Canadian Capitalist

Dave at Investing Intelligently noticed that my benchmark Sleepy Portfolio returned a stellar 14.7% in 2006 and asked the obvious question: Why do I even bother with individual stocks instead of taking a passive approach using ETFs? It is a good question and as a matter of fact, I am slowly increasing the percentage of [...]

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Many companies offer a Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) that is almost always a sure way to make some extra money. A typical ESPP plan allows employees to contribute some percentage of their pay and the shares are bought at a 15% discount to the lower of the starting or ending date. Even in the [...]

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According to Microsoft Money, my portfolio returned 13.5% in 2005. My target “Sleepy” portfolio composed largely of ETFs returned 12.6%.
I bought the following stocks over the course of the year:
Anheuser-Busch (BUD): Buy: $46.71. Now: $43.51.
AIG (AIG): Buy: $53.84. Now: $68.41.
Home Depot (HD): Buy: $38.26. Now: $41.09.
Bank of Nova Scotia: Buy: $42.07. Now: $46.84.
Bell Canada [...]

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I am selling the iUnits MSCI International Equity Index RSP Fund (TSX: XIN) and buying the equivalent iShares fund that track the MSCI EAFE Index. The XIN ETF has a total expense ratio of 0.5% versus 0.35% for the EFA and provides currency hedging for the extra fee. Since, I am investing for the very [...]

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It occurred to me that though I track the performance of my portfolio, I never wrote about its actual composition. Currently, it is 94% equities, 4% cash and 2% other. I don’t have any exposure to bonds or REITs.
Top 5 holdings are:
Altria Group (NYSE: MO): 8.7%
TD Bank (TSX: TD): 7.5%
E*Trade (NYSE: ET): 6.4%
Canadian Natural Resources [...]

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I am buying some more Home Depot (NYSE: HD) for my retirement account. The company needs no introduction. It is a Dow component and most home owners spend a good chunk of their home maintenance budget at their stores. I am planning on making the stock a core holding at roughly 6% of my portfolio [...]

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Recently, I enrolled in the Employee Stock Purchase Plan offered by my employer. The plan is typical of its kind and allows employees set aside a portion of total compensation to purchase company stock at a discount to market value. A potentially profitable feature is locking up a low stock price for a 24-month period.
I [...]

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I bought Sears Canada (TSX: SCC) about a year ago for around $17, for much of the same reasons described here. Recently, Sears announced that it is looking into strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of its financial services division. In response, the stock has strengthened considerably. I have sold my entire position, as Sears [...]

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The shaky minority government has put my portfolio spring-cleaning efforts on hold. In May, the federal budget (Bill C-43) passed the second reading narrowly and avoided the fall of the government. When the budget bill is finally passed into law, I plan to sell the following losers in my portfolio:

JDS-Uniphase (TSX: JDU) - Very small [...]

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Last week, I bought Bell Canada Enterprises (TSX, NYSE: BCE) for my spouse’s retirement account. BCE and its subsidiaries offer a wide range of services including telecom (fixed line, long distance and wireless), data (dial-up and high-speed internet access) and video (Bell ExpressVu satellite TV). BCE also has significant stakes in Bell Globemedia (CTV and [...]

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