Look beyond Canada’s Big Five banks

Article Excerpt

For most investors, Canada’s Big Five make up the bulk (if not all) of their Finance sector holdings. As the banks have expanded over the past few decades, owning them gives you exposure to a broad variety of financial services, including wealth management, brokerage and insurance. Even so, we still feel most investors would benefit from adding specialized, non-bank Finance stocks, such as the three we analyze below. All are leaders in their industries, which cuts your risk. Note that we see one in particular as well suited for new buying right now. GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $38 is a hold. The company (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; shares outstanding: 930.5 million; Market cap: $35.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s second-largest life insurer, after Manulife Financial. It also offers mutual funds and wealth management services. Power Corp. (Toronto symbol POW) owns 66.7% of the firm. The company has announced a series of acquisitions…