investment

STANTEC INC., $31.53, symbol STN on Toronto, sells a range of consulting, project delivery, design and technology services. The company’s clients operate in a variety of industries, including transportation, construction and oil and gas. Stantec has over 11,000 employees in 170 locations throughout North America. It also has four international offices. In the three months ended March 31, 2012, the company’s revenue rose 7.4%, to $439.1 million from $408.7 million a year earlier. Acquisitions were part of the reason for the gains; Stantec is also working on a number of new projects. Earnings rose 4.5%, to $24.9 million, or $0.55 a share, from $23.8 million, or $0.52....

This is the latest in a series of video interviews in which Pat McKeough will give his investing advice on a variety of topics. Some will deal with his overall investment philosophy, others on specific investment strategies and still others will be comments on events that are affecting the markets and the economy. This week, the topic is the decision of Internet phenomenon Facebook to start selling shares to the public. The intense media limelight surrounding this initial public offering is just one of the things that should make investors cautious, in Pat’s opinion.
Q: Pat, a lot of people are excited about the fact that Facebook is going to start selling its stock to the public. Do you think people should buy it?...

ENBRIDGE INC. $40 (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 785.0 million; Market cap: $31.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) owns 100% of Enbridge Gas New Brunswick Inc. (EGNB), which distributes natural gas to 11,000 customers in that province. Enbridge is now expanding EGNB’s system to connect to an additional 30,000 clients. However, the New Brunswick government recently enacted new regulations that limit the rates that EGNB can charge its customers. That makes it harder for Enbridge to recoup the funds that it has already invested in this business. As a result, the company will write down this investment by $262 million. That’s equal to 24% of the $1.1 billion, or $1.48 a share, that Enbridge earned in 2011. Enbridge is still a buy....

When the market is as turbulent as it has been lately, investors can easily panic and make mistakes. Our investment advice is to avoid three common mistakes we have seen over the years:

1. Overanalyzing: During this week’s market turmoil, the media has been focusing on the uncertainty in Europe. The election of a socialist president in France and electoral confusion in Greece is fuelling further fears about the ongoing European debt crisis....

The right number of stocks for you to own depends in part on where you are in your investing career. It makes sense that you should have fewer stocks

We’ve often pointed out the drawbacks of putting your money in investment funds that charge performance fees. These fees don’t always backfire on investors, of course. But when they do, the damage can be horrendous. This is clear from a look at the record of Trapeze Asset Management, which became public after Trapeze agreed to pay just under $2 million to settle a complaint by the Ontario Securities Commission and another regulatory agency. Trapeze was an aggressive investment manager in the market boom of 2008 and earlier. It often traded in small cap and highly volatile stocks, at times generating some highly impressive profits. It also charged some highly impressive fees. In addition to an annual management fee of up to 2.5%, it also charged its clients a so-called performance fee equal to 20% of gains above 8% per year, after deducting all regular fees and costs. This worked reasonably well for investors while the bull market was underway. They didn’t mind the high fees so long as they were making above-average profits. But like most investors who agree to pay performance fees, Trapeze investors may not have realized how quickly small cap trading profits can turn into losses....

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on specific stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. This past week, an Inner Circle member who is also a client of our portfolio management services had a question about one of Canada’s rising tech stocks. This broadcast equipment specialist, whose prominence has increased due to the upcoming Summer Olympics, is grooming itself as a takeover candidate....

This is the latest in a series of video interviews in which Pat McKeough will give his advice on a variety of topics. Some will deal with his overall investment philosophy, others on specific investment strategies and still others will be comments on events that are affecting the markets and the economy. This week, Pat responds to a question about living off the income from dividend stocks during retirement. The way to do it, he tells viewers, is not to buy and hold dividend stocks indefinitely, but to buy, hold and watch carefully.
Q: Pat, here’s an interesting question. As I get closer to retirement, do you think I’ll be able to live off my dividends? How should I go about it?...

CANADIAN REIT $38.74 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 67.6 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.7%; www.creit.ca) owns over 190 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, located across Canada and in the Chicago area. These properties contain over 24 million square feet of leasable area. Its occupancy rate is 94.4%. In the three months ended December 31, 2011, the real estate investment trust’s revenue rose 8.9%, to $90.0 million from $82.6 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 6.9%, to $0.62 from $0.58. The REIT bought $264.5 million of properties in 2011, including its June purchase of two fully leased malls in Mississauga, Ontario, for $174.4 million. In March 2012, it bought 50% of the 310,000- square-foot Altius Centre in Calgary for $89.9 million. In April, it paid $156.0 million for 50% of Calgary Place, a 575,000-square-foot office and retail complex, also in Calgary....

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $27.04 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 285.0 million; Market cap: $7.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.1%; www.riocan.com) has a joint venture with U.S.-based Tanger Factory Outlet Centers to build between 10 and 15 discount shopping malls in major Canadian cities. RioCan and Tanger have now agreed to team up with privately held Orlando Corp. to build factory outlet stores on the grounds of Orlando’s Heartland Town Centre mall in Mississauga, Ontario. This could lead to similar deals to develop more of Orlando’s Toronto properties. RioCan is still our #1 safety-conscious buy for 2012.