How To Invest

In addition, Pat thinks then beginner investors should cultivate two important qualities: a healthy sense of skepticism and patience.

Investors should approach all investments with a healthy sense of skepticism. This can help keep you out of fraudulent stocks that masquerade as high-quality stocks. It will also keep you out of legally operated, but poorly managed, companies that promise more than they can possibly deliver.

If you are a new investor, you should also realize that losing patience can cause you to sell your best choices right before a big rise. All too often, investors buy a promising stock just as it enters a period of price stagnation. Even the best-performing stocks run into these unpredictable phases from time to time. They move mainly sideways in a wide range for months or years before their next big rise begins. (Stock brokers often refer to these stocks as “dead money.”)

If you lack patience, you run a big risk of selling your best choices in the midst of one of these phases, prior to the next big move upward. If you lose patience and sell, you are particularly likely to do so in the low end of the trading range, when stock prices have weakened and confidence in the stock has waned.

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Stock Investing
Every Thursday we bring you one of our best U.S. stock picks. You get our specific recommendation on the stocks we profile, with a full explanation of how we arrived at our opinion. You will read about stocks making moves you should know about, most often from coverage in our newsletter on U.S. investing, Wall Street Stock Forecaster.

CINTAS CORP. (Nasdaq symbol CTAS; www.cintas.com) provides a range of products and services to over one million businesses, mainly in North America.

The company gets 71% of its revenue by renting uniforms that it makes and cleans. This business also rents a variety of related products, such as mats, towels, mops and cleaning supplies. Cintas gets a further 10% of its revenue by selling uniforms.

In addition, the company sells first aid kits, fire extinguishers, sprinklers and emergency-exit lights (11%). It also shreds corporate documents (8%). In April 2014, it merged its shredding operations with Shred-it International. In exchange, Cintas received 42% of the combined company, which uses the Shred-it brand, plus $180 million in cash.

Cintas used the proceeds from the deal to pay a special dividend of $0.85 a share. It also increased its regular annual dividend by 10.4%, to $0.85 a share from $0.77. The new rate yields 1.1%. The company has now raised the payout annually for the past 31 years.

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Tax Shelters
Nearly 50% of Canadians do not have a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA). And many of those that do are not making regular contributions. This is a shame. It means that many are missing out on a savings plan that can contribute substantially to building wealth and accumulating a strong cash reserve that’s there when you need it.

Since their inception in 2009 tax free savings accounts have given Canadians an excellent opportunity to earn investment income, on interest, dividends and capital gains, tax free.

To ensure that you can take the greatest possible advantage of your TFSA, noted financial columnist Jonathan Chevreau and I have assembled a special report, Make the Most of Your Tax Free Savings Account.

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Stock Investing
Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle on specific stock picks as well as questions on investment strategy and the economy. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle.

This week an Inner Circle Member asked us about a stock that has risen and fallen sharply in the past year. AutoCanada has almost four dozen franchised auto dealerships across Canada and continues to add more through takeovers. While the company has benefited from a rebound in car sales, it also faces several challenges in a cyclical, competitive business. Pat examines the risk of its growth-by-acquisition strategy and the potential impact of lower oil prices on Western Canadian car sales.

Q: Pat: I am a new member and I have a question. What is your current view of AutoCanada? Thanks.

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Stock Investing
Every Tuesday we bring you “Best Canadian Stocks.” You get our specific recommendations on the stocks we profile, with a full explanation of how we arrived at our opinion. You’ll read about stocks making moves you should know about, from coverage in one of our three newsletters featuring Canadian stocks—The Successful Investor, Stock Pickers Digest and Canadian Wealth Advisor.

ANDREW PELLER LTD. (Toronto symbol ADW.A; www.andrewpeller.com) is Canada’s second-largest producer of wines, after Vincor International. Its wineries in Nova Scotia, Ontario and British Columbia account for 13.4% of the Canadian wine market.

In the second quarter of its 2015 fiscal year, which ended September 30, 2014, Peller’s sales rose 7.2%, to $82.8 million from $77.2 million a year earlier. That’s mainly because the company started selling its Wayne Gretzky wines in Western Canada. The company also launched several new products, including its skinnygrape spritzers and Panama Jack cocktails.

Earnings jumped 45.5%, to $5.1 million, or $0.37 a share, from $3.5 million, or $0.25.

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Stock Investing
Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific stock tips as well as questions on investment strategy and the economy. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle.

This week we had a question from an Inner Circle Member about Golar LNG, which ships liquefied natural gas (LNG). The company operates LNG tankers and oversees projects converting gas into liquid. Pat takes a closer look at Golar’s business and the current state of the LNG trade as it flows from the Middle East to the Pacific. He assesses Golar’s prospects of capturing a greater share of the growing export trade to Asia at a time when shipping rates have fallen due to the global expansion of LNG carrier fleets.

Q: Hello: would you be able to give me your opinion on Golar LNG, in which I have a position.

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Tax Shelters
Yes, you can collect up to $49,284 in dividends every year, and not pay a single dime in income tax. You simply have to know how to invest with the tax code in mind. You need a guide in front of you that cuts through the maze of Canada’s tax laws and concentrates on the rulings that are most important to investors. You have to know where you can save and where you can gain with smart tax planning. That’s why we put together the TSI Network Tax Guide for Canadian Investors 2015.

Our tax guide is written from an investor’s point of view. This sets it apart from most tax guides. It is invaluable for both tax planning and overall portfolio planning. It puts special focus on the tax laws and tax strategies that mean the most to Canadian investors. We draw on our long experience in investment advice. With this background, we have created a concise guide, complete with seven tables for quick and easy reference.

With this guide, you approach your taxes, and the person you have chosen as your tax preparer or advisor, with a strong base of knowledge. You’ll have the ability to ask your tax accountant the right questions, or even handle your own taxes with confidence.

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Investment Advice
Every Tuesday we bring you “Best Canadian Stocks.” You get our specific recommendations on the stocks we profile, with a full explanation of how we arrived at our opinion. You’ll read about stocks making moves you should know about, from coverage in one of our three newsletters featuring Canadian stocks—The Successful Investor, Stock Pickers Digest and Canadian Wealth Advisor.

WESTJET AIRLINES (Toronto symbol WJA; www.westjet.com) serves 91 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Its fleet of 109 modern Boeing 737s are 30% more fuel efficient than older jets.

In June 2013, the company launched WestJet Encore, its Canadian regional airline. This business now operates 14 Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprop planes, which seat 78 passengers.

In the three months ended September 30, 2014, WestJet’s earnings, excluding one-time items, jumped 30.9%, to a third-quarter record of $85.4 million from $65.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 32.0%, to $0.66 from $0.50, on fewer shares outstanding. This was WestJet’s 38th consecutive quarter of profitability. Revenue rose 9.2%, to $1.0 billion from $924.8 million.

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BONAVISTA ENERGY $6.56 (Toronto symbol BNP; Shares outstanding: 203.4 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 6.4%; www.bonavistaenergy.com) explores for oil and natural gas in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Its production is 69% gas and 31% oil.

In the three months ended September 30, 2014, Bonavista’s cash flow per share fell 1.6%, to $0.60 from $0.61 a year earlier.

Production rose just 1.5%, to 74,720 barrels of oil equivalent a day from 73,632. However, that’s because Bonavista sold heavy-oil projects, which are less of a focus for the company.

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PEYTO EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT CORP. $30.32 (Toronto symbol PEY; Shares outstanding: 153.7 million; Market cap: $4.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.4%; www.peyto.com) produces and explores for oil and natural gas in Alberta. Its average daily production of 77,592 barrels of oil equivalent is 90% gas and 10% oil.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2014, Peyto’s cash flow rose 62.7%, to $1.09 a share from $0.67 a year ago. That’s because it raised its production by 37.7% and realized higher oil and gas prices.

The company is forecast to generate cash flow of $4.80 a share in 2015. That estimate will fall if oil prices stay low for some time, but Peyto’s high weighting in gas will largely offset lower oil prices. Peyto trades at 6.3 times the current forecast, which is reasonable in light of its strong growth prospects.

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H&R REIT $22.71 (Toronto symbol HR.UN; Units outstanding: 274.1 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.9%; www.hr-reit.com) is selling part ownership of 101 industrial properties in Canada and the U.S. for $731 million. In all, these buildings comprise 19.5 million square feet. The buyers include the Canadian Public Sector Pension Investment Board.

H&R will keep a 50% interest in the Canadian properties and a 49.5% stake in the U.S. portfolio. It will keep managing these assets and will receive fees for doing so. H&R will retain full ownership of 14 other industrial properties.

The REIT will use the proceeds to pay down debt and buy more shopping malls and office buildings.

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