2015 Retirement 100: All Stars

By Norm Rothery on October 7, 2015
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Six stocks were awarded an ‘A’ grade, while a total of 15 stocks were awarded a ‘B’ grade

The Leaders

The three big banks at the top of the class are the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), the Bank of Montreal (BMO), and TD Bank (TD). The first two offer yields of 4.7% while TD pays 3.9% and has a good dividend growth record. They’re joined by insurance firms Great- West Lifeco (GWO) and Sun Life Financial (SLF), which provide yields of 4.0% and 3.7%, respectively. In addition, Genworth MI Canada (MIC) makes the grade and pays a hefty dividend yield of 5.1%. It’s a mortgage insurance firm that trades at only 7 times earnings and 84% of book value due to worries about excesses in the Canadian real estate market. Financial conglomerate Power Corporation of Canada (POW) rounds out the A listers. The firm is a relative bargain at 8 times earnings and owns stakes in highly rated Great-West Lifeco, IGM Financial, and Power Financial.

The B Team

Just a step behind, the B list starts with CIBC (CM) and National Bank of Canada (NA), which yield 4.7% and 4.9%, respectively. You’ll have a hard time getting a higher yield from a Canadian savings account. They’re joined by insurance firms Industrial Alliance Insurance (IAG), Manulife Financial (MFC), and Power Financial (PWF). Asset manager IGM Financial (IGM) and stock-exchange manager TMX Group (X) round out the financials.

Conglomerates ATCO (ACO.X) and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.A) are also part of the B team with the former favouring the energy sector and the latter real estate. They’re joined by property manager First Capital Realty (FCR), Finning International (FTT), the largest Caterpillar dealer in the world, and fertilizer producer Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (POT). Engineering firm SNC-Lavalin (SNC) and Alberta oil producer Whitecap Resources (WCP) are its final members. Use our grades as the starting point for your own research. Before buying any stock, sure its situation hasn’t changed in an important way and that it’s right for your portfolio. While we’re pleased with our longterm track record, that doesn’t mean we can guarantee you’ll make a fortune with every A- or B-rated stock. Nonetheless, we do think such stocks deserve your attention and further research. With a little luck, the current crop of stocks will help pay for a patch of pumpkin lattes next year.

Norm Rothery, CFA, PhD, is the founder of StingyInvestor.com and tweets as @NormanRothery. He may hold some of the securities mentioned in this article.