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SCOTIA CANADIAN GROWTH FUND $41.09 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (Scotia Securities, 40 King Street West, 6th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5H 1H1. 1-800-268-9269; Web site: www.scotiabank.com. No load — deal directly with the bank) attempts to use an investment’s fundamentals to determine whether it has the potential for above-average growth. The $315.8-million Scotia Canadian Growth Fund’s largest stock holdings include EnCana Corp., Royal Bank, TD Bank, BCE Inc., Potash Corp., Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Bank of Nova Scotia and Barrick Gold. Scotia Canadian Growth holds 43.3% of its portfolio in the resource sector. Its next-largest segment is financial services, at 24.9%....

There are, in some cases, ways of structuring your business affairs using offshore investing companies or trusts that can cut or defer your taxes. You may also be able to protect your assets from legal judgments rendered in Canada if you move them to accounts in certain foreign jurisdictions. Earnings in an “offshore account” are generally lightly taxed, or not taxed at all, by the country where the bank or brokerage account is located. This includes jurisdictions like Switzerland or the Cayman Islands. However, Canadian residents are obliged to report any income they earn through foreign investing on their Canadian tax returns. (You can only claim tax-exempt “non-resident” status without giving up your citizenship by staying outside of Canada for more than half of a tax year.)...

Commodity prices are down lately along with fears of lower demand due to a slowing global economy. That makes them a tempting investment for some investors bracing for a rebound. We like the long-term prospects for commodity investments, including metals and minerals, fertilizers and agricultural products. However, most if not all non-professionals who get involved in commodities trading wind up losing money. There are various structured products sold by brokers that give you exposure to commodity investments, while limiting risk. Most participants will ultimately lose money in these investments as well, or make a poor return in relation to their risk....

If you are interested in gold investing, we recommend staying away from buying gold bullion, coins (unless you collect them as a hobby) or certificates representing an interest in bullion. Unlike stocks, commodity investments like gold bullion do not generate income. Instead, they come with a continuing cash drain, for management, insurance and so on. However, if you do want to hold bullion as part of your gold investing, then SPDR Gold Shares are a relatively low-cost and liquid way to do it. SPDR Gold Trust, symbol GLD on New York, is an investment trust that aims to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the trust’s expenses. SPDR’s sole assets are gold bullion, and, from time to time, cash. Expenses for SPDR Gold Shares are 0.4% of assets per year....

YUM! BRANDS INC. $28 (New York symbol YUM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 459.9 million; Market cap: $12.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is the world’s largest fast-food operator, with over 36,000 outlets in more than 110 countries. (McDonald’s Corp. has fewer restaurants than Yum, but higher annual sales.) Its major chains include KFC (fried chicken), Pizza Hut, Taco Bell (Mexican food), Long John Silver’s (seafood) and A&W (root beer and hamburgers). Yum continues to aggressively expand in China, particularly its KFC fried-chicken restaurants. Yum’s China division, which includes Taiwan and Thailand, accounts for 30% of its sales and earnings. Yum’s U.S. operations provide 45% of its sales and 40% of its profit. Its international division (excluding China) supplies 25% of its revenue, and 30% of earnings. Thanks mainly to strong growth at the China division, Yum’s revenue rose 25.2%, from $9 billion in 2004 to $11.3 billion in 2008. Earnings rose 30.2%, from $721 million in 2004 to $939 million in 2008. Yum has bought back over $5.6 billion worth of its shares since 2004. As a result, per-share earnings rose 61.9%, from $1.18 in 2004 to $1.91 in 2008. Cash flow per share rose 61.4%, from $2.02 in 2004 to $3.26 in 2008....

AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. $16 (New York symbol A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 345.3 million; Market cap: $5.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.2; WSSF Rating: Average) makes testing systems that help electronics manufacturers improve the quality of their products. Agilent also makes measurement equipment for medical research labs and drug companies. Demand for Agilent’s medical-related products remains steady, but the recession has hurt sales of cellphones and other electronic devices. As a result, manufacturers are spending less on the company’s testing equipment. In response, Agilent plans to drop some of its businesses and shrink its workforce by 3%. The company expects to pay $100 million in severance and other expenses. But these moves should lower Agilent’s costs by $150 million a year, and let it keep spending 14% of its sales on research. To put these amounts in context, Agilent’s earnings in its first fiscal quarter, which ended January 31, 2009, dropped 47.1%, to $72 million, or $0.20 a share. It earned $136 million, or $0.36 a share a year earlier (these figures exclude restructuring and other charges). Sales fell 16.3%, to $1.2 billion from $1.4 billion....

VERIGY LTD. $7.61 (Nasdaq symbol VRGY; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 58.2 million; Market cap: $442.9 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; WSSF Rating: Extra Risk) designs and makes test systems that are used in computer-chip production. Because of slowing computer sales brought on by the recession, Verigy lost $41 million, or $0.70 a share, in its first fiscal quarter, which ended January 31, 2009. It earned $33 million, or $0.53 a share, a year earlier. These figures exclude unusual charges, including severance costs related to an 18% cut in Verigy’s workforce. The plan should reduce Verigy’s costs by around $100 million a year, and help it break even on $110 million in quarterly revenue. Sales during the quarter fell 66%, to $68 million from $200 million. Verigy holds cash of $300 million, or $5.16 a share, and has no debt. Verigy’s research costs were unchanged at $25 million, but were a high 36.8% of sales. This was mainly because of a sharp drop in new orders. The company’s restructuring should help it maintain its high research spending. This will let it develop new products that will fuel future sales....

FEDEX CORP. $43 (New York symbol FDX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 311.4 million; Market cap: $13.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; WSSF Rating: Average) delivers packages and documents in the United States and over 220 other countries. In its third fiscal quarter, which ended February 28, 2009, FedEx’s earnings fell 75.3%, to $97 million, or $0.31 a share, from $393 million, or $1.26 a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 13.8%, to $8.1 billion from $9.4 billion. Because of the recession, many of FedEx’s customers are shipping fewer packages. Moreover, many are switching from overnight to longer deliveries to save money. FedEx plans to cut an undisclosed number of jobs, and lower salaries and work hours. These actions will cost it $100 million. But, together with an earlier round of job cuts, they should lower the company’s costs by $1 billion in fiscal 2010....

ARKANSAS BEST CORP. $20 (Nasdaq symbol ABFS; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 25.3 million; Market cap: $506 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; WSSF Rating: Average) specializes in “less-than-truckload” shipping. This involves loading freight from a number of customers onto a single truck. Arkansas Best carries a wide range of goods, from food and textiles to clothing and furniture. As the economy began to slow in 2008, Arkansas Best decided to maintain its rates. It felt that its strong reputation would help it hang on to its customers. However, freight volumes fell 15% in the fourth quarter, and the company had to lower its rates in order to to stay competitive. In 2008, Arkansas Best’s earnings dropped 48.7%, to $29.2 million, or $1.15 a share, from $56.8 million, or $2.26 a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 0.2%, to $1.83 billion from $1.84 billion. In response, Arkansas Best is cutting up to 8% of its workforce. It has frozen salaries, shrunk its fleet and closed some distribution facilities....

IDEXX LABORATORIES INC. $36 (Nasdaq symbol IDXX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 59.1 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; WSSF Rating: Average) makes equipment that veterinarians use to detect diseases in animals. Idexx also makes systems that detect contaminants in water and milk. Idexx spends roughly 7% of its revenue on research, which hurts its profits. But this spending gives it plenty of new products to spur sales. Last year, Idexx launched new versions of its two top-selling systems: Catalyst Dx (which analyzes blood and urine), and SNAPshot Dx (which tests for thyroid and liver disorders). Thanks to strong demand for these new products, Idexx’s sales rose 11%, to $1 billion in 2008 from $922.6 million in the previous year. Earnings before several one-time items (mainly the sale of part of its animal drug business) rose 16%, to $118.3 million from $102 million. Earnings per share rose 20.3%, to $1.90 from $1.58 on fewer shares outstanding. Idexx ended 2008 with cash of $78.9 million, or $1.33 a share. Its long-term debt is just $5.1 million....

PETSMART INC. $21 (Nasdaq symbol PETM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 127.1 million; Market cap: $2.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; WSSF Rating: Above Average) sells pet food and supplies through 1,112 stores in the U.S. and Canada. PetSmart opened 112 new stores in its latest fiscal year, which ended February 1, 2009. It also opened 45 new in-store PetHotels, which look after pets while their owners are out of town. PetSmart now has 142 PetHotels. As a result of the expansion, sales rose 8.4%, to $5.1 billion from $4.7 billion in the previous year. Same-store sales rose 3.8%. PetSmart’s earnings fell 25.5%, to $192.7 million from $258.7 million. Its earnings per share fell 22.1%, to $1.52 from $1.95 on fewer shares outstanding. However, the prior year included a $95.4-million gain on the sale of an investment. If you disregard this, per-share earnings actually rose 4.1%....

Uranium prices peaked at 1979 to $43 U.S. a pound, on fears of production shortages. Many nuclear power plants then began hoarding uranium. However, supply disruptions never materialized. As operators used up their uranium inventories in subsequent years, the price of uranium fell to as low as $7.10 U.S. a pound in December 2000. Prices moved up steadily after that, and got as high as $138 U.S. a pound in June 2007. Uranium prices have since moved down to around $42 U.S. a pound. However, longer term, uranium demand is still likely to grow and push up the value of some uranium stocks. ...

One way to minimize your investment risk is to diversify. For example, you can spread your investments out across the five main economic sectors. This way, you minimize the chances of a big loss in your portfolio from a setback in any one sector. Another way to diversify is to invest a portion of your portfolio in international stocks. There is no one “world stock market”. Instead, there are many stock exchanges around the world, and investing in many of them entails considerable risk. However, one simple strategy to gain international exposure, yet at the same time cut risk, is to invest in U.S. stocks. Many blue-chip U.S. stocks have operations in multiple countries. This will let them benefit from a recovering global economy, as well as a return to prosperity in the U.S....

Gold moved up from $300 an ounce in the early part of this decade to over $1,000 in 2008. It fell to $700 in November 2008 as the stock market bottomed out. Like the stock market, gold has regained some of its losses and now trades at around $900. We feel gold could eventually surpass its recent highs with a corresponding impact on many gold stocks. That’s mainly because investors fear that low interest rates and government stimulus spending will spur inflation. Gold prices, and gold investing, should continue to gain as the credit crisis makes it harder for gold companies to fund new projects and expand production. Regardless of what happens with gold investing in general, speculative and promotional gold stocks will make significant gains from time to time on hopes of a gold discovery. You can say something like that about any sort of speculative or promotional stocks, but most investors who dabble in them still wind up losing money. That’s because it is much easier to launch penny gold stocks than to find a gold mine....

Technology stocks have always been a more speculative segment of the stock market. The recent downturn has pushed down many of them down lately, but the technology stocks with the greatest long-term potential are those that continue to make significant investments in research and development. The investment odds are against you in a “hot” market — one whose investment appeal is widely, if not universally, recognized. And most tech stocks, even in a market like we’re in now, are still overpriced. This is because many investors have inflated ideas of their value. You can turn the odds in your favour by investing in tech stocks that have hidden assets, or assets that other investors overlook....

Cautious investors wonder if they own enough different stocks, or perhaps even too many. The right number of stocks for investors to own for portfolio diversification depends, in part, on where they are in their investing careers. When they’re just starting out, most people have modest amounts of money to invest. Even so, it generally pays to invest at least several thousand dollars at a time, or the broker’s minimum commission will significantly lower profits....

Registered education savings plans (RESPs) are one of the best ways to save for a child’s post-secondary education. RESPs are a government-assisted form of savings, similar to registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs). There are no annual limits for contributions to RESPs. However, RESPs have a lifetime limit (from birth to age 17) per child of $50,000. Only the first $2,500 of contributions per year to RESPs will receive a Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) from the federal government. Under the CESG, the government will match a portion of what you put in: for the first $500, the matching amount is dictated by your family income, and for the subsequent $2,000, the government will match at a rate of $0.20 for every dollar contributed. The net family income amounts are indexed to inflation each year....

FINNING INTERNATIONAL INC. $11 (Toronto symbol FTT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 170.5 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; SI Rating: Above Average) sells, rents and repairs heavy equipment made by Caterpillar Inc. It has major customers in the mining, forest products and construction industries. Finning’s revenue rose 5.8% in 2008, to $6 billion from $5.7 billion in 2007. Finning’s clients ordered more heavy equipment in the first half of the year as a result of high commodity prices. Finning’s operations in the U.K. and South America account for roughly 45% of its sales, and the drop in the Canadian dollar in the last quarter of 2008 increased the contribution from these divisions. Finning is responding to the global recession by cutting jobs. If you exclude costs related to this, and a writedown of goodwill, earnings fell 11.7%, to $247.4 million from $280.1 million. Earnings per share fell 7.7%, to $1.43 from $1.55 on fewer shares outstanding....

MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $33 (Toronto symbol MBT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 64.6 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; SI Rating: Average) has over 1.2 million telephone and wireless customers in Manitoba. It also owns Allstream, which provides integrated telephone, Internet and other communication services to businesses across Canada. Allstream accounted for 57% of Manitoba Telecom’s 2008 revenue, but just 37% of its profit. Manitoba Telecom is launching new services, which are helping it hang on to its telephone customers. For example, its TV service, which uses high-speed Internet technology to send signals over regular phone lines, now has 34% of the Winnipeg market, up from 32% a year earlier. Manitoba Telecom’s 2008 revenue rose 0.8%, to $1.92 billion from $1.9 billion in 2007. Strong demand for wireless, Internet and TV services was entirely responsible for the gain; Allstream’s revenues were flat. Manitoba Telecom’s earnings per share dropped 14.2%, to $2.23 from $2.60. If you disregard unusual items, including a $0.28 per share charge related to last year’s purchase of new wireless frequencies, per-share earnings rose 3.1%, to $2.98 from $2.89....

TELUS CORP. (Toronto symbols T $31 and T.A $30; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 317.2 million; Market cap: $10.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; SI Rating: Above Average) has 4.2 million phone customers and 2.1 million Internet subscribers in Alberta, British Columbia and parts of Quebec. Telus also operates a national wireless service with 6.1 million subscribers. Wireless provides roughly half of Telus’s revenue and earnings. This is a much higher percentage than other Canadian telephone companies. In 2008, Telus’s revenue rose 6.4%, to $9.65 billion from $9.1 billion in 2007. Wireless revenues rose 8.6%, thanks to the growing popularity of smartphones, which let users access the Internet and send and receive email. (Telus charges higher fees for these services than it does for regular voice calls.) Telus also successfully launched Koodo, a new brand aimed at first-time cellphone buyers, in March 2008. Revenue at Telus’s traditional phone division rose 4.4%, mainly on strong demand for high-speed Internet services. Telus’s 2008 earnings fell 10.3%, to $1.1 billion from $1.3 billion in the prior year. Earnings per share fell 6.6%, to $3.51 from $3.76, on fewer shares outstanding. The earnings drop was mainly because of lower taxes in 2007 thanks to one-time income-tax adjustments....

BELL ALIANT REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS INCOME FUND $25 (Toronto symbol BA.UN; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Units outstanding: 227.6 million; Market cap: $5.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; SI Rating: Above Average) has 3.1 million telephone customers in Atlantic Canada and rural parts of Ontario and Quebec. As part of the deal that created the trust in 2006, Bell Aliant transferred most of its wireless business to BCE, which owns 44% of Bell Aliant. Strong demand for high-speed Internet service is helping Bell Aliant offset the loss of regular phone customers. In 2008, revenue grew 0.9%, to $3.28 billion from $3.25 billion in 2007. However, earnings rose 6.9%, to $331.9 million from $310.4 million. Per-unit earnings rose just 1.5%, to $2.07 from $2.04, on more units outstanding. These figures include restructuring and related charges....

BCE INC. $24 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 803.1 million; Market cap: $19.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; SI Rating: Above Average) has over 7.5 million telephone and Internet customers in Ontario and Quebec. It also has 6.5 million wireless subscribers across Canada. BCE continues to lose traditional phone customers, but these losses are slowing. Meanwhile, BCE’s cellphone business is growing strongly. The wireless division’s 2008 revenue rose 7.6%, and its subscriber base grew by 4.5%. Wireless accounts for 25% of BCE’s revenue and 43% of its profit. BCE hopes to spur sales of its wireless and other services, like satellite TV, with a new deal to buy “The Source”, a 756-store home-electronics chain in Canada. BCE already operates about 750 retail stores....

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $36 (Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 167.7 million; Market cap: $6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; SI Rating: Above Average) ships freight over a 25,000-kilometre rail network between Montreal and Vancouver. In the United States, its subsidiaries connect its Canadian lines to major hubs in the midwest and northeast. Alliances with other railways extend CP’s reach to Mexico. CP made 29% of its 2008 revenues hauling shipping containers loaded with a variety of goods. Grain accounted for 20% of its revenues, followed by industrial products (16%), coal (13%), fertilizers (10%), automotive products (7%) and forest products (5%). CP’s many revenue sources cut its reliance on any single commodity or industry. Thanks largely to expanding trade with Asia, CP’s revenue rose 20.6%, from $3.9 billion in 2004 to $4.7 billion in 2007. Earnings rose 87.1%, from $359.5 million in 2004 to $672.8 million in 2007. Earnings per share rose 91.2%, from $2.26 to $4.32 on fewer shares outstanding....

TEMPLETON EMERGING MARKETS FUND $7.87 (New York symbol EMF; CWA Fund Rating: Speculative) is a closed-end fund that invests in equities from emerging economies. Franklin Templeton manages the fund. Templeton Emerging Market Fund’s holdings are spread around the world. Although volatile, the fund gives investors access to countries like Brazil, China, India and others that still have strong growth prospects. The $187.6-million fund’s regional allocation is heavily weighted toward Asia (63.1%), followed by Latin America, (21.5%) and Europe (15.4%)....

NEW GERMANY FUND $5.90 (New York symbol GF; CWA Fund Rating: Speculative) is a closed-end fund that invests mostly in small and mid-cap German equities. The fund’s manager is Deutsche Asset Management. The $198-million fund’s 52 holdings operate in Germany (91%) and the Netherlands (9%). The New Germany Fund’s top holdings are Fresenius (health care equipment & supplies), 6.8%; European Aeronautical Defense (a Dutch-based aerospace and defense firm), 5.6%; Bilfinger Berger (construction & engineering), 5.2%; SGL Carbon (electrical equipment), 4.2%; Software AG, 3.9%; Qiagen (life sciences), 3.5%; Hannover Rueckversicherung (insurance), 3.5%; GEA Group (chemicals), 3.3%; Rheinmetall AG (an industrial conglomerate), 3.2%; and United Internet (Internet service provider), 3.2%....