STOCKCHASE

When he became convinced that interest rates are going to stay low for an extended period of time, so he switched his holdings to banks.

2012-01-31

DON'T BUY

24.230

This owns a large part of Power Financial (PWF-T) as well as some European communication and financial businesses and the European outlook is not so great.

2012-01-03

DON'T BUY

21.590

Veronika Hirsch

Fabulous management. Financials worldwide are just undesirable. If Europe has bad news, all the global financials suffer. Once the European crisis is solved, then she would be interested.

2011-11-25

BUY

22.180

Mohsin Bashir

Has a number of underlying operations, which are great businesses. Have consistently been able to deliver cash flow. Historically has had a discount to NAV of 15% but is now about 21.5%. Good value.

2011-11-21

HOLD

22.180

Very attractive dividend yield. If you are patient, at some point interest rates will rise, stock market will stabilize and people will come back to these types of companies.

2011-11-21

BUY

22.750

Charles Lannon

He owns Power Financial (PWF-T) instead, which is the same thing without a couple of Québec-based media assets. Derives about 2/3 of its profits from Great West (GWO-T).) Lifecos have suffered from market volatility a decline in interest rates. Any 3 of these companies offer strong total return potential over 3-5 years.

2011-11-17

BUY

24.430

Will raise share price over the next couple of years. Family has to raise the dividends to keep up with the lifestyle.

2011-11-08

DON'T BUY

25.600

John Zechner

There is no trigger there, no new acquisitions. Good dividend. Doesn’t see the value in the growth of the company. There is market related risk.

2011-10-28

PAST TOP PICK

24.500

(A Top Pick Oct 13/10. Down 6.04%.) Virtually all the financials are down. Their interest in Europe has not helped them much either. You is okay and he likes the management. Hold.

2011-10-21

BUY

21.950

Earnings have been quite strong and he expects they will be 10%-15% this year. At some point in time, people will get comfortable with higher interest rates and this will be in favour. Dividend is close to 5%.

2011-09-14

PAST TOP PICK

22.720

(A Top Pick Aug 6/10. Down 11.76%.) Good diversification. Prefers Power Financial (PWF-T) now. (See Top Picks.)

2011-08-19

BUY

23.300

Great company with participation in Great West Life (GWO-T) and Investors Group (IGM-T) as well as a European holding. Great yield. You will do very well in a 5 year time horizon.

2011-08-18

SELL

24.270

Jason Donville

Time to dump these dogs. Dividend is secure. There are other more growthy names you could be into.

2011-08-17

BUY

24.000

This one hasn't worked out for him in the last 3 years. Has fallen in with the rest of the insurance guys. Has been a lousy value stock. If you are a long-term investor, it would be a good time to accumulate it.

2011-08-11

SELL

24.640

Michael Smedley

Moved out of it because he could not get a sense of anything-good happening for the minority shareholders. Powerfully owned buy one family. Better options in the group. Sell his top picks

2011-08-03

BUY

25.500

He primarily holds it for yield purposes. Dividends go up regularly. Likes their underlying holdings, McKenzie, Investors Group (IGM-T) and Great West Life (GWO-T). Also have European operations, but they are smaller.

2011-07-20

WAIT

25.890

Very diversified. The one caveat is their European exposure but views this as a temporary thing. Well managed and a good yield. Would wait until Europe is a little more stable.

2011-07-15

BUY

26.040

Mohsin Bashir

Power Financial (PWF-T) makes up about 90% of the NAV. Also owns a couple of assets in Europe and Asia. Trading at about 21% of its NAV, which historically has been at about 15%.

2011-06-16

Comment

27.240

Power Corp (POW-T) or Power Financial (PWF-T)? Prefers and owns Power Financial, which has 3 sections including some European assets as well as Great West Life (GWO-T) and Investors Group (IGM-T). Keep increasing their dividends.

2011-06-02

PAST TOP PICK

28.040

(A Top Pick June 4/10. Up 9.45%.) Has always liked their diversification. The fact that they are also invested in insurance companies has turned out to be a bit of a downer and is a little disappointed in their results.

2011-05-27

TOP PICK

28.180

Financial conglomerate. Trading at a significant discount to its net asset value and he sees a 20% upside. Also, a great way to get cheaper exposure to Great West Life (GWO-T) and Investors Group (IGM-T).

2011-05-11

BUY

27.470

Given his market scenario, he thinks Great West and Investors group will work out. This is a good entry point right here. Dividends will continue going up.

2011-03-14

BUY

27.350

You are buying a lot of fee revenue. Likes the diversification. He has a very low financials weight because up until very recently they were under performing the market.

2011-01-25

SELL

26.810

Christine Poole

Because they own shares of Power Financial (PWF-T) you could get a double discount so you might want to switch Power Financial, which includes assets of Great West (GWO-T) and Investors Group (IGM-T).

2010-12-20

TOP PICK

27.590

Recently came off. Company has a lot of things going for it that banks don’t have in terms of diversification. Generous yield.

2010-11-12

BUY

27.480

Douglas Kee

Great company and well managed. Good diversification of assets. Has a spectacular dividend history of increasing 5%-10% a year.

2010-10-25

TOP PICK

27.100

Suffered from the fall of grace of Manulife (MFC-T), which pulled Sun Life (SLF-T) down. Have some good holdings. Has real asset and growth value.

2010-10-13

PARTIAL BUY

27.270

Fairly fully valued and there is a possibility of a pullback in November. You could buy half now and the other half on a pullback.

2010-10-06

BUY

27.440

Well run. They control, through power financial, the best run life insurance company (Great West) and the best run mutual fund company (Investors Group).

2010-09-07

BUY

26.450

Nice group of assets all paying big dividends. Financials have not gone anywhere this year but there is a nice discount on this one. Sock it away for a few years. Well run, very cost conscious operators.

2010-08-10

TOP PICK

26.980

A diversified international holding company, including Great West Life (GWO-T), Canada Life and Investors Group (IGM-T). Dividends are quite safe. Great West is doing better than the other lifecos.

2010-08-06

TOP PICK

26.800

Higher yield. Significant international financial assets. Booze, Oil and Cement. You can’t miss. He dithered back and forth about whether it would be POW or a subsidiary. You get a nice mix of lifecos. You go down through Power and they are all down there.

2010-06-04

SELL ON STRENGTH

27.560

Don Vialoux

Technicals are similar to other bank stocks. Sector does well from end of January to end of May. There were technical sell signals recently. Technically there is support around here. Psychology is that we have had the run for the year.

2010-05-31

BUY

30.760

Paul Harris, CFA

Weird company because it has so many different parts to it. You can own this and do well. Great operators and understand their businesses.

2010-03-25

WEAK BUY

29.070

Part of his core position, likes the dividend. Recently went from Sunlife to here. Good company to hold.

2010-02-26

BUY

29.650

On his potential buy list. Growth is going to come from the European assets. Great long term purchase because you get a good cross section of the financial market in Canada. Increase dividend twice a year on average.

2010-02-17

BUY

28.820

This or the underlying assets, Great West Life (GWO-T) and Investors Group (IGM-T)? He owns Great West. Nothing wrong with IGM. Also have media assets. All 3 dilute it a little. Has no problem with this one but a slight preference for Great West.

2009-12-30

BUY

27.600

Ara Nalbandian

A long term holding of his and he is looking to accumulate it at these levels. You get a little discount from power financial on the underlying asset.

2009-12-15

HOLD

26.470

If overweight, trimming your position might be in order. It is trading at a discount to its historical PE.

2009-12-02

PAST TOP PICK

26.210

(A Top Pick Dec 2/08. Up 34%.) Picked as a low volatility with some value for a defensive play. Last quarter not so good as the insurance sector and Investors Group (IGM-T) tripped it up. Investors Group will add assets this year.

2009-11-19

BUY

27.830

Likes the whole integrated company. Trades at steeper discount to its net asset value. There is some good upside potential right now.

2009-10-22

BUY

29.190

Willem Hanskamp

Dividend paying stock that has some upside potential and should be able to continue paying the dividend as well as possibly growing it.

2009-08-31

BUY

27.000

Ara Nalbandian

Likes this for playing Canadian financials. Pulled back because earnings on the Power Corp side was a little bit weak but this is a shorter term issue.

2009-08-19

BUY

26.200

Ara Nalbandian

Holding company for Great West Life (GWO-T), London Life, Canada Life and IGM Investors Group. Likes to buy assets at a discount to their underlying value and this gives you a holding company discount.

2009-07-03

PAST TOP PICK

24.180

(A Top Pick June 10/08. Down 25%.) Got the whammy of the IGM Investors Group (IGM-T) not being able to sell mutual funds for 6 months and insurance companies taking hits on their portfolios. Both of those segments are coming back. Terrific track record of growth and dividends.

2009-06-18

PAST TOP PICK

18.100

(A Top Pick March 18/08. Down 40.8%.) Reported pretty nice earnings today.

2009-03-12

Comment

17.440

Will be one of the ones he will be adding when he decides to build up exposure to financials. Owns Great West Life (GWO-T) and IGM Investors Group. If you think this market is about to turn, one of the areas you want to be in is asset management because as markets rise, fees go up.

2009-02-25

WAIT

18.500

There's a lot of pressure on the lifeco’s right now. Questions around their capital ratios and their ability to pay on some of the products they have sold. Hitting new 52-week lows.

2009-02-19

BUY

21.850

Looking at this one. Has a really good dividend. Trading at about 18% discount to its NAV. Has an excellent record of dealing well in difficult economic times. Good assets.

2009-01-28

DON'T BUY

20.850

Holding company for Great West Life (GWO-T), London Life, Canada Life and IGM Investors Group. Suffered along with other financials. Well managed. When things get better, it will be a good one for financials. You don't have to rush to buy this.

2009-01-27

WEAK BUY

21.130

Peter Gibson

(Market Call Minute.) One of the few financial stocks that has above average characteristics. Might buy if you're looking for a rebound in that area.

2008-12-09

TOP PICK

20.570

Life insurance and mutual funds (through the Investors Group). A financial that has suffered tremendously. Doesn't think there is any prospect that the company will cut the dividend. Thinks earnings will be better than expected.

2008-12-02

TOP PICK

27.700

Bill MacLachlan

Chief assets are Investors Group (IGM-T) and Great West Life (GWO-T). There has been no news from Great West of any write-offs. Investors Group has been hit by the downturn in the market but well positioned to benefit on the bounce back.

2008-10-23

BUY on WEAKNESS

31.430

Used to be one of his favourites. Got caught in the tremendous downdraft with the rest of the financials. Long-term history is excellent.

2008-08-01

TOP PICK

30.970

Very high-quality company. As insurance companies, Investors Group, interests in Europe. All it does is make money and pay dividends. Stock has gone down because people are worried about the insurers and their bond holdings. Thinks Investors Group will snap back in the 2nd half of the year.

2008-07-03

DON'T BUY

30.760

Peter Gibson

The whole of the financial sector is facing a big challenge going forward because of the subprime crisis in the US. Expect the company will do well over the next few years but can't see strong profit growth.

2008-06-27

Comment

31.960

Pat McKeough

Parent company of IGM Financial (IGM-T), which would be his favourite in this group.

2008-06-20

HOLD

32.750

One of the best managed companies in Canada. Well diversified. Down because of its exposure to the financial sector.

2008-06-18

TOP PICK

33.810

Their mutual fund along with others has not been able to grow assets. When money starts flowing back into the market, this will do pretty well. Also insurance companies have had some problems with assets being hit by the credit crisis. This company has a 17% ROE. Dividend has gone up very sharply and is almost as high as the banks. Trading at around 9X next year's earnings.

2008-06-10

DON'T BUY

33.140

Financials are likely to under perform for some time. There is another leg in the weakness coming.

2008-05-22

TOP PICK

33.150

Bob Stodgell

Down 17% year to date. Insurance industry has been under great pressure, mainly because of the portfolio. This company has wonderful businesses and great long-term management. It will come back. Increased their dividends by 20% last quarter, which indicates they are sure things are going to improve. 3.5% yield.

2008-05-20

BUY

34.060

John O'Connell, CFA

Expects money will flow into this one. Good dividend yield and great exposure to Asia and China. Very strong balance sheet. Trading at age 17% discount to its NAV.

2008-05-15

HOLD

33.450

The underlying assets are Great West Life (GWO-T) and IGM Financial (IGM-T). In poorer markets, there is leverage on the mutual fund play. Great West reported the best numbers of the three Canadian life insurance companies but market concentrates on the Putnam group in the US. It will be fine.

2008-05-09

BUY

34.930

Paul Harris, CFA

Came up quite a bit like many financials. Very well run. Have made some very astute acquisitions over the years. Have grown their asset management business. The US Putnam acquisition was very astute and will pay off longer term.

2008-04-24

DON'T BUY

34.350

Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA

The main driver here is Power Financial (PWF-T) and its driver is Great West Life (GWO-T). So you really have to look at Great West to move Power Financial to move this stock. As a holding company, it tends to trade at a discount to NAV. Not representing a special buying opportunity at this time.

2008-04-17

VAGUE

31.350

Robert Floyd

Has certainly fallen back, with some of their assets being exposed to the financial sector. At this stage is "overdone"

2008-03-20

TOP PICK

30.550

Had terrific earnings in last quarter. Worth the risk.

2008-03-18

BUY

30.700

Long-term it is one of the best financial stocks to own. 2 main businesses, life insurance including Great West Life (GWO-T), London life and Canada life and the investment fund business including Investors Group (IGM-T) and Mackenzie. Being hurt because it is in the financial area. Long-term prospects are fabulous. Conservatively run.

2008-03-10

BUY

35.800

Concern here is that insurance companies are huge holders of bonds, mortgage pools and related instruments. With the turmoil in the credit market people don't know what you might find in the books of a Great West Life (GWO-T) for example. Also, people are concerned with the stock market in the doldrums. He feels the stock is way oversold. Good buy at this price.

2008-02-04

BUY

36.900

(Market Call Minute.) By it long-term as it is a great way to play the underlying companies.

2008-01-11

BUY

39.900

Good long-term value at this price.

2007-09-25

PAST TOP PICK

39.980

(A Top Pick July 27/06. Up 30%.) Had been under priced. Still at a bit of a discount to its net asset value.

2007-06-19

BUY

40.020

Michael Sprung

Is dominated by Power Financial. He owns Power Financial, because the earnings are identical, it's just a little cheaper. Both are very good companies. Next generation of management in in place. Will go from the $250 level to $280 in the coming year and $350 the following year.

2007-06-15

BUY

40.040

He owns power financial which is similar. They just bought Putnam in the US, which is just now showing signs of turning. A "no-brainer" for long term investors.

2007-06-12

HOLD

37.240

Good 1st quarters. Prefers Power Financial (PWF-T) slightly better.

2007-04-05

Comment

36.690

Paul Harris, CFA

Stock is done very well. Incredibly well run company. Made a big acquisition of the Putnam Group in the US, which has to be settled and restructured. This may burden the stock for a little while. Good buy when the stock drops.

2007-03-16

BUY

37.750

Chyanne Fickes

A holding company. Has done very well. Much cheaper than the banks. Very high quality management and very high quality assets.

2007-03-12

Comment

38.780

Prefers Power Financial (PWF-T) right now, largely because the components have very good growth prospects going forward.

2007-02-14

DON'T BUY

35.210

Recently acquired Putnam Group, a major US mutual fund company. Holds great promise, but when you make an acquisition that size, it carries a risk trying to assimilate a large company into the business. Also, do they really understand US mutual fund business?

2007-01-15

DON'T BUY

35.110

Steve MacInnes

Doesn't meet his environmental social governance criteria.

2007-01-11

BUY

34.800

Came off a bit in the last month or two, mostly because of rumours of a purchase of the Putnam Group, which would be a major purchase. Fabulous buy for them in the long run. There will be some earnings dilution in the near-term and stock has reacted. Any correction in the stock is a good buying opportunity.

2007-01-09

BUY

34.050

Likes this company because they have such strong fee revenues, which is a very predictable cash flow. Companies with consistent cash flow have been a favourite in the market. Short-term issue is that they may buy Putnam Group in the US, which would be expensive.

2007-01-08

BUY

35.660

Likes their group of companies. Prefers Power Financial (PWF-T) for its higher yield. They both have a good record of increasing dividends.

2006-11-29

BUY

36.250

Arthur Heinmaa

They will continue to do well.

2006-11-23

PAST TOP PICK

35.810

(A Top Pick July 27/06. Up 15.4%.) A whole bundle of assets, all of which seem to work pretty well.

2006-11-21

PAST TOP PICK

32.380

It is up 4%. He still likes this company. Very attractive and he is still a buyer.

2006-09-28

WEAK BUY

31.750

Power Financial (PWF-T) and Power Corp (POW-T) are both good companies and well managed. He prefers Power Financial.

2006-09-13

SELL

31.510

Peter Gibson

There are some really interesting assets here, but profit growth is weak and it looks a little expensive. The deterioration of Great West (GWO-T) profit growth concerns him.

2006-08-18

PAST TOP PICK

31.100

(A Top Pick May 15/06. Up 2.3%.) Thinks the market is still a little concerned about the turnover of control with Demarais Sr. Still likes.

2006-08-16

TOP PICK

30.860

A compelling value. Buying $1 value of the underlying companies for $.75. Pays a dividend. Safe.

2006-07-27

PAST TOP PICK

30.980

(A Top Pick May 15/06. Up 2%.) Thinks it has probably bottomed. Not a bad yield. Unwinding their European situation and will be coming into a lot of cash and will be very liquid.

2006-07-13

BUY

30.490

Chyanne Fickes

Has treaded water for the past 2 years because of earnings problems in 02/03. However, the outlook for their 2 largest subsidiaries, Great West Life (GWO-T) and Investors Group (IGM-T) is quite good. Trading at a good multiple.

2006-07-04

BUY

30.580

Chris Smith

A diversified financial company has delivered reasonable returns and growth. Management changeover coming, but he does not see an issue with this. Excellent long-term company.

2006-05-29

BUY

30.580

A conglomerate which trades at a discount to its net asset value. Likes the dividend and the fact that it keeps going up. Buy this for the yield and the increase in yield.

2006-05-25

BUY

29.850

Likes its underlying subsidiaries. Great West Life has lagged the other insurance companies because of a slower earnings growth. Has a great long-term record. A reasonably defensive investment. It’s Great West and IGM interest sensitive.

2006-05-17

TOP PICK

30.150

Jonathen Wellum, B. Comm, B. Sc

Holds a lot of very, very good assets. Has some assets in Europe that have been liquidated, which is good. Stock has come down. 2.6% yield. Suspects they will be doing something interesting in terms of acquisitions in the next little while.

2006-05-15

TOP PICK

32.470

Bill MacLachlan

An excellent allocation of capital. Key assest are Great West Life, and Investors Group. Hasn't performed well over the last 12 months, but looking at the dividend yield, thinks it will perform well in the future. They bought on Mar 14th at $31.46, as 4% of their portfolio. (heavily invested). The biggest risk is on the insurance side, if significant losses, or if interest rates plummet to extremely low levels.

2006-03-15

BUY

31.850

Power Corp is a cheaper way to get into financial services. Sometimes it is better growth than the financial services. He thinks it is a well run business and very respected and opportunistic and a nice little dividend. He owns a lot of Power Financial which is a kin to Power Corp

2006-03-08

PAST TOP PICK

31.380

(A Top Pick Oct 6/05 No change.) A terrific buy at this price. Probably trading at about 70% of the value of its assets.

2005-12-19

HOLD

31.450