Pat McKeough

A professional investment analyst for more than 30 years, Pat has developed a stock-selection technique that has proven reliable in both bull and bear markets. His proprietary ValuVesting System™ focuses on stocks that provide exceptional quality at relatively low prices. Many savvy investors and industry leaders consider it the most powerful stock-picking method ever created.

As early as 1980, Pat was recognized as #1 in the world of published investment advice by the Washington, DC–based Newsletter Publishers Association, and he was the first multi-year winner of The Globe and Mail’s stock picking contest.

Both CBS MarketWatch and The Hulbert Financial Digest recognized Pat as one of North America’s top stock analysts. The Wall Street Journal called him “one of only four investment newsletter advisors who have managed to serve their readers well over the long haul.”

A best-selling Canadian author, he wrote Riding the Bull, his 1993 book that predicted the stock-market boom of the last half of that decade. Through his many television appearances, he is well-known to investors for his insightful analysis and his candid, unpretentious style.

Bottom line: Pat’s conservative, reduced-risk strategy is a proven approach to safe investing.

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $55.78 (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $67.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.0%, www.scotiabank.com) is considering selling all or part of its 49% stake in Thailand’s Thanachart Bank, which has a book value of $2.4 billion. Like many Asian nations, Thailand prohibits foreign firms from controlling domestic banks. Economic weakness and political uncertainty have also hurt loan demand in the country. Bank of Nova Scotia would probably use the proceeds from any sale to expand in Latin America. The bank gets around 30% of its earnings from its international operations....
ENERPLUS CORP. $4.34 (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 206.5 million; Market cap: $813.8 million; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 8.3%) produces oil and gas from properties mainly in Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C., North Dakota and Montana, as well as in the Marcellus Shale, which passes through Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. Enerplus increased its output by 6.5% in the three months ended September 30, 2015, to an average of 110,794 barrels of oil equivalent per day (55% gas and 45% oil), from 104,035 a year earlier. However, that wasn’t enough to offset sharply lower oil and gas prices; cash flow per share fell 44.2%, to $0.58 from $1.04. Like Bonavista, Enerplus will cut exploration spending this year. Its outlays will now total $350.0 million, down 31.4% from $510.0 million in 2015. It spent $811.0 million in 2014....
BONAVISTA ENERGY $1.83 (Toronto symbol BNP; Shares outstanding: 211.7 million; Market cap: $367.5 million; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 6.6%; www.bonavistaenergy.com) explores for oil and gas in Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C. Its output is 75% gas and 25% oil. In the quarter ended September 30, 2015, Bonavista’s cash flow per share fell 26.7%, to $0.44 from $0.60 a year earlier. Most of that drop came from lower oil and gas prices; output rose 5.2%, to 78,599 barrels of oil equivalent a day from 74,720 barrels. Like many producers, the company is cutting back on exploration and development spending. In 2016, it will devote $210 million to this purpose. That’s down from the $283.4 million it spent in 2015, and down sharply from its $639.6 million in 2014....
ENBRIDGE INC. $47.87 (Toronto symbol ENB; Shares outstanding: 856.7 million; Market cap: $40.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above A v e r a g e ; D i v i d e n d y i e l d : 4 . 4 % ; www.enbridge.com) has agreed to buy two natural gas processing plants and related pipelines in northeastern B.C. from Murphy Oil (New York symbol MUR). These facilities purify raw gas from producers in B.C.'s Montney region. They also have long-term contracts with these clients, which helps cut risk. Enbridge will pay $538 million when it closes the deal by March 31, 2016. To put that in context, it earned $399 million, or $0.47 a share, in its latest quarter....
GLOBAL X SILVER MINERS ETF $19.09 (New York symbol SIL; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Index. That index includes 25 international firms that mine, refine or explore for silver. It was developed by Germany-based Structured Solutions AG. Canadian firms make up 58.0% of the fund’s holdings, but it also includes miners in the U.S. (12.3%) and Mexico (11.2%). Its MER is 0.65%....
ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL GOLD INDEX FUND $9.38 (Toronto symbol XGD; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) aims to mirror the performance of the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index, which is made up of 35 gold stocks from Canada and around the world. The ETF began trading on March 23, 2001. Its MER is 0.61%. The fund’s top holdings are Barrick Gold at 14.3%; Newmont Mining, 13.1%; Goldcorp, 11.7%; Franco-Nevada, 8.6%; Randgold Resources (ADR), 8.1%; Agnico-Eagle Mines, 8.0%; AngloGold Ashanti (ADR), 4.2%; and Gold Fields (ADR), 2.9%. iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index is a hold.
GLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $10.06 (New York symbol COPX; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Copper Miners Index, which includes 20 to 40 international companies that mine, refine or explore for copper. Germany-based Structured Solutions AG created this index. Canadian firms make up 38.8% of the ETF’s holdings. It also includes companies based in Australia (15.6%), Mexico (5.5%), Peru (5.4%) and Poland (5.0%). The fund’s MER is 0.65%. Its top holdings are Southern Copper at 6.9%; Oz Minerals, 6.8%; CST Mining Group, 6.4%; Kaz Minerals plc, 5.9%; Sandfire Resources, 5.9%; Grupo Mexico, 5.7%; Glencore plc, 5.4%; Turquoise Hill, 5.4%; Lundin Mining, 5.4%; Jiangxi Copper, 5.4%; Copper Mountain Mining, 5.3%; and Antofagasta plc, 4.6%....
BCE INC. $56.74 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 849.3 million; Market cap: $48.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.6%; www.bce.ca) has formed a new partnership with U.S.-based iHeartRadio, which streams live radio stations and other audio broadcasts over the Internet. iHeartRadio has more than 75 million users in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. BCE plans to use iHeartRadio’s technology to launch a free-to-use, advertising-supported streaming service in Canada in mid-2016. This service will also feature BCE’s 106 radio stations, as well as other content from its TV channels. BCE is a buy....
TRANSCANADA CORP. $48.05 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 709.0 million; Market cap: $34.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.transcanada.com) has launched two legal challenges to the U.S. government’s recent decision to block its proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would have pumped crude oil from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The company spent $4.3 billion on Keystone XL and now expects to write off between $2.5 billion and $2.9 billion of this total. TransCanada plans to appeal the U.S. decision under the North American Free Trade Agreement and will ask for $15 billion U.S. in damages. In a separate case, it will challenge the U.S. president’s authority to deny a construction permit....