in spite of concerns in the US. They could get hung up faster than the major banks.

2007-07-31

HOLD

39.810

Sub prime Canadian mortgages. Has been on a nice revival.

2007-05-25

PAST TOP PICK

35.000

(A Top Pick Nov 21/06. Up 21.7%.) Sub prime mortgage market in Canada, which is very different from the US. Growing credit card division. Still likes.

2007-04-09

PAST TOP PICK

35.680

(A Top Pick March 27/06. Up 8.1%.) Sub-prime mortgage business. Different then the US in that they land to self-employed, contract workers, etc. Have almost zero loan losses. Have a fast-growing credit card division.

2007-03-14

PAST TOP PICK

32.070

(A Top Pick Nov 21/06. Up 13.5%.) In the less-then-prime mortgage sector. Has a flawless credit record in Canada. Good credit card division, which is profitable. Still likes.

2007-02-13

TOP PICK

28.670

Mortgages, mostly for people who banks feel have unstable income. Stock has come down. Feels it was oversold. Growth rate has slowed from 40% to 15%. P/E ratio has come down very sharply and the dividend has gone up.

2006-11-21

DON'T BUY

29.010

Chris Smith

An alternative lender. There has been a lot of damage done to this kind of stock in the US.

2006-10-25

TOP PICK

29.260

Has come off quite a bit from its peak. Mortgage lender and credit card operator. Has been oversold.

2006-10-23

WEAK BUY

30.000

Laura Wallace

Well run company, well capitalized. She likes the strategy this company uses. In the short term stock could be volatile but in the long term it would be okay.

2006-09-22

HOLD

30.750

Brian Acker, CA

This has always been expensive in his model. His model price is $31.80 so it is right on his model price. The model price has been coming down.

2006-08-31

BUY

31.190

A sub prime mortgage lender, primarily in Ontario. Also has a little credit card operation. Had terrific experience with loan losses as they don't have very many. This has been during a very buoyant housing market. Trading at a much lower price to earnings ratio that was a year ago.

2006-08-24

HOLD

30.400

Laura Wallace

Very well managed. Likes its niche market. Came off quite sharply when it disappointed on earnings. Trades at a premium to other financial companies. Not sure it can maintain the high historical growth rates. A pause by the Fed in interest rates would be good for it.

2006-08-21

DON'T BUY

30.680

Robert Floyd

Housing market has been extremely strong for a long time. forecasters are looking for a little bit of a slowdown. This stock could come under a little bit of pressure.

2006-08-18

SELL

30.250

Bill Carrigan

This is the end of the cycle for financials. The stock is very economy sensitive.

2006-08-11

DON'T BUY

31.170

Jean-Francois Tardif

Mortgages, mostly sub-prime. The stock is not doing well and with the weakening US housing market, the risk is too high.

2006-08-08

BUY

31.750

Larry Berman CFA, CMT, CTA

Reported good earnings today. Operates in the sub prime mortgage market. Their record of loan losses has been extraordinarily low. As interest rates rise, activity in the housing sector tends to decline. Also have a growing credit card business.

2006-07-27

SELL

29.380

Has a fabulous long term structure going back 4/5 years. Shorter term, the risks are there because of exposure to the consumer and housing sector. From a technical perspective, it could get back down to $20.

2006-07-24

BUY

32.750

Gavin Graham

Provides mortgages for people who don't have an established credit. An interesting area. Could be a takeover target for a large bank.

2006-07-06

DON'T BUY

32.000

Peter Gibson

3 companies, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.A-T), Home Capital (HCG-T) and Kingsway Financial (KFS-T) have been great calls for the last couple of years and all 3, in the last couple of months, have started to show weaker characteristics. Most of it is probably due to higher interest rates and prospects in the real estate market.

2006-06-22

TOP PICK

33.490

Took a big hit in March, because they announced poorer prospects, going forward. A good one to own at any attractive entry price.

2006-04-18

TOP PICK

33.000

A very high-quality business. Their lending has been superb in terms of loan losses. Their abilities to find segments and grow have been terrific. Return on equity is unbelievable. A good entry point.

2006-03-27

BUY

34.550

Laura Wallace

Does mortgage lending that big banks won’t do. Their return on equity has averaged well over 30%. Just had a blow out quarter. Looks reasonable at this level. The big risk would be any weakening in house pricing or some kind of recession.

2005-12-22

DON'T BUY

35.200

Brian Acker, CA

Is model price is $33.53 which is a negative 5% differential. Has had a nice pullback.

2005-12-21

WEAK BUY

35.510

John Zechner

Very nervous about this stock. They have made their history on higher risk residential mortgage loans. Looking at where the US housing market is right now, it is so near the edge of cracking and how can that not have an affect on Canada. However these guys have consitantly returned 35% on equity. Trading at 20 X earnings.

2005-12-12

PAST TOP PICK

36.800

(A Top Pick July 20/05. Down 7%.) Still likes. One of the better of the fringe financial companies.

2005-11-10

PAST TOP PICK

38.320

(A Top Pick July 20/05. Down 5%.) Still added to it since July.The senior Canadian company in fringe home financing.

2005-09-27

TOP PICK

39.900

The best company in Canada. Fringe quality mortgages just below that which is acceptable by the banks. No risk to it really. 25% growth on equity every year.

2005-07-20

TOP PICK

36.240

Matt Baillie

The most interesting stock in the financial area. In the alternative mortgages space which is a big niche market. Doubles its earnings every 9 quarters. Return On Equity (ROE) of 30% which keeps going up.

2005-03-16

BUY

36.870

Jonathen Wellum, B. Comm, B. Sc

One of their top holdings. Very solid.

2005-03-09

SELL

33.600

Business model is quite solid. Very expensive at a 20 X multiple. If you've done well, take your profit.

2005-02-04

BUY on WEAKNESS

30.800

Glenn Paradis, BA, CFA

A big fan of this stock. Excellent business and extremely well run. They basically own the market they are in. Very impressive earnings. Should be a few more years of growth. Expects some consolidation at this level.

2005-01-13

DON'T BUY

32.290

John Zechner

Has hit his target price and has probably gone through it. Has done exceptionally well. Earnings should continue to grow. A little worried about the valuation of the company.

2004-12-21

TOP PICK

30.150

Matt Baillie

This is the growthiest financial play in Canada. In the niche mortgage area where the trust companies used to be. Feels it will continue to grow at 25% earnings, 25% mortgages increases. Its return on equity is 30%. Not expensive.

2004-12-10

VAGUE

26.500

Love the stock, but the big question is "Does the stock have more to run?". P/E and Price to Book are way out of line with the rest of the financial group, but their return on equity is unbelievable. Spectacular growth rate. No loan losses.

2004-11-22

TOP PICK

23.960

Matt Baillie

Mortgages are a pretty safe bet. An ROE of about 30%. Conservative management.

2004-10-22

BUY on WEAKNESS

23.250

Bruce Campbell

Have an amazing track record of growing 20% and have done it in times when interest rates were higher. Will probably see the growth rate has slowly decline. Has been priced four perfection so wait for a pullback.

2004-04-29

BUY

22.750

Terrific management. Has one of the best loan/loss ratios. Because of the drop, it's well priced now.

2004-04-13

BUY

24.000

Peter Hodson

There may be a pause. Had an unbelievable run. Mortgage market continues to be strong. Not one you have to worry about.

2004-04-08

WATCH

24.400

Michael Sprung

Dont understand decline. Dont own. Would buy at the right price.

2004-03-30

DON'T BUY

25.800

Ed Ho

Really like the business model is well as the management. No longer a cheap stock.

2004-03-24

BUY

23.120

Norman Levine

A very conservatively run business. The outlook is excellent. Mortgage business is growing and as they become better known they will steal market share from others.

2004-02-23

PAST TOP PICK

18.000

(A past top pick Sept 29/03. Up 42%.) Recently split. This should help with liquidity. A tremendous record of credit quality

2004-01-22

DON'T BUY

29.750

David Taylor, MBA, CFA

Has done exceptionally well. Fully priced now.

2003-11-17

PAST TOP PICK

28.900

(Top pick Sept 29/03. Up 14.2%.) Very strong management. Low loan losses. Growing rapidly.

2003-10-28

TOP PICK

25.400