STOCKCHASE

16.390

GE Capital grew so rapidly, it overshadowed the rest of their businesses and gave it a very high multiple. Capital is now slowly being wound down and you are looking at the core businesses, which are industrial. You don't want to pay 25X earnings for an industrial company of rather 10 or 15 times.

2011-11-07

PAST TOP PICK

105.570

(A Top Pick Nov 25/11. Down 33.74%.) Still likes.

2011-11-07

TOP PICK

26.800

Almost a 3% yield. Trades at 9X earnings with a free cash flow yield of about 11%. Great balance sheet. Windows8 and their phone are great products. Every time an android phone gets sold, they get $5 because of their licensing.

2011-11-07

DON'T BUY

Research In Motion

RIM-T

19.100

Trading at around 4X earnings now. Sold his holdings a while ago. Have not been clear about how they are running their company 2 CEOs. Have not executed very well in the last little while and the competition has taken over, which he feels will continue to happen.

2011-11-07

BUY

Rio Tinto

RIO-N

56.210

One of the large conglomerate mining companies globally. One of the great things is that when they are thinking of major investments, they're looking for return of capital. Over the long-term, he feels a commodity cycle will hold in. Have some really great assets.

2011-11-07

DON'T BUY

Suncor Energy Inc

SU-T

33.260

The merger with Petrocan is coming along nicely but they are a higher cost producer and there's still not much transparency. Prefers Imperial Oil (IMO-T) and Cenovus (CVE-T).

2011-11-07

TOP PICK

Toronto Dominion

TD-T

73.330

Trades at 10X earnings. 4% dividend yield. Have done a very good job of branding themselves in the US and more than 50% of their revenue now comes from the US. Chrysler Financial was a very astute acquisition for them as people in the US pay down their cars.

2011-11-07

TOP PICK

19.740

Largest Spanish telecommunication company but only get a 3rd of their revenue from Spain. One third comes from the rest of Europe and the rest comes from Latin America. Trades at about 9X earnings and about 10% free cash flow yield. The key is Latin America which is their growth area.

2011-11-07

PAST TOP PICK

Bank of New York Company Inc.

1.820

(A Top Pick Nov 25/11. Down 54.01%.) Still likes.

2011-11-07

BUY

Bank of America

BAC-N

6.280

People don't understand so this gets thrown in with everything else and people are concentrating on their mortgage business. In the last quarter, they made $.33 without the write-off and $.74 before that. Have actually grown really well outside of their mortgage business. Cheap.

2011-10-06

BUY

BK-N

18.340

Great, well-run bank. Transaction oriented rather than retail bank. A legal lawsuit against them on charging clients with FX rates at onerous levels. No issues with things such as Greece, mortgages etc.

2011-10-06

BUY

Canadian Oil Sands

COS-T

20.650

Oil stocks look cheap at these levels so it is a good time to be putting money to work.

2011-10-06

PAST TOP PICK

16.750

(A Top Pick Sept 23/10. Down 22.57%.) Sold his holdings from a risk management point of view. Great balance sheet. Great company but didn't seem to be able to execute well.

2011-10-06

BUY

Diageo PLC

DEO-N

78.460

Spirits. Very good company well known brands. Trades at about 13X earnings with about 3.3% yield. Management wants to grow their top line by about 6% over the next few years. Also want to increase margins by about 200 basis points. Growth will come from Asia.

2011-10-06

BUY on WEAKNESS

Ford Motor

F-N

10.990

Of all the auto companies, this is the one he likes except for the high-end European ones. Have done a very good job. Didn't get any money from the government. Good growth in their brands and products. Autos are in tough times right now but this is one of the premier companies.

2011-10-06

DON'T BUY

15.530

Never owned this because it was given a higher multiple because of its stability of earnings, which were skewed because of GE Capital. This is now becoming less and less part of their businesses. Given the economic situation globally, he expects this will move sideways. Grew a lot by acquisition.

2011-10-06

DON'T BUY

Great West Lifeco

GWO-T

21.470

Insurance companies globally have all fallen off because with low interest rates it is very hard for them to make money. Think insurance companies around the world are going to be difficult for the next little while.

2011-10-06

DON'T BUY

Hewlett-Packard Co

HPQ-N

25.050

Thinks that it is a value trap for a little while. Trades at 5X next year's earnings. Yield of almost 2%. The issues are not only with the board and the management changes, but there are some macro, some secular real internal business things that are very difficult.

2011-10-06

TOP PICK

26.340

Good dividend yield of 3%. Actually doing a lot of things that the risk on the downside is very limited but the upside risk (?) is potentially high. A rash of new products coming out. Very low multiple at 10X earnings. High free cash flow yield of 10%-12%. Great balance sheet. Give a lot of money from Android on patents.

2011-10-06

STRONG BUY

Morgan Stanley

MS-N

15.180

One of the 2 independent pure investment banks left in the world. (The other is Goldman Sachs (GS-N).) A lot of things that drive their business, like M&A, new stock issues, trading, etc. has slowed down a lot. At these levels, it is probably a very strong buy.

2011-10-06

DON'T BUY

Nexen Inc

NXY-T

16.480

Has never bought this one as it is not a consistent company when it comes to production.

2011-10-06

DON'T BUY

Siemens

SI-N

96.340

European equivalent to General Electric (GE-N). In power generation, transmission and distribution. Also in automation, etc. A conglomerate. Did a good job of bringing down there cost structure recently. Doesn't think you will get the margin improvements from the cost side anymore. Spending into a Asia but are tied to Europe, which will hurt them in the next little while. You can probably buy cheaper.

2011-10-06

Comment

Sunlife Financial

SLF-T

25.820

How safe is the 5.5%+ dividend to see him through the turbulent times in the next couple of years? If this is the perspective and time horizon you have, that is fine. This company has no problem meeting their dividend requirements.

2011-10-06

TOP PICK

Toronto Dominion

TD-T

73.570

Has done a great job of growing its US retail business. Bought companies with large footprints. Their Chrysler acquisition was an incredible deal.

2011-10-06

BUY

Vodafone Group PLC

VOD-Q

26.570

Global, mobile telephone company. Trades at 11X earnings. 5.75% yield. From a sector point of view, it has outperformed a lot of European telcos. Had acquired a lot of tiny businesses globally and has divested a lot of them that didn't make sense. 45%-48% holding in Verizon wireless, which is about to start paying a dividend. Well-run.

2011-10-06

PAST TOP PICK

Westshore Terminals Inc.

WTE.UN-T

20.970

(A Top Pick Sept 23/10. Up 11.78%.) Great asset. There won't be another coal terminal on the west coast. Really a tollbooth. Very well run. Good yield.

2011-10-06

BUY

HSBC Holdings P L C

HBC-N

39.490

One of the largest banks globally. Have done a great job. In restructuring, they made a bad US acquisition but are getting out of those businesses and concentrating on being a UK bank with a strong presence in emerging markets. Almost 5% yield.

2011-10-06

BUY

Coach Inc

COH-N

56.780

Merchandise that focuses on middle to upper class clients. At done a great job and have great products. Same-store sales at done incredibly well. Have had good margin growth.

2011-10-06

PAST TOP PICK

Cineplex Inc

CGX-T

25.090

(A Top Pick Sept 23/10. Up 28.83%.) Just sold his holdings recently as he felt it was fully valued. Well-run company. Has the ability to continue paying out their dividend.

2011-10-06

Comment

0.020

Markets. Thinks the markets were very oversold as there was very negative sentiment in the marketplace. Expect this is being cleared up right now but that was not necessarily the low. A lot of the issues that were causing this are still here, so this is going to continue. We need some real action from Europe. He is actually buying companies with good dividends in this marketplace. Companies are in great shape, its governments that are in bad shape.

2011-10-06

TOP PICK

20.110

Largest Spanish telecom company but Spain only makes up about a third of the revenue. The rest comes from other parts of Europe and their jewel of emerging markets and South America. Dividend yield of about 9%. Trades at 8X earnings. High free cash flows yield.

2011-10-06

BUY

Telecom Corp of New Zealand

2.170

Exposure to continental Europe is very limited. Strictly a retail banking business in the UK plus commercial banking. Made a big acquisition in 2008. Will be volatile, but over the long term, these are the times to own these kinds of companies. 46% owned by the UK government. Trading at a discount to book.

2011-10-06

BUY

National Grid PLC

NGG-N

49.710

Electrical utilities. Great stock. Outperformed its sector and its European peers. 6% yield and trades at about 14-15 times earnings.

2011-10-06

BUY

NZT-N

10.030

Telecom in New Zealand. Trades at 10X earnings with about an 8% yield. Very solid company. Has done a great job of slowly growing itself.

2011-10-06

PAST TOP PICK

15.410

(A Top Pick Sept 23/10. Down 25.98%.) Sold his holdings. Financials are very good but it broke down from a technical level for him.

2011-09-02

DON'T BUY

15.760

Had done really well under Jack Welch and given a much higher multiple because they had a consistency of earnings and was a very aggressive acquirer. They can no longer make big acquisitions as they used to and also have gone into too many businesses that are not stable earnings.

2011-09-02

BUY

107.060

Trading below book and maybe a little above tangible book. Trading at 9X earnings. Likes the dynamics of the company. Consensus earnings is around $17 for 2012 and if you put a 10X multiple on that, a gives you a $170 stock.

2011-09-02

Comment

Goldcorp Inc

G-T

53.760

Sold his holdings to buy Yamana (YRI-T), which was cheaper. Gold has gone up substantially while the stocks have massively under performed. At some point in time, if gold is a bubble, these stocks have to outperform the commodity.

2011-09-02

TOP PICK

25.800

Cheap stock. There are a lot of good stories coming out of this company. Free cash flow yield of 13%. Dividend yield of almost 3%. Cheap at 8X earnings.

2011-09-02

Comment

Sunlife Financial

SLF-T

25.500

Why is the P/E ratio much lower than Great West’s (GWO-T)? Great West has always been a premium company relative to others. Quality of management and earnings has led it to be a much better run company. All lifecos have fallen in half because bond rates are so low. Until you see rates going up, they are not going to be able to make the money they used to.

2011-09-02

PAST TOP PICK

Westshore Terminals Inc.

WTE.UN-T

22.910

(A Top Pick Sept 23/10. Up 19.27%.)

2011-09-02

BUY

HSBC Holdings P L C

HBC-N

42.410

Very large UK-based bank with most of their assets in Asia. Like many banks these days, it is trading at book at about 8X earnings. A cheap bank. Doing a lot of things to restructure. Going for things where they have a real advantage, which is in the emerging markets. 4.3% dividend.

2011-09-02

BUY

Barclays Bank PLC

BCS-N

10.600

This is the time to own the banking sector. One of the issues with this one is that they are heavily weighted to investment banking so will probably trade at a discount to a good retail bank. Trading at a very cheap multiple. This should do well over the next 3-4 years. (See Top Picks.)

2011-09-02

PAST TOP PICK

Cineplex Inc

CGX-T

26.150

(A Top Pick Sept 23/10. Up 33.7%.)

2011-09-02

Comment

0.020

Economy. US won't see the job growth that was there many years ago. When there are such heavy government debt levels around the world, there won't be economic growth that people are expecting. Feels the US is too focused on job growth rather than the restructuring of the economy. This applies to many countries. They lack the political will.

2011-09-02

Comment

0.020

Oil. Feels current levels are a fair price. Doesn't expect it will grow as rapidly as people think. Potentially has the ability to go higher but at a slower pace than expected.

2011-09-02

TOP PICK

19.950

Spanish telecommunications company. One third of revenues come from Spain, another third from the rest of Europe and the last third from Latin and South America. Trades at about 9-10 times earnings. Payout a lot of their free cash flow in dividends and he would like to see them cut this. Latin America is growing data at 40%. Really good growth story.

2011-09-02

TOP PICK

2.100

Trades at 50% of its BV. Doesn't have a yield right now but will be paying a yield in 2012. Did a massive acquisition and bought HBOS. Went from about 25% market share in retail banking to about 50%. Cheap. Good earnings potential.

2011-09-02

WEAK BUY

Bank of Montreal

BMO-T

60.200

4.67% dividend, sustainable. One of the largest yielding stocks in the banking index in Canada. A well-run bank. They haven’t established a strong brand in the US. They could have been more aggressive. For this reason he doesn’t like them as much as other Canadian banks. They are fairly valued.

2011-06-23

PAST TOP PICK

15.360

(Top Pick Jun 24/10, Down 32.15%) He sold at $16 or $17. He found they kept on missing earnings numbers and growth prospects were disappearing. He miss-read that it was really an enterprise company.

2011-06-23

DON'T BUY

18.560

Doesn’t own it. It was thought that their diversification gave them stability of earnings, but some businesses were volatile. They grew aggressively because they made a lot of acquisitions bit these latest are small and volatile. It was better run before. GE capital was the engine that drove the company but that is not going to happen any more. It will grow with the economy.

2011-06-23

PAST TOP PICK

134.520

(Top Pick Jun 24/10, Down 1.06%) Under the political eye of the world. A great franchise. Investment banking is not going away.

2011-06-23

DON'T BUY

Great West Lifeco

GWO-T

25.190

Stable yield. In a low interest rate environment it is hard for lifeco companies to make money. They all have aggressive fixed income portfolios. Life companies around the world are down. Don’t worry about their equity exposure. Lifecos will go up when interest rates go up.

2011-06-23

TOP PICK

24.650

Huge potential upside. One of the issues is where they are trying to be a retail company when they are an enterprise company. Came out with good products recently that they weren’t given credit for. Deal with Nokia and Skype will at least grow their share in the mobile business. Cheap stock, 2.7% yield.

2011-06-23

DON'T BUY

Research In Motion

RIM-T

27.610

He sold RIM just below $44 as this was his stop loss. They are an enterprise company and are trying to be a retail company. Consumers want a lot of apps and so on and they weren’t able to accomplish this. This is the whole issue with RIM. They are not used to coming up with consumer products.

2011-06-23

BUY

Royal Bank

RY-T

54.540

Likes it. From a risk point of view, they have committed themselves to being a retail Canadian bank (because they sold there US asset), an asset manager and an investment bank. Volatility is from the investment banking side. Question is can they grow that business to a size where it makes a difference on the bottom line. Retail franchise is very strong. Selling US asset was a good thing, but where they invest the money is a question.

2011-06-23

TOP PICK

Toronto Dominion

TD-T

79.720

Likes US strategy. Likes the fact that they have done something incredible – they have built a brand / franchise in the US. Car financing is how you don’t loose money in the US, not mortgages.

2011-06-23

BUY

Vodafone Group PLC

VOD-Q

26.530

Gotten rid of poor performs and smaller holdings. When they Bought 45% of Verizon and then Verizon’s parent made it stop paying dividend until debt was paid off, which it now is. The question now is whether they Merge with Verizon. It is a well-run company. They will get a dividend at some point.

2011-06-23

BUY on WEAKNESS

Coach Inc

COH-N

60.590

They are a luxury brand but they cater to upper middle class. That is their niche. There are some costs they have to deal with but they are do it. They excited well. Same store sales are very, very good. Buy on a pull back.

2011-06-23

N/A

0.020

Market: Oil was already going down so he doesn’t understand shy they released oil into the world markets. The US is going into a big driving season and he thinks this was a political move. There is no desperate need right now. Dynamics of oil markets are saying something about the global economy. US economics right now are tenuous. Canada is in great shape. There is a great buying opportunity right now. The economy is not growing as aggressively as people are expecting. Interest rates are going to be low for a long period of time. Likes large cap dividend paying stocks.

2011-06-23

Comment

0.020

When he invests internationally, he looks for a higher rate of return to compensate for the currency risk. He doesn’t hedge.

2011-06-23

TOP PICK

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (A)

23.810

68% of revenue comes from outside of Spain- emerging markets. 9x earnings, almost 9% yield. Emerging market exposure without the risk.

2011-06-23

WEAK BUY

RDS.A-N

69.300

We have great oil and gas companies in this country. You don’t have to buy oil and gas companies outside of Canada. You need to expect a much higher rate of return than, say, CNQ.

2011-06-23

PAST TOP PICK

Annaly Capital Management Inc.

2.980

(Top Pick Jun 24/10, Down 16.12%) You still have a good opportunity to make lots of money. They have a great franchise. If you can buy it at these levels you will do very well with it.

2011-06-23

BUY

Western Union Co.

WU-N

19.590

Great little company, spin off from EDP. Simple story. People need to send out wires. They deal with a large immigrant population. He likes the business model. They generate a lot of returns and it is a growing industry.

2011-06-23

BUY

NLY-N

18.590

Great yield. They borrow short and lend long. They buy mortgage-backed securities. They pick up that spread. Stock price does not move much. Risk is that short rates go up in the US. There is a re-investment risk where people pay down their mortgages in the fall. X-Div Jun 28.

2011-06-23

BUY

Bank of Ireland (Gov & Co)

IRE-N

1.140

Doesn’t think it will be nationalized. Have done a lot to shore up their balance sheet. They have an opportunity to work out their issues. It’s the economy that has to turn around and then they will do well. Ireland is a great company because they have a young workforce, low taxes. This will be dead money for 3 or 4 years. Build a position over a period of time.

2011-06-23

BUY

Bank of America

BAC-N

11.930

Feels US financials relative to Cdn financials are a lot cheaper. Trading at tangible Book Value. Good opportunity for it to do much better. Good assets. Own all the deposits in the US. One of the largest credit card issuers globally.

2011-05-13

DON'T BUY

ConocoPhillips

COP-N

71.430

There are better companies to own. Last quarter depletion rate was 10% while competition is 3%-4%. Also margins have not kept up with others. There are such great oil companies in Canada, why take stock risk as well as currency risk.

2011-05-13

Comment

Canadian Oil Sands

COS-T

30.980

An okay company, but prefers Cenovus (CVE-T). Oil sands is a great asset and will continue to be so but the trouble is that it is in partnership with a bunch of people and much more difficult running a company through committees as opposed to a pure play.

2011-05-13

TOP PICK

Canadian Pacific Rail

CP-T

59.750

Much better to run goods on rails than on trucking. Have had some really strong headwinds, especially if you look at their last quarters numbers. Bad weather and fuel issues. These things are changing over the next little while and margins will expand. Trades at a discount to its peers. Decent yield at 2%.

2011-05-13

PAST TOP PICK

141.460

(A Top Pick May 19/10. Up 5.87%.)

2011-05-13

BUY

IBM

IBM-N

169.920

Cheap. Trades at a huge discount to its PE. Trading at about 12X versus 17X earnings in the past. Nice dividend yield. Continues top throw off lots of free cash. They concentrate on areas where they have a competitive advantage. A safer way to play technology.

2011-05-13

BUY

Manulife Financial

MFC-T

17.250

Market gave it a very high multiple when it was doing crazy things and now everyone hates it when it is doing all the right things. Very cheap multiple and are solving a lot of their issues. Have some really great growth aspects, not only in the US but also in Asia where they are dedicating more capital.

2011-05-13

TOP PICK

Nokia

NOK-N

8.540

Missed the smart phone business. Still the largest maker of phones globally and are a brand name in Asia. Operational ability is still great. New CEO has made some tough decisions. Switching to a new operating system. At these levels, all the bad news is in the stock.

2011-05-13

PAST TOP PICK

Westshore Terminals Inc.

WTE.UN-T

24.660

(A Top Pick May 19/10. Up 72.47%.) Probably fairly valued at this level and moving sideways.

2011-05-13

BUY

Cineplex Inc

CGX-T

26.160

Very interesting for the next 6 months. Yield of about 5.6%. Really good balance sheet and great free cash flow. Hurt by poor ticket sales in the first half but there are a bunch of blockbusters coming for the summer season. Concessions continue to do well. Showings of operas has been a great boon for them.

2011-05-13

BUY on WEAKNESS

BHP Billiton Ltd.

BHP-N

92.630

Large conglomerate with many different aspects. Iron ore is a big part. With this one you are playing a global scale mining business as opposed to playing one pure commodity. Very well run. Hard for them to grow substantially but will benefit from a reasonable commodity boom that he expects. Try to buy on a pullback.

2011-05-13

Comment

0.020

Playing the market defensively. Feels the world has grown a lot and earnings will continue to grow but at a diminishing rate. You won't see economic growth as in the past. It will slow down, but not dramatically.

2011-05-13

Comment

0.020

Printing of US$ versus silver and gold? It's the printing of money and the velocity (movement) of money that is important. Too much velocity (not the printing of money) causes massive inflation. US doesn't have the velocity of money as there is in the rest of the world.

2011-05-13

TOP PICK

Brookfield Asset Management (A)

23.850

Spanish telecom. One third of revenues comes from Spain, one third from Europe and the rest from Latin/South America. Trades at 9X earnings and 9% yield, which is very sustainable and could be increased over time. Good way to play emerging markets.

2011-05-13

BUY

BAM.A-T

31.280

Very astute management. Great purchasers of assets. Long relationships with huge sovereignty and pension funds. Very good at buying things cheap, understanding their values, maturing them and then selling them. Trades at a discount to its NAV 0f $42-$45.

2011-05-13

PAST TOP PICK

3.480

(A Top Pick May 19/10. Up 12.7%.) Retail bank. Great restructuring story in Europe. UK government owns 42%. Great time to be Buying it.

2011-05-13

TOP PICK

Bank of America

BAC-N

13.480

Still believes in this company. Canadian banks are trading at the higher end of their multiple range. 43% retail and the rest of investment banking and wealth management. Can make $2 per share, maybe $4. Great franchise.

2011-03-24

PAST TOP PICK

BCE Inc.

BCE-T

35.180

(Top Pick Jan 18/10, Up 35.42%) Still likes it. Are doing a lot of the right things. A great stock to be buying at these levels. Lots of free cash flow, reasonable debt levels.

2011-03-24

WAIT

Caterpillar

CAT-N

108.370

When you look at their numbers and guidance, they think they will grow until 2015 at 20% per year. Al lot of growth in the minding side, plus they made an acquisition. They are seeing a lot of growth in all their areas. Are expanding internationally. It’s hard to buy here, but if they meet their forecast, then they will go higher. Buy it on weakness/pull back.

2011-03-24

Comment

CitiGroup

C-N

4.430

Doesn’t understand reverse splits. Pension funds have no trouble buying a $4 stock. Used to own the stock but sold. It will go up and do well, but prefers others. They are really an international bank.

2011-03-24

STRONG BUY

Canadian Natural Rsrcs

CNQ-T

47.760

Loves it. They are a great operator. You have to think about cost and you have to complete projects on time and within budget, which they have done over time. They execute incredibly well.

2011-03-24

TOP PICK

17.360

Value play, $5 per share in cash. Great franchise. Stock at these levels is very cheap. 10 times earnings. Great opportunity to buy a great global franchise when it is cheap.

2011-03-24

BUY

Walt Disney

DIS-N

42.860

Been under pressure because of gas prices and affected the travel side of their business. Their theme parks have been difficult and they do own one in Japan, although he doesn’t believe it is a large percentage of overall revenue. He thinks you will see a better take on the theme park side so there is certainly opportunity here. The film business is quite volatile. He would buy it here.

2011-03-24

WEAK BUY

19.780

Not liked it for a long time. It had a high multiple a lot time ago because of stability of earnings, but you saw what happened in 2008. It can go higher. Their acquisitions are in more volatile areas.

2011-03-24

WEAK BUY

Glaxosmithkline PLC

GSK-N

37.630

Better job than PFE. They made a big bet on vaccines and that really helped them out. You will continue to see growth on the vaccine side. Industry will still struggle with drugs coming off patent. Certainly in better shape than some.

2011-03-24

PAST TOP PICK