Genevieve Roch-Decter is portfolio manager at LDIC Inc. Her focus is North American energy infrastructure stocks.
Top Picks:
General Electric (GE NYSE)
Secure Energy Services (SES TSX)
Cash (third pick)
Past Picks: August 28, 2013
Badger Daylighting (BAD TSX) *Stock Split* January 28, 2014 – 3 for 1
Then: $56.00; Now: $27.83 +49.09% ;Total return: +50.86%
Trinity Industries (TRN NYSE) *Stock Split* June 20, 2014 – 2 for 1
Then: $42.42; Now: $47.93 +125.98%; Total return: +128.37%
Inter Pipeline (IPL TSX)
Then: $24.10; Now: $35.13 +45.77%; Total return: +52.89%
Total return average: +77.37%
Market outlook:
The S&P 500 has been climbing virtually uninterrupted and hitting all-time highs for two years. There has not been a 10-per-cent correction in over 1,000 trading days. We see the recent pullback as "healthy" and "normal". It's a tale of "two cities (continents)" with the western world about to slow liquidity, see if the economy can continue recovering without it and look to increase rates if it can. However, over in Europe you have the opposite: worries of deflation are fuelling interest rate cuts and the consideration of further stimulus. The same is occurring in China. As their growth continues to slow, they continue to inject pockets of liquidity into their system. And in the Middle East and Russia you have conflicts flaring-up geopolitical risk. We believe a global recovery is taking place, albeit with a few bumps along the way. We have strong corporate earnings, strong balance sheets, companies are buying back stock, hiking dividends and transacting in big global M&A. These will continue to fuel stock prices higher. We are finding relative outperformance and strength in technology, financial services and energy infrastructure.