Looking for investing ideas? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies plus what investors need to know for the week ahead.
Small-cap stars on the rise: The little-known TSX Venture stocks with eye-popping returns
On Thursday, the TSX Venture Exchange released its annual Venture 50, showing the fastest-growing stocks in the Canadian small-cap ranks.
The group of listings, featuring cannabis companies, emerging tech names and junior resource stocks, generated an average return of 94 per cent last year – a mark that no company in the S&P/TSX Composite Index managed to match. The average stock in the Canadian large-cap index declined by 13 per cent in what was a difficult year for stocks globally.
Tim Shufelt looks at the top performing stocks from each of the Venture’s five sectors including Aleafia Health, TheScore, Alvopetro Energy, Westhaven Ventures and Kraken Robotics.
Is it worth taking a bet on SNC-Lavalin?
Under normal conditions, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. would be a terrific buying opportunity right now, given the stock’s long history of impressive rebounds from beaten-up lows. But these are not normal conditions. The bad news is piling up. A failure to resolve bribery and fraud charges related to old business dealings with Libya, a $1.24-billion writedown (after tax) on its oil and gas division, worrisome debt levels, a corporate debt-rating downgrade from Standard & Poor’s and simmering intrigue regarding the company’s relationship with the Prime Minister’s Office is making the stock difficult to value.
But, here’s the math from David Berman. The company owns a significant stake in the money-gushing 407 Express Toll Route, an Ontario highway stretching 108 kilometres from Burlington to Pickering. Benoit Poirier, an analyst at Desjardins Securities, estimates that this stake is worth $28.92 per SNC share. Include a few other revenue-generating investments and the value of the company’s capital portfolio rises to $32.20 per share.
Read more: SNC-Lavalin suffers first quarterly loss in 6 years, slashes dividend amid a wealth of woes
The new retirement challenge: What to do when things go right
Nearly all retirement planning is devoted to spotting potential disasters – a stock market crash! Unexpected inflation! Long-term-care bills! – and devising ways to reduce their possible damage. But what should we do if disaster doesn’t materialize and everything works out just the way we hoped?
A significant number of people who follow the standard rule of thumb may be restricting themselves unnecessarily in their golden years for no good reason. As Ian McGugan reports, it makes sense to plan for good news as well as bad.
Here’s a stock to buy to cash in on the cashless trend
The world is moving away from cash, and there is money to be made from this remarkable shift: Companies that provide credit cards, develop financial technology and facilitate mobile payments have been rewarding investors for years, with gains that have easily outperformed major stock market indexes.
David Berman looks at a lesser-known name to consider: Fiserv Inc. This Wisconsin-based company has been driving the transition to digital transactions for decades, mostly through its work with banks, insurance companies, credit unions and other financial institutions. It processes debit and credit card transactions, electronic bill payments and offers image cheque-clearing, among other services.
Fact? Fallacy? Investors still have a lot to learn about RRSPs
It’s the time of year when financial institutions publish their annual surveys on registered retirement savings plans. The recent survey from discount broker Questrade is an example. Conducted by Leger, it concluded that 78 per cent of respondents would be willing to switch to lower-fee RRSP investments if those lower fees could ensure a superior rate of return.
Well, of course they’d be willing, writes Gordon Pape. And (surprise) it just so happens that Questrade offers some of the lowest fees around. That conclusion does not invalidate the research. It just serves as a reminder as to where the company’s interests are. There were actually a number of revelations in the study that deserve to be highlighted such as that more than half of us have an RRSP, savings accounts have strong appeal and too many people don’t know where their money is.
Read more: TFSA or RRSP: Which one is a better choice for you?
His international investments did terribly. Should this Canadian investor try again?
The basic principles of diversification say your stock market exposure should be divided between Canada, the United States and the rest of the world. But that international component can be a portfolio killer. “I invested internationally for a while (at least 10 years) and did terribly,” a reader recently told Rob Carrick.
There are great stocks and strong-performing markets in Europe, Asia, Australia and other developed markets – why not have them in your portfolio to complement Canadian and U.S. stocks?The answer is that long-term returns for international stocks don’t make a strong case for inclusion.
An easy default mix for the stock side of your portfolio is one-third each for Canada and the U.S. and international markets. If you’re a doubter on international stocks, underweight them. Don’t delete them altogether.
More from Rob Carrick: Critics of the overhauled CPP say it’s a bad deal - here’s why they’re wrong. Also: Stuff you should buy – and avoid – at the dollar store
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What investors need to know for the week ahead
Companies reporting earnings this week include Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, George Weston Ltd., Home Depot, Husky Energy, Thomson Reuters (Tuesday), AltaGas Canada, National Bank of Canada, WeedMD (Wednesday), CIBC, Maple Leaf Foods, TD Bank (Thursday), and EnWave (Friday).
On Tuesday, U.S. Fed chair Jerome Powell testifies to the Senate Banking Committee. On Wednesday, the U.K. parliament votes on a Brexit motion, Canada’s CPI for January is released, Mr. Powell testifies to the House Financial Services Committee and U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer testifies on U.S./China trade to the House Ways and Means Committee. On Friday, Canada’s real GDP for Q4 is released as are Canadian and U.S. auto sales for February.
Looking for more investing ideas and opinions?
An 8-per-cent yield that’s actually safe? Yup
Vanguard, iShares or BMO? A side-by-side comparison of the new all-in-one diversified ETF portfolios
Too few investors are looking beyond stocks and bonds, wealth advisor says
Could this year’s best-performing U.S. stocks be among last year’s ‘dogs’?
Dividend investors: There’s a freight boom coming down the track
Merrill Lynch’s top 10 stock picks for growth and value investors
Short sales on the TSX: What bearish investors are betting against
RBC kicks off big bank results with a dividend boost and higher profit