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.

Posts by the author
When we get questions about investing in stocks through split-share, our advice is, avoid the risk and invest in good stocks individually
VANGUARD GROWTH ETF $97.09 (New York symbol VUG; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) U.S. Large Cap Growth Index, a broadly diversified index that mainly consists of stocks of large U.S. companies. The fund’s MER is just 0.09%.

The $38.0-billion Vanguard Growth ETF’s top holdings are Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, Philip Morris International, Oracle, Schlumberger, Comcast, Qualcomm, Gilead Sciences and Walt Disney Co.

The fund’s breakdown by industry is as follows: Technology (24.1%), Consumer Services (19.7%), Financials (12.4%), Industrials (12.1%), Health Care (11.0%), Consumer Goods (10.5%), Oil and Gas (7.9%), Materials (1.7%), Utilities (0.4%) and Telecommunication Services (0.2%).

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BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $70.50 (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $85.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.6%, www.scotiabank.com) has agreed to buy 20% of the credit card division of Canadian Tire Corp. (Toronto symbol CTC.A and a recommendation of The Successful Investor).

This business is Canada’s eighth-largest credit card issuer, with 1.8 million clients and $4.4 billion in outstanding loans. Its cardholders spend $1.2 billion annually.

The bank will pay $500 million for this stake, and Canadian Tire has an option to sell an additional 29% to Bank of Nova Scotia over the next 10 years.

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VERESEN $17.50 (Toronto symbol VSN; Shares outstanding: 219.7 million; Market cap: $3.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.7%) owns pipelines, power plants and gas-processing facilities across North America.

A major holding is 50% of the Alliance gas line, which runs 3,000 kilometres between Chicago and Fort St. John, B.C. Veresen also owns the Alberta Ethane Gathering System, 42.7% of the Aux Sable NGL plant, and the Hythe/Steeprock natural gas gathering and processing complex in the Cutbank Ridge region of Alberta and B.C.

To diversify its operations, the company is expanding into power generation, including hydroelectric facilities, wind farms and natural gas-fired plants.

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PEMBINA PIPELINE $44.90 (Toronto symbol PPL; Shares outstanding: 323.0 million; Market cap: $14.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.pembina.com) owns pipelines that carry half of Alberta’s conventional oil, 30% of Western Canada’s natural gas liquids (NGLs) and almost all of B.C.’s conventional oil.

Pembina bought rival Provident Energy for $3.2 billion in 2012. Provident extracts, transports and stores natural gas liquids (NGLs).

This acquisition is now paying off: in the quarter ended March 31, 2014, Pembina’s cash flow rose 30.6%, to $264.0 million from $202.0 million a year earlier. Cash flow per share gained 22.1%, to $0.83 from $0.68, on more shares outstanding. Pipeline expansions and strong profit margins at Provident were the main reasons for the gains.

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GLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $10.03 (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 41.4% of the fund’s holdings. It also includes companies based in Australia (14.8%), Poland (4.5%), Peru (5.1%) and Mexico (5.0%). Global X Copper Miners ETF’s MER is 0.65%.

Its top holdings are Panaust Ltd. at 6.0%; Vedanta Resources, 5.4%; Oz Minerals, 5.2%; First Quantum Minerals, 5.0%; Imperial Metals, 4.9%; Hudbay Minerals, 4.9%; Kazakhmys, 4.9%; Lundin Mining, 4.9%; Grupo Mexico, 4.7%; Freeport Copper, 4.6%; and Glencore International, 4.6%.

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GLOBAL X SILVER MINERS ETF $11.36 (New York symbol SIL; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Index.

This index includes 26 international companies that mine, refine or explore for silver. Germany-based Structured Solutions AG developed the Global X Silver Miners Index.

Canadian companies make up 48.9% of the fund’s holdings, but it also includes miners in the U.S. (13.2%) and Mexico (12.0%). Its MER is 0.65%.

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ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL GOLD INDEX FUND $10.60 (Toronto symbol XGD; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) aims to mirror the performance of the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index.

This index is made up of 38 gold stocks from Canada and around the world. The iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index Fund’s MER is 0.60%. It began trading on March 23, 2001.

The fund’s top holdings are Goldcorp at 15.8%; Barrick Gold, 15.6%; Newmont Mining, 9.4%; Franco Nevada, 5.6%; Randgold Resources (ADR), 5.6%; AngloGold Ashanti (ADR), 5.3%; Yamana Gold, 4.6%; Agnico-Eagle Mines, 4.4%; Kinross, 3.6%; Eldorado Gold, 3.4%; Royal Gold, 3.4%; Osisko Mining, 2.7%; Gold Fields (ADR), 2.3%; and New Gold, 2.2%.

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ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $16.48 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds the 15 Canadian real estate investment trusts in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. The weight of each REIT is limited to 25% of the ETF’s value.

iShares CDN REIT’s expenses are 0.60% of its assets. The fund yields 4.9%.

The ETF’s largest holding is RioCan REIT at 19.9%, followed by H&R REIT (15.1%), Canadian REIT (7.5%), Dream Office REIT (7.2%), Calloway REIT (6.6%), Canadian Apartment REIT (6.0%), Boardwalk REIT (6.0%), Allied Properties REIT (5.8%), Cominar REIT (5.3%), Artis REIT (4.8%), Chartwell REIT (4.5%), Granite REIT (4.5%), Crombie REIT (2.3%), Dream Global REIT (2.2%) and Northern Property REIT (2.1%).

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H&R REIT $23.38 (Toronto symbol HR.UN; Units outstanding: 271.4 million; Market cap: $6.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.8%; www.hr-reit.com) owns stakes in 41 office buildings, 112 industrial properties and 168 shopping malls across Canada. The trust has a 97.9% occupancy rate.

In March 2013, H&R finished building the Bow, a $1.33-billion, two-million-square-foot office complex in Calgary. Encana Corp. has leased the entire building for 25 years.

In April 2013, H&R completed the purchase of 27 properties from Primaris REIT for $3.1 billion. These assets include the 567,000-square-foot Dufferin Mall in Toronto’s west end.

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