A: The iShares 1-5 Yr Laddered Corporate Bond Index ETF, $17.24, symbol CBO on Toronto (Units outstanding: 41.6 million; Market cap: $717.2 million; www.blackrock.com/ca), invests in a portfolio of short-term and medium-term corporate bonds....

Here’s Part Two of the letter I sent to our Portfolio Management clients in August 2023:

Issue 3 (of four disturbing issues troubling many investors today): Communist Chinese ambitions for regional or global domination, through trade growth, military threats in the South China Sea, plus the long-threatened Taiwan takeover

This worry has passed its best-before date....

MASONITE INTERNATIONAL CORP., $86.83, symbol DOOR on New York, is a maker of interior and exterior doors for new construction as well as renovation and remodelling. The company’s client list has grown to more than 6,500 customers worldwide since operations started in 1925....

RESMED INC., $152.81, is a buy. The firm, symbol RMD on New York, helps investors tap the growing market for medical devices used to treat sleep apnea. ResMed’s CPAP (nasal continuous positive airway pressure) devices are also used to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as well as other respiratory conditions.

With each new machine ResMed sells, it also acquires a potential long-term customer for replacement parts....

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO., $151.77, Toronto symbol CNR, remains a buy.

CN’s 32,200-kilometre network stretches across the country. It also travels down through the U.S. Midwest, connecting Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

With the March 2023 payment, CN raised your quarterly dividend by 7.8%....

MCDONALD’S CORP., $267.87, New York symbol MCD, is your #1 Conservative Buy for 2023.

The company is the world’s largest fast-food chain with over 40,000 restaurants in 119 countries. It serves a wide variety of food but is best known for its hamburgers and french fries.

McDonald’s continues to benefit from strong customer traffic, despite raising its prices in response to higher food and labour costs, as well as successful new product launches.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2023, revenue rose 14.0%, to $6.69 billion from $5.87 billion a year earlier....

CANADIAN TIRE CORP., $144.81, Toronto symbol CTC.A, is a buy.

Investors benefit from the company’s 503 Canadian Tire stores. They sell automotive parts and services, and household and sporting goods; franchisees run most of the locations....

We think investors will profit most—and with the least risk—by buying shares of well-established companies with strong business prospects and strong positions in healthy industries....

NEWMONT CORP., $37.27, remains a buy for long-term growth and as a hedge against inflation. The company (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 794.8 million; Market cap: $29.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.newmont.com) has now re-opened its Penasquito mine in Mexico after the union representing its workers agreed to a new four-year contract....

TD BANK, $77.49, (Toronto symbol TD; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $141.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.0%; www.td.com) merged its 43%-owned U.S....