STOCKCHASE

Still trashed. Popped today on news. Some bottom fishing going on with this company. Always a hope that you get into the 20’s again. It should be around the bottom here.

2010-07-29

BUY on WEAKNESS

15.700

Long-term this company will survive and prosper. Extremely strong balance sheet and its reserve ratio is amongst the highest in Canada. However, it is fairly sensitive to what happens in the equity market. Lifecos will start reporting in the next week or so and he is possibly expecting some bad news on this one, which could create a buying opportunity.

2010-07-28

DON'T BUY

15.800

Colin Stewart

Doesn't like the life insurance space right now. This one is a higher risk than its peers. High degree of earnings sensitivity to the equity market.

2010-07-27

DON'T BUY

15.290

David Cockfield

His concern is that there may be something in the woodwork that we still don’t know about.

2010-07-22

BUY

14.980

It’s painful to hold. Clients are averaging down. Have lots of leverage to stock markets and interest rates. Will have to increase their reserves in both second and third quarters. Analysts have turned in the towel for this year. In couple of years they can release reserves and that boosts earnings. Buy for two or three years.

2010-07-20

HOLD

14.790

Michael Decter

There is concern that Q2 could be quite negative but they are trading at less than 50% of their market cap. If you have a longer-term time span, this is a company that will work its way through its difficulties, but may take 1 or 2 years.

2010-07-19

PAST TOP PICK

14.790

Mark Carpani

(A Top Pick July 21/09. Up 17.6%.) Capital Trust II maturing 12/31/19. Hasn't been a great stock story, but typically what is good for bonds is not good for stocks.

2010-07-19

SELL

15.730

Veronika Hirsch

As long as stock markets are not robust and interest rates remain low, this is a negative for this company.

2010-07-15

PAST TOP PICK

15.450

(A Top Pick July 23/09. Down 32.13%.) A fabulous value however, the track looks awful and until he sees some basing he wouldn't touch it.

2010-07-14

WAIT

15.710

Benj Gallander

Would wait because it came so far down recently. If they take another loss like a year ago, it could take time for them to recover. From this level it could double or go to $10-$12. CEO made good moves to raise money with dividend cut etc. Is watching it and if it came down a bit he could go for it.

2010-07-13

HOLD

15.720

Mike S. Newton, CIM FCSI

Has a very large amount of equity exposure to get balance sheet back on side. Did a terrific job in raising capital so balance sheet is fairly strong and the company will be on side in 3-5 years. Would rather be in Canadian bank stocks at the moment and avoid insurers.

2010-07-12

DON'T BUY

15.800

Not a Buy right now because it still has too much exposure to equity markets. Likes this as an insurance company, probably one of the best in the world. North American operations are very profitable. Likes their growth in the far east.

2010-07-09

Comment

15.700

Michael Simpson, CFA

New CEO (2 years ago) that inherited a company that needed drastic changes. Cut dividends in half. Sell annuities that are tied to different stock markets so have a lot of exposure to capital markets globally. If you feel capital markets are going to come out stronger, this is a Buy. He looks at this as a trading opportunity.

2010-07-07

Comment

15.260

Greg A. Taylor, CFA, BBA

Put up some decent numbers but the multiple keeps compressing. Viewed as a levered play on equity markets and there are concerns about more equity issues to keep ratios in line. For safety go to Royal Bank (RY-T) but for a leverage play on the market you can go to this one.

2010-07-05

BUY

15.260

Martin Hubbes, CFA

In the short-term, as the market goes down people worry about the guarantees on index portfolios. Stock is now trading below Book. Tremendous franchise with lots of international growth. If you are a long-term investor and can take the volatility it is a great buy at this price. If the market keeps going down, this will follow.

2010-07-05

WAIT

15.410

Starting to look good but you are in better to be prudent than to jump in right now. He'd rather pay $3, $4, $5 higher and know there is no double dip. Still has clouds over it. (See To0p Picks.)

2010-07-02

SELL

15.410

Don Vialoux

Chart shows a very distinctive downward trend with no indication that it wants to bottom. Tends to do very well from around the beginning of October to end of November and end of February to end of May. Better opportunities elsewhere.

2010-07-02

TOP PICK

15.450

Market is not giving this company the credit it deserves. Have made significant progress over the last couple of years in shoring up their balance sheet. Operate in 22 countries. Much stronger capital base so their equity products are not at as much risk. Can see earnings coming back at the $2 level in the next few years.

2010-06-30

HOLD

16.250

Face the dilemma of investing premiums. Over 3% dividend.

2010-06-28

Comment

16.250

Bruce Campbell

Great Asian business. Growth looks decent. Fixed the balance sheet but to do so, alienated a bunch of investors by cutting the dividend in half. Cheap valuation. Doesn't expect an increase in dividends until late next year.

2010-06-28

HOLD

16.400

Trading at about 8.5X this year's earnings and 7.5X next year’s. 3% dividend yield. Still suffering from having to raise some much capital during the financial crisis of 2009. Also suffering from their tie to the market but it is long-term exposure so he is not concerned about it. Great operation in Asia.

2010-06-23

PAST TOP PICK

16.810

Steven Conville

(A Top Pick Dec 18/09. Down 10.56%.)

2010-06-21

DON'T BUY

16.810

David Burrows

He has been Short this stock for the last little while. Have a great global franchise but the downside is the concerns that if the market where to get hit, this has a lot of market exposure. Quite a number of their segregated products come due in 2012.

2010-06-21

WAIT

16.760

Has looked at insurance companies and concluded that MFC is the one they will probably double up on, but not now. If you look out 2 to 3 years then it is an excellent buy.

2010-06-15

BUY

16.270

Doing poorly this year. Have a lot of leverage to earnings and higher interest rates in a better stock market. Earnings will probably not be very good for 2nd quarter. However, trading at a discount to book value so it is an attractive buy. Good with a 3 to 5 year time horizon.

2010-06-14

WAIT

16.500

Used to own it. Didn’t because of hedged position. He is concerned with how fast they can build up their hedge to 70%. Then he will look at the stock

2010-06-09

DON'T BUY

16.500

Jeff Parent

A really bad looking chart. He doesn’t touch it any more. It is making new lows. It could drop to the $14 point.

2010-06-09

PAST TOP PICK

16.930

Mark Carpani

4.896% bonds maturing 6/2/14. (Top Pick Jun 2/09, Up 9.19%) Recently sold.

2010-06-07

BUY on WEAKNESS

17.830

Very, very exposed to what happens in the equity markets. Longer term, it will prove to be a good investment, especially from these levels. Don’t look for return if time horizon is less than 2 years.

2010-06-02

BUY

17.610

John Zechner

Doesn’t know if it is a potential takeover target. Likes the story and international market expansion. They are more covered now than during the recession. Great international expansion opportunities. No new buying interest. Canadian financials are a little more expensive than international.

2010-06-01

TOP PICK

17.580

Paul Gardner, CFA

Did a ton of equity and debt issues so it was diluted over the last couple of years. Capital ratio (for insurance companies) is about 250%, really high. Have a growth profile in Asia. Really cheap at less than 1X Book. Looking for $30 in 2 years.

2010-05-28

Comment

17.690

Big part of its job is investing its premiums in the stock market that sometimes doesn't work. You could consider holding this on a longer-term basis.

2010-05-27

BUY

16.590

Christine Poole

Manulife (MFC-T) or Power Financial (PWF-T)? If you have a long-term horizon such as 3 years and a higher tolerance of volatility, she would choose Manulife, which has a very attractive valuation of 1.1X Book.

2010-05-26

HOLD

16.450

Strategy of the last president didn’t work. New management did a great job, but so what. People have to see the earnings. If the rest of the year is ok then the market may get more comfortable with the name. You have to be patient. He thinks the earnings are going to be there. Stick with it. You could start nibbling.

2010-05-25

BUY on WEAKNESS

16.760

Jim Huang

Largest Canadian insurer. Hit because of high sensitivity to equity markets. With the value that is embedded in the insurance book and the growth potential in Asia, there is a lot of upside in the long-term. Well capitalized. You could Buy now or look for a 5%-10% further drop.

2010-05-21

DON'T BUY

16.840

Ross Healy

If he could pick a stock at the bottom of the market, this would probably be the one because it remains a levered play on the stock market. Has enormous exposure to index linked insurance annuities. If market craters you can look to this one getting really hit but when the market turns it should outperform.

2010-05-20

Comment

17.560

Reported great 1st quarter earnings and announced it on the same day the market went down. There will probably be some resistance even when the market gets better and will struggle to get through $19. Likes their exposure to China. A long-term hold.

2010-05-19

DON'T BUY

17.740

Ron Meisels

It turned down and looked like it would recover, but suddenly it fell below the 200-day moving average. If it breaks below $17 you are looking at a $10 stock.

2010-05-18

DON'T BUY

18.190

Has been in the penalty box since they cut their dividend. Until they come out, he wouldn't be a buyer. There are others he prefers.

2010-05-14

DON'T BUY

18.130

David Cockfield

Was ready to buy back in when they cut the dividend. There is a lack of confidence in management in terms of are they going to do what they say are going to do. Very low yield. Prefers Power Financial (PWF-T).

2010-05-07

DON'T BUY

18.250

Brooke Thackray

Financial seasonality runs from mid-January until April 14. Not a big fan of this company. Still linked to the market and will probably do well when the market does well. Chart shows a bearish pattern with lower highs.

2010-05-06

HOLD

17.950

Nick Majendie

Results have been disappointing over the last few quarters. Will be coming out with new results this week. In the doghouse at the moment. Earnings are hard to project.

2010-05-04

HOLD

17.950

Derek Webb, CFA

Doesn’t like it. He is an earnings guy. You want to see an increase in earnings. It’s a value investment. Right now they just don’t have the earnings but if you hold it long enough it will go up.

2010-05-04

Comment

18.320

Don Vialoux

This one and Sun Life (SLF-T) have almost identical seasonality. Usually they reach a very important low right around the end of February and then take a very good move right through until the end of May. They then go flat for a time. Reporting earnings next week, which should be very good. Technically it has a base and is not moving much.

2010-04-30

DON'T BUY

18.340

Mike S. Newton, CIM FCSI

Expects a lot of visibility on their earnings coming up very shortly. Will probably take 2 or 3 quarters to get the confidence back. Avoiding this sector altogether at the moment.

2010-04-28

TOP PICK

19.380

Paul Harris, CFA

Insurance industry used to trade at a premium to the banking industry but is now at a discount. Has very strong franchise in Canada, US and internationally. Having capital is not a problem for them anymore.

2010-04-22

BUY

19.590

Douglas Kee

CEO doing a reasonably good job. It was the previous CEO that was a problem. Core business is doing very well. If we see rising interest rates and a rising stock market, they will do reasonable well.

2010-04-20

TOP PICK

19.600

Bruce Campbell

Banks have had a run-up but lifecos have lagged this recent move. He expects the markets are going to recover.

2010-04-19

Comment

19.950

Pretty fairly valued. Believes the market is going to be much better over the next several years. They should be a beneficiary. Likes the diversification, especially in the Asian market.

2010-04-14

STRONG BUY

19.800

David Taylor, MBA, CFA

Growing aggressively in emerging markets. Very cheap. Has chronically under performed and trading at its lowest valuations. Will benefit if interest rates rise, as he expects them to. Will be a very stable, low growth company.

2010-04-13

DON'T BUY

20.000

Steve Carlin

Likelihood of increasing dividends in the next year would be a surprise to him. Still not sure how regulators are going to deal with Life Insurance companies capital. His calculations show that this one has the highest upside potential in the financials but doesn't know how long it will take to get there.

2010-04-12

DON'T BUY

20.340

His least favourite in the lifecos. Operationally has been the best in North America with great growth potential in the far east. Got hung up with segregated funds in Canada and variable annuities in the US. Doesn't think they are even at half yet of hedging their portfolio. Will take a long time for investor confidence to come back.

2010-04-06

DON'T BUY

20.040

Has Asian exposure, which he loves. However still in the penalty box for cutting dividends. Until they get out of this, there is no real rush to get into it.

2010-03-31

DON'T BUY

20.040

David Burrows

Spent the last year trying to put its capital base back in “fortress” category. A couple of things are holding the company back. 1) It is most exposed of all the insurance companies to equity markets. 2) Pending changes to some of the capital requirements could put a crimp in the seg fund business.

2010-03-31

Comment

20.080

Randy LeClair

7.68% Bonds maturing 2019? If you are a trader you’ve probably made the lion’s share of your capital gain and you could think about exiting in the next 3 to 6 months. If you hold on until maturity, 7.68% is a very nice yield.

2010-03-29

DON'T BUY

20.130

Jim Houston

Prefers Sun Life (SLF-T), which yields about 4.5%. Had some issues last year. Almost became a 2X proxy on the market because of their leveraged ETF. Since then have raised equity twice and cut the dividend. Expects Canadian insurance industry can do quite well.

2010-03-25

BUY

20.130

Paul Harris, CFA

Have lots of capital. There will be some volatility for the next little while. Great franchise in Canada and US and a growing franchise in Asia. Likes the prospects in 3 to 5 years from now.

2010-03-25

BUY

20.000

(Market Call Minute.) Keep having bad news and it keeps getting in the penalty box but he thinks that things are going to come this year.

2010-03-24

PAST TOP PICK

19.890

(A Top Pick Apr 8/09. Up 25.41%.) Still a buy.

2010-03-23

BUY

20.680

Likes this company. Valuations looks more compelling than the banks. Good long-term hold.

2010-03-17

TOP PICK

20.620

A contrarian pick because so many people where so badly hurt when dividend was cut and then by a share issue. On of the largest life insurance companies in the world. Thinks reserves will turn out to be too high and dividend will rise.

2010-03-16

BUY on WEAKNESS

20.560

Steven Conville

Thinks we have seen the worst of the slide in the insurance sector. Maybe a little too expensive at this point.

2010-03-15

BUY

20.560

Bruce Campbell

Can see $30 in 2-3 years. Have a lot of growth in Asia. As credit concerns ease and equity markets go sideways to slightly higher their credit and capital will get better increasing their multiple.

2010-03-15

DON'T BUY

20.400

Jeff Parent

This one is very tricky. Has been a big disappointment. Will probably stall out at around $22 and probably slide there for a while.

2010-03-12

BUY

20.400

Now getting their house in order but there is still a degree of scepticism based on what would happen to capital requirements in another market meltdown. If you are looking out 2 to 3 years, it is a Buy.

2010-03-12

DON'T BUY

19.310

Ben Stadelmann

(Market Call Minute) Not too keen on them. How well can they invest the premiums while they are holding onto them.

2010-03-03

BUY

19.310

John Zechner

It will be higher in a couple of years. He believes in the management. Great diversity. Great levered play on the Canadian market and economy. Good story with lots of life left in it.

2010-03-01

BUY

19.270

Likes a number of things about it. Trades at book value. Likes life insurance business in Asia. Question mark lies in its exposure to the markets. He thinks that is discounted in stock price and continues to buy it.

2010-02-25

HOLD

19.340

Same predicament as the rest of us as investors. It has to invest premiums in the market, which is difficult. Has new boss who take action like trimming the dividend. He is not sure what the future is. He doesn’t think it will go anywhere. Has halved his position.

2010-02-23

Comment

19.340

Michael Simpson, CFA

Their variable annuity business got them into trouble.

2010-02-23

BUY

19.500

Took a half position (2%). Have great exposure in China and will be in India. Good entry point for a 3-year view.

2010-02-17

BUY

18.980

Lyle Stein

Recently re-invested in. In 2009 they shocked the street with their second equity issue. They are a global leader that disappointed the market with the raising of equity. He accumulated a half position when it went under $19. The time to buy these types of companies is when no one likes them. They have a capital base that should withstand pressures.

2010-02-12

BUY

19.500

Trading at 10X earnings. Have bolstered the balance sheet and it is very sound financially. Almost 3% yield.

2010-02-10

BUY

19.240

Benj Gallander

(Market Call Minute) Going in the right direction.

2010-02-09

BUY

18.970

Dividend being cut in half took him by surprise, but once it happened he decided to stick with the stock. Dividend will increase over time. Very well positioned in the life business, particularly with its growing business in Asia. Expects more upside in 2010 than what the banks will have.

2010-02-08

HOLD

19.930

Gavin Graham

It is unfortunate about the dividend cut and the equity raise of $2.5 million but all the bad news is in the price. Dividend will be back where it was 5 years ago.

2010-02-01

BUY

19.930

John Zechner

This is one of the better plays in the financial sector. Capital position is much better shape than it was. Have international growth. Valuation is attractive. Would take this over the bank stocks currently. 2.6% yield.

2010-02-01

TOP PICK

19.540

Jim Huang

Premier insurance company in the country but has gone through some hard times because of exposure to the equity markets. Cut their dividends and raised a lot of equity so a lot of shareholders threw in the towel but the name of the game for financial companies is going to be capital.

2010-01-29

SELL

19.900

This would be his 3rd choice in Canadian lifecos. It ended up being a leveraged play on the US stock market. Still has 75% of their equity exposure unhedged. Has not been shareholder friendly. Have raised massive amounts of money twice to build up their balance sheet as well as cutting the dividend in half.

2010-01-28

DON'T BUY

19.900

Colin Stewart

Very large, high-quality Canadian life insurance company. Ran into problems last year with their balance sheet and was forced to get significant financing. In the life insurance companies it has the most exposure to the overall equity market.

2010-01-28

BUY

19.910

(Market Call Minute.) Dominant player in the insurance business. Good price level.

2010-01-27

TOP PICK

19.680

Jason Donville

Raise capital to assure their customers they would be around forever. Growth profile and valuation looks quite attractive. 2.6% dividend. Should grow 15%-20% over the next 2 years.

2010-01-22

BUY

20.540

Banks are expensive at this point. He continues to buy for new accounts.

2010-01-18

BUY

20.580

Jeff Black

Disappointed investors on a number of fronts with their dividend cut and come into the market a few times for equities getting a lot of dilution. That is now behind them and they have a fortress balance sheet. Likes their geographic reach. Expect it will be more prudently managed going forward.

2010-01-14

DON'T BUY

20.680

Ross Healy

Because of his market outlook, would still not consider this as an entry point. Would prefer it down and they $14-$15 range. Some decent, but not great FMV. Any weakness in the market and this company will tend to go with it.

2010-01-11

TOP PICK

20.790

Paul Gardner, CFA

Market was angry with them because of the new issue but he thinks of it as a transitional event where it changes the fundamentals. Well capitalized now and have money for acquisitions. Trading at only 10X earnings.

2010-01-08

TOP PICK

20.790

Douglas Kee

Cut their dividend and raised about $5 billion in equity and the debt rating has been cut so not sure anything else can go wrong. Good leverage to equity market and rising interest rates now.

2010-01-08

STRONG BUY

19.950

Have raised a lot of capital and are in a good situation. Anytime you can buy an insurance company at Book Value you should jump on it. Earnings for 2009 should come in at around $2.

2010-01-04

Comment

19.220

Prefers Great West (GWO-T), a more conservative play. If we skate out of this thing and everything is fine and in January/February the market breaks to the upside, this would be the best one to move because it has the most leverage.

2009-12-30

DON'T BUY

19.220

David Driscoll

Earnings will be sluggish for the next couple of years because of equity raising recently. Dilution of earnings could keep price within this range.

2009-12-29

DON'T BUY

19.110

Had owned what he thought was the best run, highest quality, best growing life insurance company in North America with opportunities in the far east. Ended up owning a leveraged play on the US stock market so he sold. Stock recovered and then they cut the dividend in half as well as doing 2 financings. Wouldn't go near this one. (See Top Picks.)

2009-12-23

TOP PICK

19.110

Has been beat up lately. Not a lot of people on the street are in favour of it. Issued a lot of capital recently. They have a great cushion against adverse affects of equity markets if they should fall again. It is a great company, dominant in its industry. Earning scan go back to 2 or 2-1/2 over next couple of years.

2009-12-22

WATCH

18.950

David Cockfield

The problem he has is an investment manager is that the company blindsided him on 2 occasions. They are sitting on a lot of money. If they moved out and made a good acquisition then he would look more kindly on them.

2009-12-21

TOP PICK

18.750

Steven Conville

Stock has taken a beating but is still in the position of being one of the world's largest insurers. Although they recently cut their dividend, investors will be rewarded 5 years from now.

2009-12-18

SELL

18.600

Stan Wong

Unimpressive earnings in the last quarter with a loss of $.12. Doesn't feel comfortable with the stock at this point. Doesn't see growth in the near-term. Sold his holdings.

2009-12-17

BUY

18.750

The hits just keep coming. First they cut the dividend and then issued a massive share issue, which was dilutive. Thinks the worst is behind it. Has been oversold.

2009-12-15

BUY

18.610

Thinks they are over the hump. Could own SLF or MFC depending on the value at that moment.

2009-12-14

TOP PICK

18.610

Was startled when they cut the dividend. There were two issues – few ink stains on blotter from prior management and had to decide whether to issue equity now or sit back and get shareholder’s rather if market when down.

2009-12-14

STRONG BUY

17.960

Paul Harris, CFA

Did an equity issue that investors felt uncomfortable with but he thinks it was the right thing to do. This increased capital so they can make good acquisitions. Have one of the best franchises in Canada as well as a global franchise. Great growth prospects.

2009-12-10

DON'T BUY

17.960