| TOP PICK | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Royal Bank 5.45% Nov 10/13 bond: - A 5 year AA security yielding roughly 200 basis points over a government bond. Rarely has it been at these levels. There could be some issues, news over write-downs, etc. but this is one of the best run banks in Canada. You will get the 5% every year to maturity. There will be some volatility but it's good money. | 2008-04-14 | |
| TOP PICK | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Province of Ontario 4.3% March 8/17 Bond: - Still thinks there's going to be some declines in interest rates and you are going to get a little bit more capital gain going out the yield curve. Sticking with something a little less risky provincial bond AA is because he is going further out in the term structure. | 2008-04-14 | |
| TOP PICK | | iShares Cdn Corp Bond E.T.F. | XCB-T | 19.400 | A lot of individual investors do not want to buy individual corporate bonds because it takes up too much of their portfolio. With this one, you are basically buying a piece of the Scotia Capital Corporate Market Bond Index. There are 138 corporate names that you are getting access to. Good cross-section. A little over 4% yield. | 2008-04-14 | |
| Comment | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Corporate Bonds: - Has been a lot of interest rate cuts in the US and in Canada. Corporate bonds did not react the same as government bonds so the yield spreads between these 2 have widened significantly. A lot of that has been the equity turmoil and subprime issues in the US. What is left is a very attractive historical absolute and relative yield spread; the extra yield that you pick up on your corporate yields over government bonds. | 2008-04-14 | |
| Comment | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Interest rates: - Thinks the government will cut interest rates by 50 basis points next week followed by later cuts in the 2nd quarter. | 2008-04-14 | |
| Comment | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | BCE Bonds 2016/2017: - When the Ontario Teachers’ pension plan announced the takeover of BCE, he sold these as he knew that on a pro forma basis they would have to lever up the balance sheet. Bonds are now trading like BB credits at a very high yield level. He would not be comfortable with these for that length of time. | 2008-04-14 | |
| BUY | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Loblaws Bonds 4 to 7 years: - Has been a bit of an under performer. Thinks it is a turnaround situation. They are in a tough cycle and have had some supply chain problems. There is a potential for a downgrade and it is still on credit watch but you are getting paid quite a bit. If you do stay short term, which is a good strategy, there is less risk. | 2008-04-14 | |
| Comment | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Global Bonds: - Last month was a great month for these. General interest rates across the board have dropped quite a bit. Thinks select global markets will do well. One's that are starting from a higher interest rate level such as the UK, Australia and New Zealand are starting to slow and are starting to cut from a higher level. For North America and Europe, Western Europe in particular, a lot of the rally has been done. | 2008-04-14 | |
| Comment | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Preferreds: - (Q: Why have these not been snapped up? Very good buy, especially with the credit you get for them.) They do have an equity component to them. In a capital structure debt, bonds will rank higher than the preferred equity. Preferreds are still viewed as a bit lower on the food chain. If a common stock gets hurt, the preferred also get hurt. However, they could be a good long-term investment. | 2008-04-14 | |
| Comment | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Canadian Municipal Bonds: - (Q: Individual investors don't seem to have access to these. Why? What are current rates?) They are very difficult to get, even for institutional investors. There are not that many issued and usually it is done at the provincial level. | 2008-04-14 | |
| BUY | | Power Financial Corp | PWF-T | 35.050 | Will trade relatively comparable to other banks and insurance companies. Very well run company and he has no issue with it. Have good assets. Good credit profile. | 2008-04-14 | |
| BUY | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | GE Capital bond due June 10/2010: - He has no concern with that AAA rated security and will be holding his until maturity. Came out with an earnings miss last week and the stock got hurt, but from a credit standpoint he does not have a problem with that credit. | 2008-04-14 | |
| HOLD | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Bank of Nova Scotia Preferreds: - Bank of Nova Scotia is definitely one of the better run banks. There was a bit of a dip because of credit issues because of the stock market itself. | 2008-04-14 | |
| Comment | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | The risk of owning BCE Bonds is priced in. He thinks the deal will go through in the 2nd quarter. If the deal doesn't go through, these bonds could be upgraded to investment grade. | 2008-01-10 | |
| BUY | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Good time to deal in US bonds as long as they are not treasury. Yields on the treasuries are low because of the flight to quality. There are some very good values in short-term financials as long as you stay high up the food chain such as AA or very solid financial institution. | 2008-01-10 | |
| BUY | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | On bank preferred stocks; stick with 2 or 3 of the top banks that have avoided a lot of the structured investment vehicle issues and mortgage and credit problems. These would include Toronto Dominion Bank, Royal Bank or Bank of Nova Scotia. Pick variable and fixed rates. Find ones that are fairly liquid, as some of the illiquid ones don't trade well. | 2008-01-10 | |
| DON'T BUY | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | GMAC and Ford Credit bonds have yields exceeding 10%. You are getting this yield because you are taking on a lot of risk. | 2008-01-10 | |
| TOP PICK | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Bank of Nova Scotia 4.56 % bond maturing October 30/13. On a yield curve, he loves the 5 year area. Not a lot of risk. You can basically hold this bond until maturity. AA rated. One of the best run banks in Canada. | 2008-01-10 | |
| TOP PICK | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | George Weston 5.05% bond maturing Mar 10/14. You're looking at a yield of over 6%. Treasury bills are yielding in the mid-to high 3%’s. You can hold this bond until maturity. Investment-grade. The majority ownership in Loblaws (L-T), which he thinks is a turnaround story. | 2008-01-10 | |
| TOP PICK | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | GE 5.1% bond maturing June 1/16. Extremely high quality. AAA. One of the largest and most diversified companies in the world. | 2008-01-10 | |
| BUY | | iUnits Real Return Bond E.T.F. | XRB-T | 18.950 | An ETF that is a proxy for real return bonds. A good way for retail investors to get inflation protection. A real return Bond gives you a coupon over and above the CPI inflation level. | 2008-01-10 | |
| TOP PICK | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Bank of Nova Scotia 5.65% bond maturing July 22/08. A good pick up over treasury bills that are artificially low right now (3%+) because of the flight to quality bid. This is a fixed floater, i.e., it has a fixed coupon up to July, but if the bank decides not to mature the bond, it will float plus 1%. | 2007-11-07 | |
| TOP PICK | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | MetLife 4.35% bond maturing Feb 10/09. Very good US insurance company, AA rated. | 2007-11-07 | |
| TOP PICK | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | GE Capital Canada 4.4% bond maturing June 1/14. AAA rated, This is a great global, well-diversified company. | 2007-11-07 | |
| Comment | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | What to Invest in if you have $10K in both Cdn and US? – He would look at large Cdn and US blue chip companies that will export to China and India, etc. Exporters are going to be very competitive with the weak US$. These countries are going to need the technology and know how of the US. | 2007-11-07 | |
| Comment | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Cdn$ versus the Euro – The Euro is not a bad bet at all. It has moved a long way. It is another good positive long-term story. The Euro should continue to strengthen over the US$. | 2007-11-07 | |
| Comment | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Impact of High $ on the Bond Market – Very close “Direct and Cause” link between the $ and the bond market. The Cdn$ is acting as a de facto tighten for the Bank of Canada, which is a very positive support for the bond market. Canada is a fairly low yielder now and by looking elsewhere, you would be able to get some added yield. Australia, New Zealand have 6.25% - 6.50% versus our 4.25%. Instead of taking a currency risk, you could Buy some high-grade financials (major banks, etc.) that would yield 1.5% - 1.75% over Govt of Canada Bonds, which would put you up close to 6%. | 2007-11-07 | |
| TOP PICK | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | 2 year 4 quarters 2010 Bank of Nova Scotia Bond. A senior deposit rated double A. About a 5% yield. Very low volatility. | 2007-06-26 | |
| Comment | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Bank of Canada. Looking for a 25 basis point hike in July, bringing the overnight rate up to half. With the strong $ and the weakening equity market, they may be on hold for the summer. Maybe do another in the 4th quarter. | 2007-06-26 | |
| TOP PICK | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Greater Toronto Airport Authority bond. Very stable credit and low volatility. This falls under the infrastructure category, essentially a monopoly type of service. Very little risk of default. Single A rating. | 2007-06-26 | |
| Comment | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | 5 year GIC. Doesn’t know that he would like to lock in all of his funds for 5 years. If it’s one part of your portfolio, that’s OK. Try to ladder it with some floating rate money, money market fund or market securities. | 2007-06-26 | |
| TOP PICK | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Metlife Bond. A Maple Bond. (?) Yields approximately 5%. Very High quality credit. Double A rated. Considered foreign content in the portfolio, but there is not the currency risk. | 2007-06-26 | |
| DON'T BUY | | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | BCE Bonds. Sold his holdings because he is not sure how the bid process is going to play out. | 2007-06-26 | |
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