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TRIMARK CANADIAN RESOURCES FUND $16.22 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (AIM Funds Management Inc., 5140 Yonge Street, Suite 900, Toronto, Ontario M2N 6X7. Tel: 1-800-631-7008; Web site: www.invescotrimark.com. Buy or sell through brokers) includes firms with Successful Investor Ratings of “Speculative” in its top picks. However, we like Trimark Canadian Resources Fund’s value-seeking, conservative approach to picking stocks in the volatile resource sector. The $428.9-million fund’s top holdings are EnCana, Canadian Natural Resources, Inmet Mining Corp., Husky Energy, Nexen, Cameco, Mayr-Meinhof Karton AG, Goldcorp and Talisman Energy. Trimark Canadian Resources Fund holds 50.3% of its portfolio in the Energy sector, 26.4% in Metals & Minerals and 6.3% in Industrials....

TD RESOURCE FUND $27.63 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (TD Asset Management, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario, M5W 1P9. Tel: 1-800-386-3757; Web site:www.tdcanadatrust.ca. No load: deal directly with the bank) invests in companies that its managers see as having strong asset bases, proven management and the ability to internally finance growth. The $195.0-million TD Resource Fund’s top stock holdings mostly have Successful Investor Ratings of “Average” or higher. They include EnCana, Suncor Energy, Talisman Energy, Goldcorp, Yamana Gold, TransCanada Corp., BHP Billiton, Barrick Gold, Husky Energy, Chevron, Marathon Oil and Nexen. TD Resource Fund holds 57.1% of its portfolio in Energy and 38.3% in Metals & Minerals....

Although they are still below their 2007/2008 peaks (with the exception of gold, which is now at record highs), resource prices have steadily risen since the start of this year. Most resource companies still need a continued economic recovery to show further growth. But we think the long-term outlook for global resource demand is bright. Meanwhile, we think you should cut your risk in this volatile sector by sticking with profitable, well-established companies that have asset bases they acquired when asset prices were low. Or, invest in mutual funds that hold those stocks. Here are two resource funds that we rate as Aggressive. They expose investors to two different levels of risk, measured by the stocks they hold. We think both have long-term gains ahead....

HARBOUR FUND $19.67 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (C.I. Mutual Funds, 151 Yonge St., 7th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5C 2W7. 1-800-268-9374; Web site: www.cifunds.com. Load fund: available from brokers.) invests in only 25 to 40 high-quality, mostly Canadian stocks. It may hold stocks for four or five years to realize their value. The $5.5-billion Harbour Fund’s top holdings include Canadian National Railway, Goldcorp Inc., Suncor Energy, Talisman Energy, EnCana Corporation, CIBC, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Cisco Systems, Manulife Financial and BHP Billiton. These holdings make up 38.1% of the fund’s portfolio. The Harbour Fund gained 14.4% in the year ended October 31, 2009, compared to a gain of 15.7% for the S&P/TSX. The fund’s five-year return has averaged 8.0% annually. Its MER is 2.31%....

BMO DIVIDEND FUND $41.10 (BMO Mutual Funds, 77 King Street West, Suite 4200, Royal Trust Tower, Toronto, Ont., M5K 1J5, Tel: 1-800-665-7700; Web site: www.bmo.com. No load — deal directly with the bank) (CWA Rating: Conservative) holds about 48.5% of its portfolio in the Finance sector. The fund’s next-largest sectors are Energy (23.4%), Consumer Discretionary (5.9%) and Materials (5.0%). The $3.9-billion BMO Dividend Fund’s largest stock holdings are Bank of Nova Scotia, CIBC, Royal Bank, Suncor Energy, Manulife Financial, Toronto-Dominion Bank, TransCanada Corporation, EnCana Corporation, Enbridge and Goldcorp. The fund’s MER is 1.71%....

ENCANA CORP $30 (Toronto symbol ECA; Shares outstanding: 750.2 million; Market cap: $22.5 billion; SI Rating: Average) and CENOVUS ENERGY $26.30 (Toronto symbol CVE; Shares outstanding: 750.2 million; Market cap: $19.7 billion; SI Rating: Extra Risk) are now trading as separate stocks after EnCana split itself into two separate companies. One kept the EnCana name and trading symbol, and focuses on unconventional natural gas. The other operates as Cenovus Energy Inc. and specializes in oil-sands projects, oil refineries and conventional natural gas. The new EnCana accounts for about two-thirds of the original company’s production and reserves. Cenovus accounts for the remaining third....

BANK OF MONTREAL, $52.93, Toronto symbol BMO, earned $1.8 billion in its latest fiscal year, which ended on October 31, 2009. That’s down 9.7% from $2.0 billion in the prior year. Earnings per share fell 18.1%, to $3.08 from $3.76, on more shares outstanding. The latest earnings included several unusual charges. These include writedowns of securities the bank holds and severance costs from a 3% cut it made to its workforce. Without these items, the bank would have earned $4.02 a share in fiscal 2009. Analysts were expecting $3.98 a share on that basis. Revenue rose 8.4%, to $11.1 billion from $10.2 billion. That’s mainly because low interest rates continue to push up demand for mortgages and other loans. However, the bank set aside $1.6 billion for bad loans, up 20.5% from $1.3 billion in the prior year. Most of this increase came from its U.S. operations, particularly loans related to the commercial real-estate and manufacturing industries. The U.S. accounts for about 10% of the bank’s revenue....

ENCANA CORP. $55 (New York symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 751.2 million; Market cap: $41.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1: WSSF Rating: Average) will split itself into two separate companies in December, now that shareholders have approved the plan. Break-ups like this help unlock hidden value, and generally lead to above-average results for a period of years. One company will keep the EnCana name, and will focus on unconventional natural gas. The other will operate as Cenovus Energy Inc. (New York symbol CVE), and will specialize in oil-sands projects, oil refineries and conventional natural gas. The new EnCana will account for about two-thirds of the company’s current production and reserves. Cenovus will account for the remaining third. EnCana will give its shareholders one new common share in each of the two new companies for every EnCana share they own. As well, investors will not have to pay capital-gains taxes until they sell their new shares....

Resource prices have climbed sharply since early 2009, as the global recession began to ease and some countries’ economies returned to growth. Despite their recent gains, prices for oil, gold and other commodities will likely keep rising. That’s partly because resources act as a hedge against inflation. We feel the best way to profit from rising resource prices is with high-quality companies, such as these four. They are all leaders in their fields, and are doing a good job of keeping their costs down. However, only three are buys right now. ENCANA CORP. $55 (New York symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 751.2 million; Market cap: $41.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1: WSSF Rating: Average) will split itself into two separate companies in December, now that shareholders have approved the plan. Break-ups like this help unlock hidden value, and generally lead to above-average results for a period of years....

One of the best ways to get exposure to the Louisiana shale-gas region is through Chesapeake Energy, $25.14, symbol CHK on New York (Shares outstanding: 647.7 million; Market cap: $16.3 billion). The company is active in the Haynesville shale discovery in Louisiana. Chesapeake is a recommendation of Stock Pickers Digest. We see it as a buy. EnCana Corp., $57.86, symbol ECA on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 750.2 million; Market cap: $43.4 billion), also has an active drilling program at Haynesville. It’s a buy recommendation of The Successful Investor.