Oct 19, 2017
Andy Nasr's Top Picks: October 19, 2017
BNN Bloomberg
Andy Nasr, vice president and investment strategist at Sentry Investments
FOCUS: REITs, global equities and macro strategy
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MARKET OUTLOOK
Moderate global growth will likely support a slight improvement in inflation and longer-dated government bond yields. While several central banks have recently expressed their desire to normalize interest rates, it remains likely that less accommodative monetary policy will be commensurate with an improvement in employment or inflation. Accordingly, our decision to remain overweight equities is broadly supported by expectations that corporate profitability will continue to improve alongside gradually tightening financial conditions that will cause credit growth to decelerate. As evidenced by low volatility, investors have seemingly shrugged off risk, which underscores the need for diversification and security selection.
TOP PICKS
LIBERTY EXPEDIA HOLDINGS (LEXEA.O)
The company is trading at a deep discount to its net asset value, which is comprised of its ownership interests in Expedia Inc. and Vitalize LLC.
ALBEMARLE (ALB.N)
The world’s largest producer of lithium, representing 35 per cent of global supply. We expect lithium demand to increase by around 10 per cent per annum during the next decade due to increased adoption of electric vehicles and other battery powered electronics.
ALTAGAS (ALA.TO)
The company owns and operates energy infrastructure, power generation and rate-regulated utilities in North America. We expect the WGL acquisition to close during the 1H18, which should support mid-to-high dividend growth during the next few years.
DISCLOSURE | PERSONAL | FAMILY | PORTFOLIO/FUND |
---|---|---|---|
LEXEA | N | N | Y |
ALB | N | N | Y |
ALA | N | N | Y |
PAST PICKS: SEPTEMBER 20, 2016
BOARDWALK REIT (BEI_U.TO)
- Then: $49.95
- Now: $40.16
- Return: -19.59%
- Total return: -15.19%
CIGNA (CI.N)
- Then: $131.57
- Now: $188.04
- Return: 42.92%
- Total return: 42.95%
NESTLE (NESN.S)
- Then: CHF 77.65
- Now: CHF 83.90
- Return: 8.04%
- Total return: 11.33%
TOTAL RETURN AVERAGE: 13.03%
DISCLOSURE | PERSONAL | FAMILY | PORTFOLIO/FUND |
---|---|---|---|
BEI_U | N | N | Y |
CI | N | N | Y |
NESN | N | N | Y |
FUND PROFILE
Sentry Small/Mid Cap Fund (Class F)
Performance as of: September 30, 2017
1 Month: 2.4% fund, 1.6% index
1 Year: 11.7% fund, 5.5% index
3 Year: 9.1% fund, 2.5% index
*Index: S&P/TSX Completion Total Return Index
TOP HOLDINGS AND WEIGHTINGS
- Live Nation: 4.2%
- Newell Brands: 3.1%
- Chemtrade: 3.1%
- Great Canadian Gaming Corp. : 2.9%
- Laboratory Corp: 2.8%
WEBSITE: www.sentry.ca