WED
METRO INC. $53 (Toronto symbol MRU.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 100.7 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.metro.ca) plans to simplify its share structure. Right now, the supermarket operator has two classes of shares: 100.1 million class A subordinate-voting shares (one vote per share) and 577,440 class B multiplevoting …read more »
These companies on this page offer investors a way to diversify their Finance sector holdings beyond the big five banks. However, they are only for investors who can tolerate the added risk.
DUNDEE CORP. $25 (Toronto symbol DC.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 70.7 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.dundeecorp.com) …read more »
THE WESTAIM CORP. $0.56 (Toronto symbol WED; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 580.6 million; Market cap: $325.1 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; No dividends paid; SI Rating: Speculative) completed its $286.3-million purchase of Montreal-based Jevco Insurance Co. on March 26, 2010. Jevco sells insurance to high-risk drivers, as well as owners of motorcycles, snowmobiles and recreational vehicles.
Westaim earned $5.5 …read more »
Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs, don’t load you up with heavy management fees, nor do they tie you down with heavy redemption charges if you decide to get out before six years have passed. Instead, they give you a lower-cost and more flexible and convenient alternative to mutual funds.
The problem is that ETFs are just as helpful for facilitating smart …read more »
These are difficult times for income-seeking investors. Bonds yield around half of what they did 10 years ago, yet more and more investors are nearing retirement, when many pay close attention to investment income. Many also see income as a sign of investment quality. These factors have kept up investor interest in income trusts.
Despite Ottawa’s plan to start taxing trust …read more »
Royalty trusts involve far more risk than most investors realize. This is why we’ve recommended so few of them (and why we’ve managed to find some real gems among the ones we have recommended).
Ottawa has enacted new rules for royalty trusts that take effect in 2011. These have changed the outlook for many. However, the basic tests we use to …read more »
Tax-loss selling (or tax-loss harvesting) occurs when you deliberately sell a security at a loss in order to offset capital gains in Canada. You can then use these losses to offset your taxable capital gains.
For example, the 2008 deadline for tax-loss selling on the Toronto Stock Exchange was December 24, 2008. If you sold at a loss on or before …read more »
TEMPLETON EMERGING MARKETS FUND $7.87 (New York symbol EMF; CWA Fund Rating: Speculative) is a closed-end fund that invests in equities from emerging economies. Franklin Templeton manages the fund.
Templeton Emerging Market Fund’s holdings are spread around the world. Although volatile, the fund gives investors access to countries like Brazil, China, India and others that still have strong growth prospects.
The $187.6-million …read more »
KOREA FUND $18.27 (New York symbol KF; CWA Fund Rating: Speculative) is a closed-end fund that invests at least 80% of its assets in Korean equities. Currently, all of its assets are in South Korean stocks. RCM Asia Pacific manages the fund.
Korea Fund’s top holdings are Samsung Electronics at 9.9%; KT&G Corporation (a cigarette maker), 4.7%; KT Corporation (telecommunications), 4.2%; …read more »
We’ve long advised that investing outside of Canada and the United States can expose you to increased volatility and risk. The sharp downturn in many foreign markets during the current global slowdown proves this. But there are still regions or countries that offer lots of growth potential.
We still think that for most investors, the best way to invest in these …read more »
