Jason Del Vicario’s Top Picks for Nov. 13, 2026

Jason Del Vicario, Portfolio Manager, Hillside Wealth Management, iA Private Wealth

Focus: North American & Global Stocks

Top Picks: PR Times, Mortgage Advice Bureau, Dunelm

MARKET OUTLOOK:

Our thoughts never waver regardless of the macro backdrop; if anything, we favour challenging economic periods as these are the times when high-quality businesses are available at favourable prices. In our opinion, the primary two factors that determine the quality of a company are: operators have strong shareholdings in the company and the company has a demonstrated history of consistently generating strong returns on invested capital. We run a concentrated portfolio of 32 global businesses that meet our strict quality criteria.

Our top 10 positions represent 62 per cent of our equity weighting. We view multiple currency exposure as a strength (no hedging). We think and behave with a long-term mindset. When one’s investment time frame is decades and not months or weeks, short term factors beyond our control such as interest rates, inflation and geopolitics become irrelevant, as we assume we’ll encounter all sorts of macro regimes over time.

We own a collection of businesses that we feel can compound shareholder wealth strongly over decades. We also wish to note that we will only ever feature companies that we own.

In addition, our top picks will always be those that we own that we feel offer the most compelling value at the time.

• How to set BNN Bloomberg as your preferred source on Google
• Market-moving news, fast: Get the BNN Bloomberg App now
• Sign up for the Market Call Top Picks newsletter at bnnbloomberg.ca/newsletters

TOP PICKS:

PR Times (3922 Tokyo)

PR Times runs Japan’s dominant press-release distribution platform — 133,784 client companies, up 14 per cent year on year, and two-thirds of all listed Japanese companies use it. It is a network business: the more companies that publish on it, the more indispensable it becomes to journalists, and the harder it is to displace. The ownership is aligned with us: founder Takumi Yamaguchi, who still runs the company as president and CEO, owns 6.7 per cent of the stock, and management as a whole holds about eight per cent — real skin in the game. Its parent, Vector, holds the majority stake, but the people running the business are owners alongside us.

On returns on capital it clears our bar comfortably — return on equity has averaged about 20 per cent over the last four years and reached 26 per cent last year, with return on capital employed around 34 per cent. The shares are down 19 per cent this year after a soft first half, and the market has priced the disappointment while missing the capital-allocation change announced with the results — the dividend-on-equity standard lifted from two to nine per cent, with the fiscal 2027 dividend forecast at ¥74.30 a share against ¥13.80 last year.

At ¥2,244 the stock trades at about 13.5 times trailing earnings. We started the position in early August at ¥2,030 and added through the autumn, most recently in late October at ¥2,247–2,301.

Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB LON)

Mortgage Advice Bureau is the U.K.’s largest mortgage intermediary, with about 8.2 per cent of new U.K. mortgage lending and more than 2,100 advisers — a toll on every purchase, remortgage and product transfer that passes through its network.

The ownership is what we look for: founder Peter Brodnicki still runs the company and owns about 18 per cent of it, with insiders holding nearly a quarter of the shares between them. Returns on capital are solid rather than spectacular — return on equity has averaged about 26 per cent over five years and about 20 per cent more recently, with return on invested capital in the mid-teens — and the business grew revenue 20 per cent last year while taking share in a flat market.

The shares are down 42 per cent this year, and the reason is cost, not demand: completions rose 16 per cent in the first half while administrative expenses rose 22 per cent, and management cut full-year profit guidance in September.

The price now assumes the cost problem is permanent; we think it is fixable, and the founder’s 18 per cent says he thinks so too.

At 400.5p the stock trades at about 9 times trailing adjusted earnings. We started the position on October 13 at 342p, just above the 52-week low, and added through that week at 365–376p.

Dunelm (DNLM LON)

Dunelm is the U.K.’s leading homewares retailer, with 7.9 per cent of the combined homewares and furniture market, and it is the rare retailer that has kept growing share in a soft market. This is the textbook case on both of our tests. The founding Adderley family still owns about 38 per cent of the company, with Will Adderley as deputy chairman — the family governs, and professional management runs the shops.

Returns on capital are exceptional and, more importantly, sustained: return on capital employed has averaged about 48 per cent over five years and return on invested capital about 31 per cent, with not a single weak year in the run. The stock is down 21 per cent this year, which is the opportunity: at 896.5p it trades at 11.7 times last year’s earnings, and it pays an ordinary dividend of 45.5p — about 5.1 per cent — plus a 25p special dividend, with the final 28.5p paid November 17.

Net debt is £95 million against £155 million of free cash flow, so the payout is well covered. We own the market leader in a fragmented category, run by its founding family, earning 30 per cent-plus on invested capital, at under 12 times earnings.

We started the position on September 23 at 788p and added on September 24 and October 2 at about 784p.

PAST PICKS: AUG. 25, 2026

Meta Platforms (META NASD)

Then: US$570.05

Now: US$636.18

Return: 12%

Total Return: 12%

Christian Dior (CDI EPA)

Then: €406.00

Now: €438.00

Return: 8%

Total Return: 8%

Oddity Tech (ODD NASD)

Then: US$14.20

Now: US$17.61

Return: 24%

Total Return: 24%

Total Return Average: 15%