asset management

A key rule of our three-part Successful Investor strategy is to spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; and Utilities).

This has two main benefits: a) It keeps you from investing too heavily in any industry or sector that is headed into a period of big losses; and b) By spreading your investments out more widely, it also improves your chances of latching onto a market superstar—a stock that will wind up producing two or five or 10 times more profit than average.

ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL BASE METALS ETF $16.86 (Toronto symbol XBM; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $230.9 million) tracks the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index....

CANADIAN PACIFIC KANSAS CITY LTD. $103 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 933.5 million; Market cap: $96.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.2; Dividend yield: 0.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cpkcr.com) ships freight over a 32,190-kilometre rail network in Canada, the U.S....

Both these Canadian insurance stocks provide investors with growth prospects as well as current high dividend yields. We see each as a buy.


MANULIFE FINANCIAL, $46.35, is a buy. This safety-conscious stock (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $78.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.8%; www.manulife.ca) represents one of Canada’s largest life insurers....

Both Great-West and IGM recently exchanged some assets as part of a plan to better concentrate on their main businesses. We like both but still see IGM as the better pick.


GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $54 is a hold. The company (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; shares outstanding: 932.1 million; Market cap: $50.3 billion; Dividend yield: 4.5%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s second-largest life insurer after Manulife Financial....

Sun Life Financial & Manulife Financial offer high yields at very reasonable valuations as they keep growing global revenues and earnings.

This month we highlight six new funds that trade in the form of Canadian Depository Receipts (CDRs).


BMO Asset Management recently launched a series of single stock CDRs. These new funds complement a long list of already existing single stock CDRs available from CIBC....

A: Enghouse Systems Ltd., $25.28, symbol ENGH on Toronto, (Shares outstanding: 55.2 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; www.enghouse.com) is a software and services provider.

The company operates through two business groups: Interactive Management (59% of total revenue) sells software for managing customer interactions; and Asset Management (41% of revenue) offers technological solutions for network operators as well as software solutions for transit and transportation operators.

Enghouse’s revenue fell 7.3%, from $503.8 million in 2020 (fiscal years ended October 31) to $467.2 million in 2021....

NORTH WEST COMPANY $48 is a buy. This retailer (Toronto symbol NWC; High-Growth Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 48.4 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Dividend yield: 3.3%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.northwest.ca) sells food and everyday products and services at 227 stores, mainly in northern communities across Canada, as well as in Alaska, the South Pacific and the Caribbean.


With the October 2024 payment, North West raised your quarterly dividend by 2.6%....

Specialized insurer Trisura took its current form on June 22, 2017, when Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (now Brookfield Corp.) spun off its specialty insurance business as Trisura. Investors received one Trisura share for every 170 Brookfield shares they held.


After moving sideways for a few years, the stock shot up to just under $48 in December 2022 (all per-share amounts adjusted for a 4-for-1 stock split in June 2021)....

These two financial services providers continue to benefit from their recent plans to better focus on their core businesses. We still like both of these high-quality stocks, but prefer IGM for your new buying.


GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $52 is a hold. The insurer (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; shares outstanding: 932.1 million; Market cap: $48.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield: 4.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s second-largest life insurer, after Manulife Financial....