Generally speaking, Canadians are blocked from buying mutual funds that are registered in the U.S. unless those funds are also registered with provincial securities commissions. (Moreover, some Canadian mutual funds are only available in a limited number of provinces.)


Investors in this country can, however, buy exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, listed on U.S....

ENERPLUS CORP., $23.98, (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 203.3 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 1.4%) produces oil and gas mostly from properties in the Bakken area of North Dakota, the DJ Basin in Colorado, and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.


The company’s shares have soared as it has now agreed to a takeover bid from Chord Energy (symbol CHRD on Nasdaq).


Enerplus shareholders will get 0.10125 shares of Chord and $1.84 U.S....

Rising interest rates boost the appeal of bonds and so can hurt the share prices of competing high-yield utility stocks like Enbridge. It’s important to note, however, that bond investors must treat interest payments they receive as regular income. As a result, they pay higher taxes on that income compared to dividend income qualifying for the Canadian dividend tax credit....

A: Kadant Inc., $325.00, symbol KAI on New York (Shares outstanding: 11.7 million; Market cap: $3.8 billion; www.kadant.com), provides process and engineering equipment for papermaking, recycling, lumber manufacturing, and related industries.

It has three operating segments: Flow Control (37% of revenue), Industrial Processing (39%), and Material Handling (24%)....

A: The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF, $37.90, symbol MAGS on Nasdaq Units outstanding: 3.9 million; Market cap: $147.8 million; www.roundhillinvestments.com), offers equal weight exposure to the so-called “Magnificent Seven” stocks—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla.

The fund’s MER is 0.29%.

Prior to November 9, 2023, this ETF was originally named the Roundhill Big Tech ETF (BIGT)....

A: Pentair plc, $76.22, symbol PNR on New York (Shares outstanding: 165.3 million; Market cap: $12.7 billion; www.pentair.com), is a water-focused industrial manufacturer with three reporting segments: Flow (previously named Industrial and Flow Technologies), Water Solutions, and Pool.

The pool division is a leader in the North American pool equipment arena (replacements)....

A: Definity Financial Corp., $44.53, symbol DFY on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 114.9 million; Market cap: $5.2 billion; www.definityfinancial.com), is the new name for the holding company of Economical Insurance, Family Insurance Solutions, Petline Insurance, and Sonnet Insurance.

Definity was created as part of Economical Insurance’s demutualization plan to convert from a mutual insurance company, owned by its policyholders, to a company owned by shareholders.

On November 17, 2021, the holding company went public, selling shares of its stock at $22 each.

At the same time as its IPO, Definity closed private share placements with HOOPP (Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan) and Swiss Re Investments Holding Company....

A: Kinaxis Inc., $153.89, symbol KXS on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 28.5 million; Market cap: $4.4 billion; www.kinaxis.com), provides cloud-based subscription software that big companies use to manage their supply chains....

Here’s a question I’ve heard from a number of investors recently: “Pat, I know you advise against using stop-loss orders as a general rule. However, should we make an exception in unusual times like today?”

A stop-loss order or “stop” is simply a standing order with a broker to sell a stock you own if it falls to a price you choose....

GUESS? INC., $24.91, symbol GES on New York, is a Los Angeles-based clothing company for women’s, men’s, and children’s products. It also licenses the Guess name to other companies for eyewear, watches, jewellery, and other categories outside its core business.

As of October 28, 2023, the company operated 1,015 of its own stores in Europe, the Americas, and Asia....