When Lesley met Murray

She's a 24-year-old consultant who's into bank stocks and molybdenum. He's a 64-year-old trader who likes fertilizer and BlackBerrys. We "gave" them each $100,000 and one year to see who has the best strategy

Globe Investor Magazine, Nov. 21, 2007

LESLEY SCORGIE, AUTHOR of Rich by Thirty, and Murray Soupcoff, a former CBC and Globe and Mail journalist, both filled their portfolios in mid-September with tough times-tested holdings in anticipation of a market correction this fall. Their approaches, however, are quite different.

Soupcoff parked more than $22,000 in a money market account in the hopes of going bargain hunting down the road; he also invested heavily in gold. With the exception of OPTI Canada, which has developed a new tar sands ex--traction process, Soupcoff resisted buying energy stocks. His only growth stock is Re--search In Motion: "They have a product coming out, which everyone seems very high on and they no longer have patent problems."

To prepare for new construction of nuclear reactors, Soupcoff sank nearly 10% of his capital into a uranium participation fund; he also bought a Canadian materials ETF; and Eric Sprott's molybdenum fund. Soupcoff also expects that growth in the developing world will be good for Canadian farmers, which explains his bets on Agrium (fertilizers), Hanfeng Evergreen (a TSX-listed Chinese fertilizer firm), Viterra (Sask. Wheat Pool) and one U.S. agribusiness ETF: "In the last pull-back, these types of stocks barely blinked. In the end, everybody has to eat."

Scorgie's biggest play is in financial services, with $35,000 in Royal Bank, GMP Capital Trust and Manulife Financial. "Usually the financial services sector tends to be a defensive position. At the end of the day, who does well when foreclosures happen?" she asked rhetorically.

Like Soupcoff, she invested in molybdenum, a key component of steel, placing bets on "mature producer" Thompson Creek and developing Roca Mines. Her green investment is in France's Veolia Environment, the world's larg-est water company, while her other holdings include Canadian National Railway and construction aggregate supplier Polaris Minerals.

Though she's from Alberta, Scorgie's only energy investment is a small stake in Progress Energy. "If natural gas prices go up in November and December as they tend to do, now is the time to buy." Her fun pick? A $2,500 buy of yoga apparel maker Lululemon Athletica. "If I keep buying those pants, I think the stock will do well." - PAUL BRENT