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RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25.40 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; SI Rating: Average) is Canada’s largest REIT. RioCan has ownership interests in a portfolio of 207 retail properties across Canada, including 10 under development. These properties contain over 53 million square feet of leasable area. RioCan’s revenue in the three months ended June 30, 2007 was $179.5 million, up 15.5% from $155.4 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 8.6%, to $0.38 from $0.35. RioCan recently increased its annual distribution by 2.3%, to $1.35 from $1.32. Its units now yield 5.2%. RioCan is still a buy.

NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC. $28 (New York symbol NWL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 279.3 million; Market cap; $7.8 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) makes a wide variety of household goods, including plastic storage containers, tools, window blinds and writing instruments. The company is currently in the middle of a threeyear restructuring aimed at cutting its annual expenses by $150 million. This involves selling less profitable operations, and shifting production overseas. In the three months ended June 30, 2007, Newell’s profits before restructuring costs rose 19.6%, to $0.55 a share (total $154.6 million) from $0.46 a share ($131.6 million) a year earlier. Sales grew 3.7%, to $1.69 billion from $1.63 billion....

TUPPERWARE BRANDS CORP. $32 (New York symbol TUP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 61.8 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) makes plastic containers for food and other items. It also makes beauty and personal care products. The company sells its products through independent dealers instead of traditional stores. In the second quarter of 2007, Tupperware’s earnings grew 36.6%, to $0.56 a share from $0.41 a year earlier. Sales grew 12.4%, to $492.9 million from $438.6 million, mainly due to strong growth in North America and Asia. If you exclude the positive impact of foreign exchange rates, per-share earnings rose 18.4%, and sales grew 8%. Tupperware is now targeting international markets for new growth. Expanding prosperity in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe is making Tupperware’s products more affordable....

BAXTER INTERNATIONAL INC. $56 (New York symbol BAX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 644.7 million; Market cap: $36.1 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) makes medical equipment through three main divisions. Medication Delivery makes intravenous equipment and systems (roughly 40% of sales); BioScience makes various vaccines and drugs (40%); and Renal makes dialysis equipment (20%). Baxter gets 55% of its revenue from overseas customers. The company is still having problems with its Colleague medication delivery pumps. Earlier this year, it had to recall 4,500 of the 280,000 pumps in service to fix a defect that could inject too much medication into a patient....

INVACARE CORP. $24 (New York symbol IVC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 30.9 million; Market cap: $741.6 million; WSSF Rating: Average) makes wheelchairs, motorized scooters and other mobility and home care products. It sells them through over 15,000 home health care and medical equipment dealers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, as well as directly to government agencies. Foreign markets account for about a third of Invacare’s sales. In the second quarter of 2007, sales rose 5.8% to $393.3 million from $371.8 million a year earlier. Most of the increase came from favorable foreign exchange rates and an acquisition. Earnings before restructuring charges fell 41.7%, to $0.14 a share (total $4.3 million) from $0.24 a share ($7.6 million). Invacare spends roughly 2% of its sales on research....

C.R. BARD INC. $88 (New York symbol BCR; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 103.4 million; Market cap: $9.1 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) makes medical devices in four main areas: Vascular products such as stents and catheters (24% of 2006 sales); Urology products such as drainage and incontinence devices (30%); Oncology products that detect and treat various types of cancer (24%); and Surgical Tools (18%). Other devices provided the remaining 4% of sales. The company’s wide array of products cuts its reliance on a single device. Most of its products are single-use devices that hospitals and clinics must constantly replenish. That gives Bard predictable revenue streams. Overseas markets account for 30% of Bard’s sales, which cuts its geographic risk....

3M COMPANY $93 (New York symbol MMM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 715.8 million; Market cap: $66.7 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) is a diversified manufacturer formerly known as Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing. 3M owns a range of well-known brand names. Post-it notes, Scotch tape, Scotch-Brite household cleaning products, Scotchguard protection and Thinsulate insulation are just a tiny sample of its wide product line. The company sells more than 50,000 products in over 200 countries. Foreign sales are about 63% of total revenues. 3M’s six business segments comprise industrial and transportation (approximately 30% of sales), display and graphics (16%), health care (16%), consumer and office (14%), safety, security & protection (13%) and electronics and communications (11%)....

CAE INC. $13 (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 252.3 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; SI Rating: Average) makes commercial and military flight simulators. It also operates pilot training facilities in 19 countries. In its first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2007, earnings excluding unusual items rose 25% to $0.15 a share from $0.12 a year earlier. Revenue grew 6.2%, to $358.3 million from $337.3 million. CAE spends about 9% of its revenue on research, so it’s more profitable than it appears. The $0.04 dividend yields 0.3%. The stock fell to below $3 after 9/11, but rose to $15.25 in July 2007. It now trades at 20.3 times the $0.64 a share it should earn in fiscal 2008. As well, rising fuel costs could slow demand for CAE’s products and services....

BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $6.29 and BBD.B $6.26; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $10.6 billion; SI Rating: Extra risk) is the world’s third-largest maker of commercial aircraft, after Boeing and Airbus. It specializes in small business jets, and regional jets that carry around 100 passengers. The company also makes passenger railcars. In its second fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2007, Bombardier earned $0.05 a share, up 66.7% from $0.03 a year earlier (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. funds). The most recent quarterly figure excludes a one-time writedown of its investment in a group that’s refurbishing the London, UK subway system. Strong demand for business jets and railcars, particularly in China and Russia, expanded sales by 14.3%, to $4.0 billion from $3.5 billion. Bombardier should earn $0.21 U.S. a share in 2007, and the stock trades at 28.8 times that estimate. That’s reasonable in light of its improving prospects....

BELL ALIANT REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS INCOME FUND $32 (Toronto symbol BA.UN; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Units outstanding: 130.8 million; Market cap: $4.2 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is the main provider of telephone services in Atlantic Canada. It also serves rural parts of Ontario and Quebec. BCE Inc. controls 43.4% of Bell Aliant. As part of the deal that created Bell Aliant, the fund transferred the bulk of its wireless business to BCE. Without these operations, the fund now aims to spur growth by expanding the availability and capacity of its high-speed Internet service. Just 20% of Bell Aliant’s customers use its high-speed Internet service, so there’s plenty of room to grow....

MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $49 (Toronto symbol MBT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 64.6 million; Market cap; $3.2 billion; SI Rating: Average) is Manitoba’s main provider of local, long distance and wireless telephone service, with over 90% of the market. Other services include Internet access and a digital TV service. It also owns Allstream, a national provider of communication services to businesses. Allstream accounts for roughly 55% of Manitoba Tel’s revenue, but just 40% of its profit. That’s because the business telecom market is more competitive than Manitoba Tel’s traditional operations. But Allstream’s plan to focus on small businesses that its bigger competitors tend to ignore should help it improve its roughly 10% market share....

TELUS CORP. (Toronto symbols T $56 and T.A $54; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 331.7 million; Market cap: $18.5 billion; SI Rating: Above average) provides local and long distance telephone service in British Columbia, Alberta and parts of Quebec, and wireless service across Canada. A big part of the company’s success in the past few years is its wireless operations, which now account for 40% of its total revenue. Telus prefers to focus on long-term customers, which cuts the need for expensive promotions such as free phones. That has helped keep its wireless profit margins high compared to its main competitors (BCE and Rogers). Telus also tends to hang on to its customers longer....

ISHARES MCSI CANADA INDEX FUND $30 (American Exchange symbol EWC; buy or sell through brokers) invests in most of the stocks in the Morgan Stanley Capital International Canada Index. These stocks represent Canada’s largest and most-established public companies, accounting for about 60% of the market capitalization of all publicly traded stocks. This fund has an MER of 0.54%. These shares are managed by Barclays Global Investors. There are now 18 different MCSI index funds. MCSI Canada’s MER is more than triple the 0.17% MER on the S&P/TSE 60 units, also managed by Barclays. We think that defeats the main advantage of index funds. The spread between iShares MCSI Canada’s high MER and that of a low-fee fund may not appear to make a lot of difference in a single year, but there is no point in paying more than you need to....

DIAMONDS TRUST SHARES $133 (American Exchange symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers) hold the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Currently, the fund’s top 10 holdings are IBM, 3M, Boeing Co., United Technologies, Caterpillar, Altria Group, American International Group, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Exxon Mobil....

S&P DEPOSITORY RECEIPTS $148 (American Exchange symbol SPY; buy or sell through brokers) are commonly called ‘Spiders’. The fund holds the stocks in the S&P 500 Index. This index is comprised of 500 major U.S. stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation....

NASDAQ-100 TRUST SHARES $49.18 (Nasdaq Exchange symbol QQQQ; buy or sell through brokers) or ‘Qubes’, hold the stocks that represent the Nasdaq-100 Index. This index is made up of the 100 largest and most heavily traded stocks on the Nasdaq Exchange. The index reflects firms across major industry groups including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain financial companies. Expenses are about 0.20% of assets. The top 10 highest-weighted stocks are Apple Computer, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google, Cisco, Intel, Research in Motion, Comcast, Oracle and e-Bay. Nasdaq-100 Trust Shares are a buy for aggressive investors only.

ISHARES CDN LARGECAP 60 INDEX FUND $79.86 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through a broker) (formerly called iUnits S&P/TSX 60 Index Participation Fund) is a good low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units hold a basket of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index. The index is made up of the 60 largest and most heavily traded stocks on the TSX. Expenses on the units are just 0.17% of assets. Most of the 60 stocks in the index are good quality companies. However, to meet the requirement that all sectors are represented, the index holds a few firms we wouldn’t include, such as Cott Corporation and Celestica. The index’s top holdings are: Royal Bank, 6.6%; Manulife, 5.8%; TD Bank, 4.7%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 4.7%; EnCana Corporation, 4.4%; Suncor Energy, 3.9%; Research in Motion, 3.7%; Canadian Natural Resources, 3.5%; Bank of Montreal, 3.1%; CIBC, 3.3%; BCE Inc., 2.6%; Barrick Gold, 2.8%; Sun Life Financial, 2.9%; and Potash Corp., 2.6%....

ISHARES CANADIAN BOND BROAD INDEX FUND $28.47 (CWA Rating: Income) (Toronto symbol XBB; buy or sell through a broker) mirrors the performance of the Scotia Capital Universe Bond Index. This index consists of a diversified range of investment grade Canadian government and corporate bonds, with a term to maturity of more than one year. At last report, the bonds in the index were 42.5% Government of Canada bonds, 27.5% Provincial Government bonds, 1.3% Municipal bonds and 28.7% Corporate bonds....

ISHARES CANADIAN SHORT BOND INDEX FUND $28.03 (CWA Rating: Income) (Toronto symbol XSB; buy or sell through a broker) mirrors the performance of the Scotia Capital Short Term Bond Index. This index consists of a diversified range of investment grade federal, provincial, municipal and corporate bonds, with terms to maturity of between one and five years. Top issuers include Canada Mortgage and Housing, RBC Capital Trust, Province of Ontario, Province of Quebec, Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia....

RBC CANADIAN DIVIDEND FUND $49.82 (RBC Funds, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario. M5W 1P9. 1-800-463-3863; Web site: www.royalbank.com. No load — deal directly with the bank) has 43.8% of its portfolio in Financial services stocks. It has a further 16.9% in Energy stocks and 8.1% in Materials. The $8.9 billion RBC Canadian Dividend Fund’s top stock holdings are Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Manulife Financial, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, TransCanada Corporation, Bank of Montreal, BCE Inc. and Suncor Energy. Over the last five years, RBC Canadian Dividend Fund has posted a 15.8% annual rate of return. That’s less than the S&P/TSX’s gain of 18.4% over the same period....

BMO DIVIDEND FUND $50.82 (BMO Mutual Funds, 77 King Street West, Suite 4200, Royal Trust Tower, Toronto, Ont., M5K 1J5, 1-800-665-7700; Web site: www.bmo.com. No load — deal directly with the bank) (CWA Rating: Conservative) currently holds about 57.3% of its portfolio in the Financial services industry. Its next-largest holdings are Energy at 13.3% and Consumer discretionary at 6.5%. BMO Dividend Fund’s largest holdings are Manulife Financial, Bank of Nova Scotia, CIBC, Royal Bank of Canada, Power Financial, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canadian National Railway, TransCanada Corporation, Alcan, Imperial Oil, Brookfield Asset Management, Thomson Corporation, BCE Inc. and Sun Life Financial. Over the last five years, the $5.9 billion BMO Dividend Fund has posted a 15.3% annual rate of return. That’s under the S&P/TSX’s gain of 18.4%. However, the S&P/TSX index held a high 40% or so of its holdings in Resources shares. That’s been one of the best-performing, although riskiest, sectors. The fund gained 15.4% over the last year, compared to a gain of 20.1% for the S&P/TSX index. BMO Dividend’s MER is 1.73%....

WELLS FARGO & CO. $36 (New York symbol WFC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 3.3 billion; Market cap: $118.8 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) continues to expand its retail banking business. As well, the company shut down its subprime wholesale mortgage business, which processes loans for third-party brokers. The stock trades at 13.1 times the $2.74 a share it should earn in 2007. The $1.24 dividend yields 3.4%. Wells Fargo is a buy.

WACHOVIA CORP. $48 (New York symbol WB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $91.2 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) is cutting its exposure to housing with its recent deal to buy brokerage firm A.G. Edwards Inc. When the purchase closes later this year, it will make Wachovia the second-largest retail brokerage firm in the United States, after Merrill Lynch. Wachovia’s strong history of successfully integrating new operations cuts the risk of using acquisitions to grow. Wachovia should earn $4.93 a share in 2007, and the stock trades at just 9.7 times that estimate. The $2.56 dividend yields 5.3%. Wachovia is a buy.

BANK OF AMERICA CORP. $51 (New York symbol BAC; Income Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 4.4 billion; Market cap: $224.4 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) has little exposure to subprime mortgages, but it aims to profit from the recent turmoil. It has agreed to buy $2 billion worth of convertible preferred shares from mortgage specialist Countrywide Financial Corp. (New York symbol CFC). If converted, Bank of America would own about 16% of Countrywide. This investment is roughly a third of the $5.8 billion or $1.29 a share Bank of America earned in its latest quarter. While it adds to its risk, it could have a big payoff. Rules that ban a single bank from controlling more than 10% of U.S. deposits have hurt Bank of America’s ability to expand. However, the Countrywide investment should improve its 7% share of the mortgage market. The stock trades at 10.4 times the $4.90 a share it should earn in 2007. It raised its dividend 14.3% to $2.56 a share (5.0% yield)....

APACHE CORP. $75 (New York symbol APA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 332.0 million; Market cap; $24.9 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) explores for and produces oil and gas, mostly in North America. It also has operations in the UK, Argentina, Australia and Egypt. The company reserves are roughly half oil and half natural gas. Apache spends heavily on exploration and acquisitions to replenish its reserves. For example, it recently paid $1 billion for 28 oil and gas fields in Texas. This purchase increased Apache’s oil reserves by 8%, and its gas reserves by 5%. Thanks to this acquisition and increased production at its other properties, Apache’s revenue in the three months ended June 30, 2007 rose 19.1%, to $2.5 billion from $2.1 billion....