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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POWERSHARES QQQ ETF $94.06 (Nasdaq symbol QQQQ; buy or sell through brokers; www.invescopowershares.com), formerly called Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares, holds stocks that represent the Nasdaq 100 Index, which consists of the 100 largest shares on the Nasdaq exchange, based on market cap.
The Nasdaq 100 Index contains shares of companies in a number of major industries, including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain financial companies. The fund’s expenses are about 0.20% of its assets.
The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel, Amazon.com, Gilead Sciences, Comcast Corp. and Facebook.
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The Nasdaq 100 Index contains shares of companies in a number of major industries, including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain financial companies. The fund’s expenses are about 0.20% of its assets.
The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel, Amazon.com, Gilead Sciences, Comcast Corp. and Facebook.
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SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $169.58 (New York symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The SPDR Dow Jones ETF’s top holdings are Visa, IBM, Goldman Sachs Group, ExxonMobil, Chevron, 3M, McDonald’s, Caterpillar, United Technologies and Boeing. The fund’s expenses are about 0.17% of its assets.
SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy.
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The SPDR Dow Jones ETF’s top holdings are Visa, IBM, Goldman Sachs Group, ExxonMobil, Chevron, 3M, McDonald’s, Caterpillar, United Technologies and Boeing. The fund’s expenses are about 0.17% of its assets.
SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy.
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SPDR S&P 500 ETF $197.12 (New York symbol SPY; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the stocks in the S&P 500 Index, which consists of 500 major in U.S. companies that are chosen based on their market cap, liquidity and industry group.
The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, J.P. Morgan Chase, IBM, Chevron, General Electric, Pfizer, Berkshire Hathaway, Verizon, Wells Fargo and AT&T. The fund’s expenses are just 0.10% of its assets.
If you want exposure to the S&P 500 Index, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF is a buy.
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The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, J.P. Morgan Chase, IBM, Chevron, General Electric, Pfizer, Berkshire Hathaway, Verizon, Wells Fargo and AT&T. The fund’s expenses are just 0.10% of its assets.
If you want exposure to the S&P 500 Index, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF is a buy.
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ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX FUND $21.94 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) is a good low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units are made up of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index, which consists of the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. Expenses are just 0.17% of assets.
The index mostly consists of high-quality companies. However, it must ensure that all sectors are represented, so it holds a few we wouldn’t include.
The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 8.1%; TD Bank, 7.4%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 6.4%; Suncor Energy, 4.8%; CN Railway, 4.2%; Canadian Natural Resources, 3.9%; Bank of Montreal, 3.7%; Enbridge, 3.1%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 3.0%; Manulife Financial, 2.9%; CIBC, 2.8%; BCE, 2.7%; TransCanada Corp., 2.6%; Potash Corp., 2.5%; CP Rail, 2.2%; and Cenovus, 1.9%.
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The index mostly consists of high-quality companies. However, it must ensure that all sectors are represented, so it holds a few we wouldn’t include.
The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 8.1%; TD Bank, 7.4%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 6.4%; Suncor Energy, 4.8%; CN Railway, 4.2%; Canadian Natural Resources, 3.9%; Bank of Montreal, 3.7%; Enbridge, 3.1%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 3.0%; Manulife Financial, 2.9%; CIBC, 2.8%; BCE, 2.7%; TransCanada Corp., 2.6%; Potash Corp., 2.5%; CP Rail, 2.2%; and Cenovus, 1.9%.
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TRANSCANADA CORP. $51.93 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 708.0 million; Market cap: $36.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.7%; www.transcanada.com) has agreed to build a $1.9-billion, 260-kilometre pipeline that would pump natural gas from northeastern B.C.’s Dawson Creek area to a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant at Kitimat, on the
province’s coast.
The plant is a joint venture between Chevron Corp. (New York symbol CVX) and Apache Corp. (New York symbol APA). Both are recommendations of Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that focuses on U.S. stocks.
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province’s coast.
The plant is a joint venture between Chevron Corp. (New York symbol CVX) and Apache Corp. (New York symbol APA). Both are recommendations of Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that focuses on U.S. stocks.
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CANADIAN REIT $44.97 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 69.2 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.creit.ca) owns 197 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, across Canada and in Chicago. These holdings contain almost 24.0 million square feet of leasable area. The trust’s occupancy rate is 95.1%.
In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Canadian REIT’s revenue rose 6.9%, to $102.8 million from $96.1 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit gained 8.2%, to $0.66 from $0.61.
Canadian REIT added $191.1 million worth of new buildings in 2013. That followed property purchases totalling $401.9 million in 2012, including a 50% stake in Calgary Place, a 575,000-square-foot office and retail complex, for $156.0 million. So far this year, it has not made any acquisitions.
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In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Canadian REIT’s revenue rose 6.9%, to $102.8 million from $96.1 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit gained 8.2%, to $0.66 from $0.61.
Canadian REIT added $191.1 million worth of new buildings in 2013. That followed property purchases totalling $401.9 million in 2012, including a 50% stake in Calgary Place, a 575,000-square-foot office and retail complex, for $156.0 million. So far this year, it has not made any acquisitions.
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ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $34.31 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 69.5 million; Market cap: $2.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.1%; www.alliedpropertiesreit.com) owns 138 office buildings, mostly in major Canadian cities. These mainly Class I properties contain over 9.9 million square feet of leasable area.
Class I refers to 19th- and early-20th-century light industrial buildings that have been converted to retail space. They usually feature exposed beams, interior brick and hardwood floors.
The trust bought $400 million worth of properties in 2012 and $182.4 million more in 2013. So far in 2014, it has added five more for $101.7 million.
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Class I refers to 19th- and early-20th-century light industrial buildings that have been converted to retail space. They usually feature exposed beams, interior brick and hardwood floors.
The trust bought $400 million worth of properties in 2012 and $182.4 million more in 2013. So far in 2014, it has added five more for $101.7 million.
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GREAT-WEST LIFECO $30.65 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 999.0 million; Market cap: $30.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 4.0%; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s largest insurance company. It also offers mutual funds and wealth management.
In the quarter ended March 31, 2014, earnings per share rose 9.3%, to $0.59 from $0.54 a year earlier. Great-West has $805.9 billion of assets under administration.
Earnings at the Canadian division (50% of the total) rose 10.9%. The European division (44%)—including Irish Life, acquired in July 2013—saw 34.9% higher profits. Losses widened at the U.S. division’s Putnam mutual fund business, cutting overall U.S. earnings by 42.3%, but the U.S. makes up just 6% of total profits.
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In the quarter ended March 31, 2014, earnings per share rose 9.3%, to $0.59 from $0.54 a year earlier. Great-West has $805.9 billion of assets under administration.
Earnings at the Canadian division (50% of the total) rose 10.9%. The European division (44%)—including Irish Life, acquired in July 2013—saw 34.9% higher profits. Losses widened at the U.S. division’s Putnam mutual fund business, cutting overall U.S. earnings by 42.3%, but the U.S. makes up just 6% of total profits.
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MANULIFE FINANCIAL $21.67 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $40.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 2.4%; www.manulife.ca) sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and investment management services. The company operates globally and has $635 billion of assets under management.
In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Manulife’s earnings per share rose 15.6%, to $0.37 from $0.32 a year earlier. Revenue gained 2.1%, to $9.0 billion from $8.8 billion, as its assets under management grew and its foreign operations benefited from favourable currency movements.
Manulife has made substantial progress cutting its U.S. insurance business’s exposure to unpredictable stock markets and interest rates.
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In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Manulife’s earnings per share rose 15.6%, to $0.37 from $0.32 a year earlier. Revenue gained 2.1%, to $9.0 billion from $8.8 billion, as its assets under management grew and its foreign operations benefited from favourable currency movements.
Manulife has made substantial progress cutting its U.S. insurance business’s exposure to unpredictable stock markets and interest rates.
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SUN LIFE FINANCIAL $39.88 (Toronto symbol SLF; Shares outstanding: 610.6 million; Market cap: $24.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.6%; www.sunlife.ca) sells savings, retirement, pension and life insurance products to individuals and corporations.
The company mainly operates in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., but it continues to expand into Asia. It has $671.1 billion of assets under management.
In August 2013, Sun Life sold its riskier, money-losing U.S. annuity business, which offers products that guarantee minimum long-term returns, even if markets fall.
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The company mainly operates in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., but it continues to expand into Asia. It has $671.1 billion of assets under management.
In August 2013, Sun Life sold its riskier, money-losing U.S. annuity business, which offers products that guarantee minimum long-term returns, even if markets fall.
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