Paul Harris.
Paul Harris is partner and portfolio manager at Avenue Investment Management. His focus is North American and global equities.
Top Picks:
Kraft Heinz (KHC.N)
It provides food services and food products which include ketchup, Kraft Dinner etc. The stock has a 3-per-cent dividend yield and trades at 20 times 2017 earnings. We continue to see cost cutting and organic growth through better distribution of Kraft products through the Heinz distribution network.
FirstService Corp (FSV.TO)
It was recently spun out of Colliers International. The company focuses on residential property management and services. It has room to grow market share in the U.S. in what remains a very fragmented business. Trades at 23x next year's earnings and yields 1.1%
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BAMXY.PK)
BMW manufactures and sells luxury cars and motorcycles worldwide. With QE in Europe we think that, not unlike the U.S., the consumer will front load purchases especially autos (European auto sales are still below 2007 levels). The shares trade at 8.1 times 2017 earnings and has a 3.95-per-cent dividend yield.
Past Picks: April 16, 2015
Element Financial (EFN.TO)
Then: $17.82; Now: $13.71; -23.06%; TR: -22.92%
Amgen (AMGN.O)
Then: $166.87; Now: $149.24; -10.57%; TR: -8.54%
Phoenix Energy Services (PHX.TO)
Then: $7.85; Now: $2.18; -72.23%; TR: -70.71%
Total Return Average: -34.06%
Market outlook:
The volatility of the last two months has calmed down with the stabilization in the oil market. This volatility has put the federal reserve on hold until the fall of 2016. We continue to believe that the U.S. and U.K. economies will be the fastest growing in the developed world. We continue to think that the Canadian economy will remain flat and that the Bank of Canada may have to lower rates later in the year even after the budget and the fiscal stimulus that the federal government introduced. The TSX has benefited from oil and the general resource rally this has also helped the Canadian dollar. With overall equity flat to marginally up on the year, we still see value in certain sectors of the stock market such as financials, technology, health care and utilities.