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RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units outstanding: 208.0 million; Market cap: $5.4 billion; SI Rating: Average) manages over 200 retail properties in Canada. It specializes in big-box style outdoor malls with plenty of parking space. RioCan is slowly cutting its exposure to pure retail properties. For example, it recently formed a joint venture with two seniors housing REITs to build a new mixed-use complex in Mississauga, Ontario. It’s also building a retail/residential development in Toronto. The trust recently completed the largest acquisition in its history. In February 2007, it paid $223 million for a major office/retail complex in midtown Toronto. Thanks to strong growth in the surrounding neighbourhoods, RioCan feels that the retail component of this complex (25% of total area) will become a major contributor to its future cash flow....

LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $50 (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 274.2 million; Market cap: $13.7 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is Canada’s largest supermarket operator, with over 1,500 stores under several banners including Loblaws, No Frills and Provigo. In the past few years, Loblaw has re-modeled many of its stores to handle a wider selection of non-food merchandise, such as clothing and household goods. The company felt these moves would help it compete with Wal-Mart, which is now carrying more grocery items in its stores. As part of the plan, Loblaw also restructured its warehousing and distribution, but this is taking longer than forecast and has led to shortages at some stores. Loblaw now plans to cut its non-food merchandise, and streamline its inventory systems....

CANADIAN TIRE CORP. $79 (Toronto symbol CTC.A; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 81.5 million; Market cap: $6.4 billion; SI Rating: Above average) operates 468 retail stores that specialize in automotive, household and sporting goods. It also operates gas stations, casual clothing stores (Mark’s Work Wearhouse) and auto parts stores (PartSource). Most of the company success in the past few years is due to a major upgrade of its stores that made them more attractive to shoppers. Thanks to this plan, income before unusual items in the first quarter of 2007 grew 24.2%, to $0.82 a share from $0.66. Revenue rose 5.9%, to $1.8 billion from $1.7 billion. These re-modeled stores now account for 78% of Canadian Tire’s total chain. The company now plans to base all of its new stores on its Concept 20/20 format, which features better lighting and wider aisles than its older store designs. The format is also more flexible, so local store managers quickly replace slow-selling goods with faster-selling merchandise....

MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $49 (Toronto symbol MBT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 65.1 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; SI Rating: Average) is Canada’s third-largest telephone company, after BCE and Telus. It is the leading provider of local, long distance and wireless telephone service in Manitoba, with over 90% of the market. Other services include Internet access and a digital TV service. Manitoba Tel’s revenue fell from $909.2 million in 2002 to $824.0 million in 2003. In June 2004, the company paid $1.6 billion for Allstream Inc., a national provider of telecom services to businesses. The purchase doubled the company’s size, and cut its reliance on Manitoba. This business now accounts for 55% of its total revenue. The Allstream acquisition pushed revenue up to $2.0 billion in 2005. Growing competition cut revenue in 2006 to $1.9 billion....

TIM HORTONS INC. $34 (Toronto symbol THI; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 190.1 million; Market cap: $6.5 billion). Tim Hortons mainly went public due to hedge-fund pressure on its former corporate parent. In contrast, all too many new issues only come to market because the company or its insiders feel it’s a good time to sell, and that’s rarely a good time for you to buy. Tim Hortons has risen 26% for us and we continue to see it as a buy.

ALTAMIRA SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FUND $8.32 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (Altamira Investment Services, The Exchange Tower, 130 King St. West, Suite 900, Toronto, Ont. M5X 1K9. 1-800-263-2824; Web site: www.altamira.com. No load — deal directly with the company) invests in the telecommunications, biotechnology, environmental technology, health care and computer industries. The $55.5 million fund gained 5.1% in Canadian dollars over the last year. Its MER is 2.70%. Top holdings are: Microsoft, Apple Computer, Adobe, Broadcom, Sun Microsystems, Corning, Opsware, Nokia, Research in Motion and Cisco Systems. Altamira Science & Technology Fund is a buy for highly aggressive investors only.

TD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FUND $14.94 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (TD Asset Management, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario. M5W1P9. 1-800-461-3863; Web site: www.tdcanadatrust.com. No load — deal directly with the company) invests mostly in U.S. firms. The fund’s gain in Canadian dollars over the last year was 3.4%. The Nasdaq index rose 7.4% in Canadian funds. The $122.6 million fund’s manager is well-respected U.S. mutual fund manager T. Rowe Price Associates. Its MER is 2.78%. TD Science & Technology’s top holdings include: Microsoft, Juniper Networks, Broadcom, Yahoo!, American Tower, Google, Foxconn International Holdings, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Adobe Systems. TD Science & Technology Fund is a buy for aggressive investors only.

FIDELITY FOCUS TECHNOLOGY FUND $9.79 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) invests mainly in technology companies. This includes computer services, computer software and systems, communications systems, electronics, office equipment, scientific instruments and computer chips. The fund looks for stocks with strong earnings growth that appear undervalued. Fidelity Focus Technology Fund’s top holdings now include Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems,Canon Inc., Apple Computer, Nokia, Qualcomm, Google, Hewlett-Packard, First Data and Taiwan Semiconductor. The $107.7 million Fidelity Focus Technology Fund is broken down by sector as follows: 18.9% in Semiconductors (computer chips) & semiconductor equipment, 17.4% in Communications equipment, 15.0% in Software, 14.9% in Computers & peripherals and 7.1% in IT services....

FIDELITY FOCUS FINANCIAL SERVICES FUND $25.79 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) invests mostly in financial services companies in brokerage and investment management, investment banking, life insurance, personal loans, property and casualty insurance, and savings and loans. Fidelity Focus Financial Services Fund now holds a higher percentage of international stocks than in the past. Geographically, its holdings are allocated: the U.S., 31.4%; Japan, 16.2%; the UK, 9.3%; Italy, 9.0%; Germany, 5.1%; Bermuda, 4.2%; South Korea, 3.9%; the Netherlands, 3.5%; Switzerland, 2.9% and Brazil, 2.4%. The top holdings of this $96.4 million fund are Fannie Mae, Munich Reinsurance, CitiGroup, Unicredito Italiano, ABN Amro Holdings, Dollar Financial, T&D Holdings, American International Group, Intesa Sanpaolo and Wachovia....

FIDELITY FOCUS CONSUMER INDUSTRIES FUND $18.65 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (Fidelity Investments Canada, 483 Bay St., Suite 200, Toronto, Ont. M5G 2N7. 1-800-263-4077; Web site: www.fidelity.ca. Load fund — available from brokers) invests mainly in U.S. consumer goods and services companies. Consumer spending is a key part of the U.S. economy, accounting for approximately two-thirds of activity. Fidelity Focus Consumer Industries Fund’s top holdings include Procter & Gamble, Nestle SA, Coca-Cola, Altria Group, Toyota Motor, Esprit Holdings, PepsiCo, Groupe Danone, Reckitt Benckiser and Time Warner. The $10.6 million fund is broken down by industry as follows: 12.6% in Food products, 10.1% in Beverages, 10.1% in Specialty retail, 9.6% in Media and 8.6% in Household products....

TRIMARK U.S. COMPANIES FUND $5.88 (CWA Rating: Conservative) invests in U.S. companies that the managers see as inexpensive in relation to earnings, cash flow and other valuation measures. The top holdings of this $107.7 million fund are Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo & Co., Target Corporation, Ametek Inc., KLA-Tencor, Paxair, Affilitated Managers Group, Omnicom Group, PepsiCo and General Electric. The fund’s one-year gain in Canadian dollars is 7.5%, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 13.8% in Canadian funds. Its MER is 2.59%. Trimark U.S. Companies Fund is still a buy.

TRIMARK CANADIAN FUND $25.19 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (AIM Funds Management, 5140 Yonge Street, Suite 900, Toronto, Ontario M2N 6X7. 1-800-631-7008; Website: www.aimfunds.ca. Buy or sell through brokers.) uses a bottom-up stock-picking style, focusing on fundamentals like earnings, cash flow and low debt. The $1.2 billion fund’s 10 largest holdings are TD Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Power Corp., Royal Bank, Alimentation Couche-Tarde, Toromont Industries, Loblaw, Molex Inc., Willis Group Holdings and Manulife Financial. Trimark Canadian made 8.2% annually over the last 10 years. It made 14.3% in the past year, compared to the S&P/TSX’s gain of 12.7%. The fund’s MER is 1.64%. Trimark Canadian Fund is still a buy.

JONES APPAREL GROUP INC. $30 (New York symbol JNY; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 108.9 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) designs clothing, accessories and footwear under several brands, including Jones New York, Gloria Vanderbilt and Nine West. Jones is also suffering from the Federated merger and the growth of private label clothing in most big department stores. In the first quarter of 2007, profits before unusual items fell 24.2%, to $0.50 a share from $0.66 a year earlier. Sales crept up to $1.25 billion from $1.22 billion, due to an extra week in the most recent quarter....

LIMITED BRANDS INC. $26 (New York symbol LTD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 400.0 million; Market cap: $10.4 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) operates around 3,800 stores in three main groups: apparel (The Limited, Express and Henri Bendel); lingerie (Victoria’s Secret and La Senza); and personal care products (Bath & Body Works and White Barn Candle Co.). In the past few years, most of the company’s growth has come from its specialty operations. In fact, these businesses now account for 80% of the company’s sales, while traditional apparel provides the other 20%. The company recently reorganized its apparel operations to focus on younger shoppers. This strategy seems to be working. In its first fiscal quarter ended May 5, 2007, same-store sales at the apparel chains rose 5% compared with just a 1% gain in the year-earlier quarter. Same-store sales rose 2% at Victoria’s Secret (compared with an 8% gain a year earlier), and 5% at Bath & Body Works (compared with a 4% gain a year earlier)....

LIZ CLAIBORNE INC. $34 (New York symbol LIZ; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 104.5 million; Market cap: $3.6 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) designs and markets a wide variety of clothing and accessories for men and women. The company sells most of its products through department stores. However, the recent merger of Federated Department Stores and May Department Stores has hurt its sales. Many retailers are also selling more private label apparel, which has hurt demand for Liz Claiborne’s national brands. Weakness in its wholesale business forced Liz Claiborne to mark down certain products to cut inventories. Consequently, profits in the first quarter of 2007 fell 63.3%, to $0.22 a share from $0.60 a year earlier. These figures exclude unusual items. Sales fell 1.7%, to $1.15 billion from $1.17 billion. The lower profits spooked investors, and the stock fell 20%. It now trades at 17.4 times the $1.95 a share that it should earn in 2007. The $0.225 dividend seems safe, and yields 0.7%....

MOODY’S CORP. $72 (New York symbol MCO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 273.8 million; Market cap: $19.7 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) provides credit ratings on securities issued by over 200,000 corporations and government agencies in 100 countries. Moody’s revenue doubled, from $1.0 billion in 2002 to $2.0 billion in 2006. Revenue should reach $2.3 billion in 2007....

THE DUN & BRADSTREET CORP. $97 (New York symbol DNB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 59.4 million; Market cap: $5.8 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) provides credit reports and other information on 100 million companies in over 200 countries. Its clients use its products to make lending and buying decisions. Revenues increased slowly, from $1.3 billion in 2002 to $1.5 billion in 2006. But thanks to a successful restructuring plan, profits before unusual items rose at a compound annual rate of 16.6%, from $2.15 a share (total $164.9 million) in 2002 to $3.97 a share ($258.4 million). The company aims to save a further $65 million in 2007. Another factor in the company’s strong growth is the spread of the Internet. Dun & Bradstreet is making more of its information available to clients over the Internet, which improves the timeliness of data and cuts its distribution costs....

TRIMBLE NAVIGATION $29.68 (Nasdaq symbol TRMB; SI Rating: Speculative) (408-481-6914; www.trimble.com; Shares outstanding: 119.5 million; Market cap: $3.5 billion) (adjusted for a 2-for-1 split in February, 2007) makes GPS devices and technology for four main markets: 1) Engineering and construction is the biggest contributor to revenue for Trimble, at 68% of revenues. This segment includes a joint venture with Caterpillar Inc. 2) Agriculture GPS products (15% of sales) let farmers cut costs and increase yields by, say, precisely plowing, seeding or fertilizing fields, even at night....

IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $43 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 939.6 million; Market cap: $40.4 billion; SI Rating: Average) is Canada’s largest integrated oil company, with major producing properties in Western Canada. It also operates nearly 2,000 retail gas stations under the “Esso” banner. ExxonMobil Corp. owns 69.6% of the stock. In the first three months of 2007, Imperial’s profits grew 37.3%, to $0.81 a share (total $774 million) from $0.59 a share ($591 million) a year earlier. If you exclude a gain on the sale of an asset, income in the latest quarter rose 25.4%, to $0.74 a share, mostly due to higher oil production and prices. Cash flow per share rose 8.9%, to $0.98 from $0.90, while revenue crept up to $5.9 billion from $5.8 billion. A fire at Imperial’s refinery in Nanticoke, Ontario cut its output in the first quarter. But the shortage pushed up retail gas prices in Ontario, which helped offset the lost production....

PETRO-CANADA $51 (Toronto symbol PCA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 495.8 million; Market cap: $25.3 billion; SI Rating: Average) is Canada’s secondlargest integrated oil company after Imperial Oil. The company operates several properties in Western Canada as well as offshore platforms near Newfoundland. It also operates refineries and over 1,300 retail gas stations. Canada accounts for roughly 90% of Petro-Canada’s revenue. Internationally, the company owns or participates in projects in the North Sea, Libya, and Trinidad and Tobago. In the three months ended March 31, 2007, Petro-Canada earned $1.17 a share before unusual items, up 23.2% from $0.95 a year earlier....

ENCANA CORP. $62 (Toronto symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 761.3 million; Market cap: $47.2 billion; SI Rating: Average) is one of North America’s largest producers of natural gas (80% of total production) and oil (20%). In the past few years, EnCana has sold most of its conventional properties to focus on what it calls “key resource plays”, including oil sands and early-stage gas developments. These assets cost more to develop, at least initially, but should last much longer than its older properties. Another project EnCana has high hopes for is the Deep Panuke offshore gas field near Nova Scotia. The company has received tentative regulatory approval for its plan, and aims to begin operations in 2010....

TRANSCONTINENTAL INC. $22 (Toronto symbol TCL.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 85.8 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; SI Rating: Average) is the largest commercial printing firm in Canada, and the sixth largest in North America. The company gets about half of its revenue from its marketing division, which prints catalogues, flyers and other advertising materials. Transcontinental also helps its advertisers develop strategies, and analyze customer data for trends. Other types of printing, such as newspapers, books and magazines, accounts for 30% of its revenue. The remaining 20% of revenue comes from its media division. Transcontinental publishes over 150 local and weekly newspapers in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan, as well as over 40 consumer interest magazines, including Canadian Living and The Hockey News....

PENN WEST ENERGY TRUST $33.70 (Toronto symbol PWT.UN; SI Rating: Speculative) is one of the largest conventional oil and gas trusts in North America. It operates in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. In the three months ended December 31, 2006, Penn West’s revenues rose 4.3%, to $578.5 million from $554.5 million. Cash flow per unit fell 39.4%, to $1.23 from $2.03. Penn West’s average daily production in the fourth quarter of 2006 was 129,915 barrels of oil per day equivalent, weighted 55% toward oil and 45% toward natural gas. Its average realized price for oil was $57.43 U.S. and $6.97 U.S. for natural gas....

SHININGBANK ENERGY INCOME FUND $14.13 (Toronto symbol SHN.UN; SI Rating: Speculative) focuses on natural gas production in west-central Alberta. Shiningbank’s revenues fell 25.5% in the three months ended December 31, 2006, to $107.7 million from $144.5 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit fell 55.1%, to $0.62 from $1.38. Shiningbank’s debt is 45% of shareholders’ equity. Shiningbank’s average daily production of 25,710 barrels of oil equivalent is weighted 24% toward oil and liquids and 76% natural gas. In the latest quarter, the company’s average realized price for oil was $56.22 U.S. and $7.19 U.S. for gas....

PENGROWTH ENERGY TRUST $19.26 (Toronto symbol PGF.B; SI Rating: Average) produces oil and gas in western Canada, as well as offshore Nova Scotia. In the three months ended December 31, 2006, Pengrowth’s revenue fell slightly, to $350.9 million from $353.9 million. However, cash flow per unit fell 45.8%, to $0.64 from $1.18. Pengrowth’s average daily production of 77,614 barrels of oil equivalent is weighted 50% toward oil and liquids and 50% natural gas. In the latest quarter, the company’s average realized price for oil was $60.35 U.S. and $7.12 U.S. for natural gas....