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It is important to note that some types of investments provide more security than others. Investors seeking safe investment options should look for well-established companies with hidden assets among other key characteristics.
Sun Life Financial Inc. and Manulife Financial Corp. each offers a combination of solid earnings growth, ongoing share repurchases, and impressive dividend yields.
Top pick Yum Brands Inc. gives you sales growth, steady EPS growth, and a solid dividend
Nutrien Ltd. offers exposure to potash and nitrogen prices, a stable retail base and strong profitability.
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Tax shelters in Canada aim to reduce or eliminate your tax liability, they are great ways for Canadian investors to cut their tax bills.
In some ways, stock buyback benefits are better than dividends. In particular, they give you a tax-deferral option that you don’t get with cash dividends.
Cambium Learning Group, $4.93, symbol ABCD on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 45.5 million; Market cap: $224.5 million; www.cambiumlearningtechnologies.com), is a U.S.-based maker of computer software and hardware for students ranging from pre-kindergarten to adult. Its four main brands are Learning A-Z, Explorelearning, Voyager Sopris Learning and Kurzweil Education. In the three months ended June 30, 2015, Cambium’s revenue rose 3.3%, to $37.5 million from $36.3 million a year earlier. The company made $0.04 a share in the latest quarter, compared to a loss of $0.03 a share. Cash flow jumped to $0.17 a share from $0.10. Cambium typically loses money in the first quarter: the period historically represents less than 15% of its bookings, which tend to build through the second quarter and peak during the third quarter....
Exchange Income Corp., $24.18, symbol EIF on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 23.2 million; Market cap: $560.9 million; www.exchangeincomecorp.ca), operates in two main areas: aviation and manufacturing. The aviation business (77% of revenue) includes regional airlines Perimeter Aviation, Keewatin Air, Calm Air International, Bearskin Lake Air Service, Custom Helicopters and Regional One. These airlines serve communities in Manitoba, Ontario and Nunavut. The manufacturing business (23% of revenue) includes WesTower Communications Canada (a maker and installer of wireless communication towers), Jasper Tank, Overlanders Manufacturing, Water Blast Manufacturing and Stainless Fabrication....
BMW AG, 86.50 euros, symbol BMW on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Shares outstanding: 602.0 million; Market cap: 55.7 billion euros; www.bmw.com), makes cars, motorcycles and engines. It was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany. BMW’s shares have dropped lately, along with slowing car sales in China. The stock rose as high as 122.60 euros in March 2015. German carmakers are among the largest foreign manufacturers in China, accounting for nearly one in four of all new cars sold there. They produced almost four million vehicles in the country last year, seven times more than a decade ago, and German auto output in China has increased 29% a year on average since 2005—even growing at the peak of the 2008 financial crisis....
Mosaic Capital Corp., $6.99, symbol M on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 8.5 million; Market cap: $59.3 million; www.mosaicfund.com), acquires majority stakes in small industrial companies in what it sees as mature market niches. Right now, it controls 11 firms, including one commercial real estate investment company, all in Western Canada. These holdings are: Printing Unlimited (100% interest), First West Properties (100%), Remote Waste (98%), Kendall’s Supply (90%), Polar Geomatic (90%), Allied Cathodic (80%), Ambassador Mechanical (75%), Place-Crete Systems (75%), South East Construction (75%), Streamline Mechanical (70%) and Industrial Scaffold Services (67.5%). In the three months ended June 30, 2015, Mosaic’s revenue jumped 42.0%, to $50.1 million from $35.2 million a year earlier. That’s mostly due to contributions from Place-Crete (acquired in September 2014) and South East Construction (November 2014). Mosaic lost $0.32 a share, compared to a $0.14-a-share profit a year ago, but cash flow per share fell only slightly, to $0.62 from $0.63....