Earlier this year, we invited readers to submit the names of three stocks that they believe would be strong performers over the coming year. This is the latest in a series where Globe Investing Club members share their picks.
Jeff Shain, a retired accountant in his 60s, is always keeping up with global affairs to inform his investments.
Whether it’s a change in oil prices or new legislation that will lead to more infrastructure development projects, if the news has an impact on the stock market, Mr. Shain will find out about it and adjust accordingly.
Through his desire to remain as well-informed as possible and years of developing his ideal investment strategy, Mr. Shain has had considerable success since he started investing.
With the Globe Investing Club, he hopes to continue his learning journey and gain insight from other readers’ investments.
Why he started investing:
Mr. Shain has always been interested in investing, he said, but when some excess funds were available for him and his wife in the 1990s, he knew it was time to start investing in stocks.
It took some early mistakes and a conservative start to figure out the investing approach he was most comfortable with, but he’s found his success since then, he said.
Aside from his regular investing, Mr. Shain, who manages his accounts himself, diversifies his portfolio with options, long-short positions and straddles.
“I enjoy it and use it for insurance, and for protecting upsides and downsides,” he said. “And I think it’s a great investing tool.”
How he would describe his investing style:
While many investors seek expert advice to guide their investments, Mr. Shain likes to aim high, pointing to none other than Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha himself, as his investment guide.
“When I grow up, I want to be just like him,” Mr. Shain joked.
That means investing in companies with high potential for growth and good management and sticking around long term, Mr. Shain said.
More importantly, it means investing in industries such as railways and insurance with a barrier to entry. Companies in those industries tend to have optimal pricing power, cash flow and stability, he added.
“You don’t buy a stock, you’re buying a very tiny portion of a company,” he said.
Occasionally, Mr. Shain likes to put a few hundred dollars into stocks he calls “flyers,” diverting a bit from his Buffett-inspired style. But he can afford to take the occasional risk with three years of living expenses saved in a laddered guaranteed investment certificate (GIC).
His picks and why he picked them:
Mr. Shain’s three stock picks consist of two American companies and one Canadian company.
His first pick, GX U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF PAVE-A, is an ETF that invests in companies that benefit from infrastructure projects in the U.S., such as the production of raw materials, heavy equipment, engineering and construction.
“There were a lot of shovel-ready projects to go for some of the larger companies and so that will help the growth prospects of that,” Mr. Shain said, citing U.S. President Joe Biden’s Buy America policy.
His second pick is U.S. health care and insurance company UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH-N, which he called a “safe” pick that he has had long-term success with.
For his Canadian stock pick, Mr. Shain chose residential real estate company Mainstreet Equity Corp. MEQ-T because of the need for increasing housing supply across the country.
In Mr. Shain’s mind, these picks reflect the Buffett style he is inspired by, but they’re also a result of his consistent efforts to stay well-informed.