royal bank

TEMPLETON GROWTH FUND $11.36 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (Franklin Templeton Management Limited, 1 Adelaide Street East, Suite 2101, Toronto, ON. M5C 3B8. 1-800-387-0830; Web site: www.templeton.ca. Buy or sell through brokers) is invested 28.4% in the U.S., 14.2% in the UK, 9.5% in Japan, 9.3% in the Netherlands, 4.8% in Spain, 3.8% in Switzerland, 3.7% in Canada and 3.4% in Germany. The fund’s top holdings include Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands oil & gas), Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (Netherlands consumer electronic & electrical products), Cheung Kong Holdings (Hong Kong conglomerate), Sony Corp. (Japanese electronics), Akzo Nobel (healthcare & chemicals), BP plc (UK oil & gas and chemicals), and ING Groep NV (Dutch financial services). The fund made 6.2% over the last year, compared to a gain of 5.4% for the benchmark Morgan Stanley Index. The fund’s MER is 2.35%....

UNITED CORPORATIONS $55.40 (Toronto symbol: UNC) (165 University Ave., 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5H 3B8. 416-947-2583. Buy or sell through a broker) invests in a wide variety of average-quality to above-average quality Canadian and foreign stocks. At last report, 36% of the fund’s $970.9 million portfolio was invested in Canadian equities, 25.9% in the U.S., 18.5% in Europe, 7% in the UK and 10.8% in Asia. The fund’s largest holdings included Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada, Manulife, Talisman Energy, Algoma Central Corporation, Shell Canada, TransCanada Corporation, Altria Group, TD Bank and Chevron....

SCOTIA CANADIAN GROWTH FUND $63.03 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (Scotia Securities, 40 King Street West, 6th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5H 1H1. 1-800-268-9 269; Website: www.scotiabank.com. No load — deal directly with the company.) uses fundamental analysis to identify what the managers sees as investments that have the potential for above-average growth. The $571.6 million Scotia Canadian Growth Fund’s 10 largest holdings are Manulife, Suncor Energy, Royal Bank, TD Bank, Barrick Gold, Alcan, CN Railway, CIBC, Talisman Energy and EnCana. Scotia Canadian Growth currently holds 29.3% of its portfolio in the Financial services industry. Its next-largest holding is Energy at 21.3%....

BMO EQUITY FUND $31.50 (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) generally invests in the shares of 20 to 40 “blue-chip” Canadian companies. These stocks are selected based on the manager’s outlook for the industry they operate in, the earnings record of each company, the strength of management, and the potential for growth. BMO Equity Fund’s 10 largest holdings are Manulife Financial, Suncor Energy, Royal Bank, TD Bank, Sun Life Financial, Petro-Canada, Canadian National Railway, CIBC, Bank of Nova Scotia and EnCana. The $2 billion BMO Equity currently holds 37.6% of its portfolio in the Financial services industry. Its next-largest holding is Energy at 23.2%....

RBC CANADIAN EQUITY FUND $25.15 (CWA Rating: Conservative)(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) invests mostly in larger-capitalization stocks, but also looks for opportunities in small and mid-cap stocks. The fund’s 10 largest holdings are TD Bank, Manulife Financial, Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank, EnCana Corporation, Petro-Canada, CN Railway, Talisman Energy, Suncor Energy and Canadian Natural Resources. The $4.4 billion fund holds a relatively high 28.8% of its holdings in Financial stocks. It also holds 25.3% in Energy stocks....

TD CANADIAN EQUITY FUND $30.99 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (TD Asset Management, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario. M5W 1P9. 1-800-463-3863; Web site: www.tdcanadatrust.ca. No load — deal directly with the bank) uses a “bottom-up” approach (using fundamentals such as earnings, cash flow and low debt) to identify undervalued companies with strong growth potential. TD Canadian Equity Fund’s 10 largest holdings are Manulife Financial, Suncor Energy, Royal Bank, TD Bank, Western Oil Sands, Canadian Oil Sands Trust, CN Railway, Inco, Falconbridge and Teck Cominco. The $2.6 billion fund currently holds about 28.6% of its portfolio in Financial services shares. It also has a bias towards Energy stocks, with 28.9% of its holdings in that sector....

Here are five large funds run by each of Canada’s big-five banks. Each holds the kind of conservative, well-balanced portfolios of high quality stocks we like. All five have a high weighting in Financial services and Energy stocks. However, they stick with high-quality issues with sound fundamentals, so these concentrations don’t add a lot of risk. Each has its quirks, but overall they are well positioned for low-risk returns. TD CANADIAN EQUITY FUND $30.99 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (TD Asset Management, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario. M5W 1P9. 1-800-463-3863; Web site: www.tdcanadatrust.ca. No load — deal directly with the bank) uses a “bottom-up” approach (using fundamentals such as earnings, cash flow and low debt) to identify undervalued companies with strong growth potential. TD Canadian Equity Fund’s 10 largest holdings are Manulife Financial, Suncor Energy, Royal Bank, TD Bank, Western Oil Sands, Canadian Oil Sands Trust, CN Railway, Inco, Falconbridge and Teck Cominco....

HARBOUR FUND $19.90 (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 Canadian stocks, and it may hold stocks for four or five years to realize their value. The $4.2 billion Harbour Fund’s top holdings include Royal Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Suncor Energy, Falconbridge, Talisman Energy, Canadian National Railway, Alcan, EnCana Corp., TD Bank and BHP Billiton. The Harbour Fund gained 24.1% over the last year. Its MER is 2.35%....

PETRO-CANADA $48 (Toronto symbol PCA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; SI Rating: Average) is having trouble nailing down overseas gas supplies for its proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Quebec. That’s what probably prompted the company to offer $113 million U.S. for publicly traded junior oil producer Canada Southern Petroleum Ltd. The price is equal to just 25% of Petro-Canada’s first quarter profits before unusual items. Canada Southern’s undeveloped gas reserves in the Canadian Arctic could help make the LNG plant more economically feasible. Canada Southern has rejected the bid, but Petro-Canada can easily afford to improve on its offer....

TRIMARK CANADIAN FUND $22.18 (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 fund’s 10 largest holdings are TD Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Thomson Corp., Power Corp., Royal Bank, Molson Coors Canada, Toromont Industries, Loblaw, Molex Inc. and Petro-Canada. Trimark Canadian made 8.6% annually over the last 10 years, compared to the S&P/TSX’s gain of 10.9%. It made 15.6% in the past year. The fund’s MER is 1.64%. Trimark Canadian Fund is still a buy....