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These two oil producers continue to increase their production. That will let them take advantage of the expansion of the TransMountain pipeline, which pumps crude from Alberta to the B.C. coast. The new line will let them sell crude at higher prices than oil shipped to U.S....

Thanks to a new cost-cutting plan, Transcontinental’s shares have rebounded nearly 40% since falling to $10 in November 2023. While the company remains vulnerable to an economic slowdown, it stands to gain as inflation eases and interest rates start to decline, possibly later this year....

BANK OF MONTREAL $124 is a buy. The bank (Toronto symbol BMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 713.0 million; Market cap: $88.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 4.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bmo.com) completed its $13.8 billion U.S....

LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $135 is a buy. Canada’s largest food seller (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 316.4 million; Market cap: $42.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.loblaw.ca) recently purchased 10 Freightliner eCascadia electric trucks, which increased its total to 14....
We continue to believe there’s room for most investors to hold aggressive stocks, which typically are more leveraged (with more debt) and volatile than conservative stocks.


Still, to cut your risk, you should limit aggressive stocks to no more than 20% of your total portfolio....
FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $221 is a buy for aggressive investors. The company (Toronto symbol FSV; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 44.6 million; Market cap: $9.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.firstservice.com) has two main businesses: FirstService Brands (54% of revenue) offers a wide variety of property management services through several franchised businesses, including Paul Davis Restoration and CertaPro Painters; and FirstService Residential (46%) provides property management services such as collecting monthly condominium fees and maintenance services.


In 2023, FirstService spent $547.2 million on acquisitions of smaller firms (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S....
Royal Bank now plans to complete its acquisition of HSBC’s Canadian operations in March 2024. That $13.5-billion purchase enhances Royal’s domestic operations. Moreover, costs savings from the elimination of overlapping operations should also spur earnings.


Banking regulators have toughened lending standards and mortgage stress-test levels in the past few years, and that has helped keep Royal’s loan writeoffs low....
Last year, Canada saw the listing of 164 new ETFs. This month we highlight two of the most successful new launches in 2023. The first is an balanced ETF, while the second invests in technology companies with a covered call strategy.


PURPOSE ACTIVE BALANCED ETF $21.61 (Toronto symbol PABF) invests in a diverse set of asset classes through ETFs as follows: fixed income (41%), North American equity (28%), international equity (20%), and gold (4%)....

You Can See Our Exchange-Traded Funds Portfolio For March 2024 Here.


ETFs in brief


Exchange-traded funds are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or sub-index....
Smaller companies can generate higher returns than their larger counterparts, but their shares are often riskier and less liquid, and may underperform for long periods.


Small cap stocks are also more volatile in times of unsettled or falling markets.


Still, if you focus on the best-quality small companies—or ETFs that hold those stocks—they can be a worthwhile addition to a well-balanced portfolio


Do small companies have an edge?


Small companies trading on U.S....