STOCKCHASE

13.410

Sold his holdings when they discovered that it wasn't just an insurance company but was a leveraged product on the US stock market. With 51% of their portfolios still unhedged, you still own a highly leveraged stock market.

2010-08-11

Comment

0.020

Bank of Montreal or Commerce? Which dividend would have the most upside? Feels Bank of Montreal is a better run bank so this is the one he would prefer.

2010-08-11

BUY

Fortis Inc.

FTS-T

28.400

Used to be a electric distributor but is now more of a gas distributor and is a growth utility. Looking to expand into the US. Well managed.

2010-08-11

DON'T BUY

Russel Metals

RUS-T

19.210

Steel service centre, which makes them a very cyclical company tied into the economy.

2010-08-11

BUY

Power Financial Corp

PWF-T

27.500

Conservative management. Very high quality holdings including a control position in Great West Life (GWO-T) and Investors Group (IGM-T). Also has high-quality investments in Europe.

2010-08-11

DON'T BUY

13.190

Not a fan of this bank. Still have high exposure to a lot of bad mortgages and loans. As interest rates come down, their ability to generate income is also coming down.

2010-08-11

TOP PICK

Atrium Innovations.

ATB-T

16.250

Canadian-based multinational consumer company and largest player in high quality vitamins/supplements sold through practitioners. Market is growing 6%-7%. About half their business is out of Europe. Growth through acquisitions. Severely undervalued. Longer term play.

2010-08-11

TOP PICK

Baxter International Inc

BAX-N

45.620

Medical devices. About 60% of sales are outside of the US. Big in kidney dialysis, haemophilia, vaccines, and aesthetics, etc. Most of their growth is in developing countries.

2010-08-11

TOP PICK

Fuji Photo Film USA Inc.

FUJI-Q

31.970

Has made a fabulous transition away from film into other areas. Still big in cameras, photo labs and paper but also has 2 other divisions that are growing very well, xerox products and the film that goes into LCD screens.

2010-08-11

PAST TOP PICK

9.450

(A Top Pick June 8/09. Up 13.22%.)

2010-08-11

PAST TOP PICK

Inter Pipeline Fund

IPL.UN-T

12.990

(A Top Pick June 8/09. Up 66.42%.) Sold his holdings.

2010-08-11

PAST TOP PICK

15.700

(A Top Pick June 8/09. Up 21.23%.) Still a Hold.

2010-08-11

TOP PICK

33.080

Incredibly cheap. The merger with Petrocan is now starting to throw off the savings he was hoping for. Thinks it will be more than $1,4 billion in savings. Good growth prospects both in oil sands and regular type of oil. Expect they will grow the dividend regularly.

2010-07-09

TOP PICK

Essential Energy Services Ltd.

9.500

Largest Canadian owned/based benefits and actuarial company. Help companies manage pension benefits, HR issues, health issues, etc. Very profitable business. When they convert to a corporation, they will cut their distribution in such a way that the after-tax amount will be the same.

2010-07-09

TOP PICK

ESN-T

1.140

Natural gas service company, based in Alberta. Natural gas price has come back some and they are reducing the royalties next year so it should start seeing the benefit of increased drilling over the next year. No debt. Talking about expanding into Colombia with some of their customers.

2010-07-09

PAST TOP PICK

Power Financial Corp

PWF-T

28.150

(A Top Pick July 22/09. Up 7%.) Likes it very much but there may still be some short-term downside is the financials look like they want to be weak. Great for long-term investors. History of regularly raising dividends. 5% yield.

2010-07-09

PAST TOP PICK

American Financial Group Inc.

AFG-N

28.830

(A Top Pick July 22/09. Up 24%.) Specialty property/casualty insurance company with niche markets. Very wide margins. Probably most profitable public insurance company in the US. Extremely well run. Raises its dividend regularly.

2010-07-09

PAST TOP PICK

Diageo PLC

DEO-N

66.220

(A Top Pick July 22/09. Up 15%.) Good growth. Biggest producer of scotch globally, which is the big demand product in the developing world. In the developed world, it is recession resistant. Long-term outlook is very good.

2010-07-09

BUY

Crescent Point Energy Corp

CPG-T

37.650

Combines a good dividend along with really good growth prospects. In the Bakken and some very good oily areas. Good stock for income.

2010-07-09

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

BUY

Loblaw Companies Ltd

L-T

39.980

A turnaround story that is now working. Profitability is better. Distribution system, while not 100% perfect, is much better. Good management. Food deflation seems to be coming to an end, which bodes well for profitability.

2010-07-09

WEAK BUY

14.950

One of the most diverse and largest companies globally. Market treats it purely as a financial stock and almost ignores all the industrial and consumer parts.

2010-07-09

DON'T BUY

Sunlife Financial

SLF-T

28.440

Life insurance companies in general have not been good performers lately. He would prefer Great West Life (GWO-T) but prefers this to ManuLife (MFC-T).

2010-07-09

DON'T BUY

Imperial Oil

IMO-T

38.820

People's interests have been more into exploration companies than the big integrateds. Prefers Suncor (SU-T). No real catalyst with this. Have the Kearl project coming but that is a ways out. (See Top Picks.)

2010-07-09

BUY

Proctor & Gamble

PG-N

61.750

Great company but when the economy turned down, people traded down to lower end and house brands. If you are a long-term investor, this is a fabulous company with a great franchise and international reputation. Growing in developing markets.

2010-07-09

DON'T BUY

Dryships

DRYS-Q

3.910

In the business of moving dry bulk cargo. The Baltic index is showing weakness so this is not a good time to own this company.

2010-07-09

DON'T BUY

United States Steel

X-N

12.540

With the soft economy, this may not be the best time to own a steel company. Later in the year and into 2011 things may be better. Would rather do this sector indirectly through an iron ore Company such as Labrador Iron Ore (LIF.UN-T) or Vale (VALE-N).

2010-07-09

SELL

Magna Int'l. (A)

MG-T

71.480

Could never own this stock as long as Frank Stronach was involved. Can't stand how shareholders have been treated over the years. Continues to rape the company.

2010-07-09

BUY

Trans Canada Corp

TRP-T

36.870

The questioning of the Keystone pipeline running down to the Gulf is just a big charade. US is going to have to get oil and Canada is a very dependable place. This is not going to be stopped.

2010-07-09

BUY

Bell Aliant

BA.UN-T

25.960

Good income. Has announced that when it is no longer a trust, it will pay out $1.90, which will still be around 8%. Wire line business in Atlantic Canada, rural Ontario and Quebec is slowly declining. To offset that, they are starting to install fibre to the home.

2010-07-09

BUY

Thomson Reuters Corp

TRI-T

39.000

Internet-based information for the financial, educational and legal businesses. A growth stock globally. Have invested heavily in new generation products. Outlook is quite good.

2010-07-09

DON'T BUY

15.110

Just told US regulators that in April it unintentionally hid nearly $11 billion in debt from its balance sheets using 6 trades known as “dollar rolls” between 2007-2009.

2010-07-09

Comment

Talisman Energy

TLM-T

16.570

Overall, he feels oil prices are going to stay at a high level, probably in the range of mid-$60's to upper $80's. Wouldn't go over weight but would have some exposure to oil. This company has been disappointing. Doing all the right things but the market doesn't seem to care.

2010-07-09

DON'T BUY

TSX Group

X-T

27.730

Throttle/Montreal Stock exchange. Have 2 problems. 1) Volumes are much lower than they had been and 2) there is more competition from alternative exchanges. 5% dividend.

2010-07-09

BUY

Canadian Oil Sands Trust

COS.UN-T

27.610

Largest owner of Syncrude. No exploration risks. Constantly making it bigger so there is good growth there. Decent payout, which he thinks, will increase over time. (See Top Picks.)

2010-07-09

BUY

Enbridge

ENB-T

51.050

Pipelines and asked Mr. been. Great company. Investments in carbon capture and wind projects is very tiny and will never amount to very much. Has both defensive and growth characteristics.

2010-07-09

N/A

0.020

The Euro-debt crisis: We are the most important market for the US. Europe is only about 5%-10%, so Euro-debt crisis will only have a modest impact. Bernanke may be right but he didn’t predict the last recession very well. Continues not to see a ‘V’ shaped recovery. Gold has become a currency. Almost all currencies are racing for the bottom.

2010-06-09

BUY

15.320

He owned it on the way down and bought more. The market zeroed in on its financial side and it followed financial stocks. It’s a multi-industry company. They worked on fixing the balance sheet on the finance side. He is a big believer in the stock and believes they will be buying back stock next year.

2010-06-09

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

BUY

32.500

He expects oil to stay at a relatively high price. What’s happening in Mexico is good for the price of oil. No new drilling is being allowed. SU is a terrific bargain, although still a ‘show me’ stock.

2010-06-09

HOLD

Teva Pharmaceutical

TEVA-Q

51.300

Owns half as much as he used to. Worried about their biggest non-generic product. It’s an MS drug with a lot of controversy.

2010-06-09

DON'T BUY

Wells Fargo

WFC-N

27.030

Doesn’t own any US banks. The quality is inferior to Canadian banks. He thinks banks are a little ‘toppy’ both in US and Canada, but if you need to own a US bank, this is one of the best run.

2010-06-09

BUY

Power Financial Corp

PWF-T

27.510

Well run company – life insurance and in mutual fund business. Also has a European holding company. This has affected PWF. As a long-term investor he is happy to own it, but it may have further weakness.

2010-06-09

Comment

0.020

REITs – after in 2011 will they have more capital appreciation? Investors are attracted to the yield – stable, although not likely to grow. Not affected by income trusts going out. Some income trust investors will cycle money into REITs.

2010-06-09

WEAK BUY

Canadian Natural Rsrcs

CNQ-T

35.750

Warm towards companies with oil sands projects.

2010-06-09

TOP PICK

Baxter International Inc

BAX-N

40.470

Brand new holding – health care and he likes the long-term outlook to health care. It’s not a drug company and 60% of business is out of the country. Big overseas market developing. Stock got hit and that is the opportunity to buy it.

2010-06-09

TOP PICK

ABB Ltd.

ABB-N

16.800

Power business, Swiss company. Biggest player worldwide in electrical transmission. They are re-doing the whole power grid in the US. Short term, some problems with state funding. He is a long-term investor. Buy the stock here.

2010-06-09

TOP PICK

Loblaw Companies Ltd

L-T

39.550

The street has not liked this stock all along. The turn around is in place and now the street is becoming believers. Investors like it. It hit a new high the other day. Attracting conservative investors. Earnings surprises on the upside for two reasons: Turnaround starting to show on the bottom line and the big worry on food retailers is food deflation but it is waning now.

2010-06-09

PAST TOP PICK

Inter Pipeline Fund

IPL.UN-T

11.540

(Top Pick Jun 8/09, Up 46.06%) thought it became over valued.

2010-06-09

PAST TOP PICK

9.550

(Top Pick Jun 8/09, Up 10.78%)

2010-06-09

PAST TOP PICK

15.320

(Top Pick Jun 8/09, Up 17.21%)

2010-06-09

BUY

0.020

Canadian investors have a golden opportunity with the strong Cdn$ to buy shares in companies that are domiciled in countries where the currency is weaker. You are getting quality companies at value prices.

2010-05-05

TOP PICK

Diageo PLC

DEO-N

65.440

Headquartered in England so trades on the London exchange. Perfect one for the strong Cdn$ to buy weak foreign currency stocks. 1/3 of its business is Scotch so with the pound going down, costs are going down and sell most of their product outside of the UK. 3.5% yield.

2010-05-05

TOP PICK

ABB Ltd.

ABB-N

18.100

Based in Switzerland so a perfect one for strong Cdn$ to buy weak foreign currency stocks. Global player. Infrastructure player has yet is the largest player in electrical transmission/distribution. Also in process automation. Electrical transmission in North America is outdated and has to be renewed. Great long-term story. Over 5% yield.

2010-05-05

TOP PICK

American Financial Group Inc.

32.510

Has missed expectations for investors when it was PetroCanada but exceeded them when they were Suncor. The merger gets the great assets of Petrocan and the great management of Suncor. Starting to beat expectations.

2010-05-05

PAST TOP PICK

Loblaw Companies Ltd

L-T

37.610

(A Top Pick May 6/09. Up 8.6% excluding dividends.) Bought on it being a turnaround, which is working. Low risk because of their real estate, which will support it on the down side.

2010-05-05

PAST TOP PICK

Teva Pharmaceutical

TEVA-Q

60.560

(A Top Pick May 6/09. Up 37% excluding dividends.) Largest global generic manufacturer. Made acquisitions that strengthens them geographically. Trend towards generics is going to continue.

2010-05-05

PAST TOP PICK

AFG-N

28.240

(A Top Pick May 6/09. Up 37.2% excluding dividends.) Specialty property/casualty company that is highly profitable. Making money on their insurance in addition to their investments.

2010-05-05

DON'T BUY

Goldman Sachs

GS-N

148.190

Don't buy stocks on the way down. Also, he believes in the cockroach theory in that there is never just one. He expects more things to come out on this company.

2010-05-05

DON'T BUY

Imperial Oil

IMO-T

40.660

Like the other integrated oils globally, hasn't been a great performer in the last several years. Very dependent on heavy oil and the spread between heavy and light sweet oil has widened. Also don't have any great exploration going on. (See Top Picks.)

2010-05-05

DON'T BUY

Toronto Dominion

TD-T

73.600

Banks have gone up too far when people were chasing yields. Would prefer to see it in the $60's. Too early at this time.

2010-05-05

SELL

Harley Davidson

HOG-N

31.540

European crisis probably won't help, but this is mainly a domestic company. The ultimate discretionary product. Ahead of its earnings.

2010-05-05

DON'T BUY

Crescent Point Energy Corp

17.530

Canadian banks are far better quality. If you want to be involved in the US banking sector, this one is okay but he would prefer JP Morgan (JPM-N) or US BanCorp (USB-N), which are higher quality. If the market weakens, financials are going to leave it down so wait.

2010-05-05

BUY

Petrobras Energia SA

PZE-N

15.530

State owned oil company in Brazil. Had a big run-up a couple of years ago when they had some big discoveries off the coast. Has fallen off and a good time to get some oil stocks. A good name.

2010-05-05

BUY

Agnico-Eagle Mines

AEM-T

63.860

Gold prices are starting to go up to their old highs of a few months ago. This company has held back compared to some of the others. High quality stock.

2010-05-05

BUY

Canadian Oil Sands Trust

COS.UN-T

28.920

A great company to own. Just announced an increase in dividends. Pure play on the price of oil. No exploration risks. Output is going to go up over 20% in the next 10 years.

2010-05-05

Comment

BP PLC

BP-N

50.990

Typically when there is a disaster, like the oil spill, the market sells first and asks questions later and tends to overdo it on the down side. Not sure if this is at the bottom or not. Has come up on his radar. Great dividend.

2010-05-05

PARTIAL SELL

Yellow Pages Income Fund

YLO.UN-T

6.520

Never been a fan of this company, the business model or the outlook for them. Trying to diverse away from the “book” and getting more internet related. Worries they go from being a monopoly in print to being just another name on the Internet. If a big part of your portfolio, look to diversify.

2010-05-05

BUY

CPG-T

42.060

One of the few companies that have gone from being a trust to a corporation and still have it high payout with a promise that as the earnings do better to build the payout.

2010-05-05

BUY on WEAKNESS

Aecon Group Inc

ARE-T

11.700

Infrastructure. Dependent on governments to build roads, bridges, etc. Theory was they would be big beneficiaries but government finances have been crumbling. Probably getting to the point where it is a good investment because governments have to invest in infrastructure.

2010-05-05

BUY

Johnson & Johnson

JNJ-N

65.140

Healthcare companies have not participated in the market run up but, if you are going into a time of market weakness, stocks like this will do well both relatively and absolutely here.

2010-05-05

DON'T BUY

Total SA

TOT-N

50.840

He would prefer British Petroleum (BP-N) because he can pinpoint where the stock has gotten hit. He can't do that with this one. Part of it could be currency.

2010-05-05

BUY on WEAKNESS

Starbucks

SBUX-Q

26.220

Suffered greatly when the US economy melted. People are starting to go back. Also the company has learned from this and adjusted their pricing. Has had a good run so not sure he would buy it here.

2010-05-05

BUY

Bell Aliant

BA.UN-T

25.580

(Market Call Minute.)

2010-05-05

BUY

Silver Wheaton

SLW-T

19.240

(Market Call Minute.) The price of gold and silver look like they want to go higher. A good name.

2010-05-05

BUY

BCE Inc.

BCE-T

30.330

(Market Call Minute.)

2010-05-05

DON'T BUY

Barrick Gold

ABX-T

44.130

(Market Call Minute.) Has a lot of operations in Australia and the new Australian tax makes him a little bit wary.

2010-05-05

SELL

Teck Resources Ltd. (B)

TCK.B-T

37.440

(Market Call Minute.) Has had a huge run and metal prices look like they may be vulnerable in the near term.

2010-05-05

BUY

Goldcorp Inc

G-T

43.830

Good gold stock.

2010-05-05

DON'T BUY

Alimentation Couche-Tard (B)

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

BUY

Atrium Innovations.

ATB-T

16.500

Leading manufacturer/distributor of high quality vitamins/supplements, mostly sold through practitioners in US and Europe. Recently acquired a Canadian company. Growing business and now in health food stores in North America. One question is in their European operations with their product Robenzein (?), which is being transitioned from a drug to a food product where sales are off a bit but should start ramping up again.

2010-04-06

Comment

ATD.B-T

18.100

Biggest convenience store operator in Canada and one of the largest in the US. A lot of sales are gas. Shrinking margins on gas and the US economic slowdown hurt them. Marketing and margins are starting to come back and they should be big beneficiaries.

2010-04-06

Comment

Telus Corp

T-T

38.570

Telcos did poorly when the market was soaring but when it started to level off telcos started to come back. This one has been a poor performer versus BCE (BCE-T). Also has stronger competition out West. Might be worth looking at but in the short term BCE is still the better one.

2010-04-06

HOLD

Apple

AAPL-Q

239.540

As a value investor he wouldn't own this. Just came out with the iPad and the stock ran up on the expectations but hasn't moved much since. Still early to know if their sales are going to continue as strong. Great company.

2010-04-06

BUY

Bonavista Energy Trust

BNP.UN-T

23.510

Short-term outlook on natural gas is not very good. This one is a combination of gas and oil and a good way to play natural gas. Well managed.

2010-04-06

TOP PICK

Bristol Myers Squibb

BMY-N

26.380

Good pipeline and a large amount of cash that can be used for acquisitions. Expects they will continue to raise their 4.8% dividend.

2010-04-06

TOP PICK

Trans Canada Corp

TRP-T

37.660

Perfect mix of growth (new pipeline ventures and utility ventures) and defensive if the economy starts to slow down. 4% yield and will probably increase it again later this year.

2010-04-06

TOP PICK

35.170

Expectations after the first 6 months of their merger with PetroCan (PCA-T) are rock bottom. Takes a long time to bring these together. In the meantime there are about $1.5 billion of synergies coming out. Refining margins are coming back. Upgrader that was having fires is coming back sooner.

2010-04-06

SELL

Imperial Oil

IMO-T

40.950

Not a fan of this one. Doesn't seem to have the exploration potential that others have. Refining and marketing have been virtually profitless. (See Top Picks.)

2010-04-06

Comment

18.490

New management seems to be somewhat more conservative and more bottom line shareholder oriented. For a long-term investor, this US Bank will be one of the survivors. You might consider buying on a pullback.

2010-04-06

PAST TOP PICK