Aggressive stocks help boost your returns

We continue to believe there’s room for most investors to hold aggressive stocks, which typically are more leveraged (with more debt) and volatile than conservative stocks.
Still, to cut your risk, you should limit aggressive stocks to no more than 20% of your total portfolio. We… Read More

Q: Pat, I’m thinking of increasing my oil and gas exposure. Do you recommend either the XLE ETF or VDE ETF (each a basket of U.S. energy companies) as a way to do that? Thank you.

A: We still feel that investors will profit the most with a well-balanced portfolio of high-quality individual stocks, but ETFs can also play a role in a portfolio. Here’s a look at the ETFs you’ve asked about:

Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF, $83.70, symbol XLE on… Read More

Key updates on your safety-conscious stocks

MANULIFE FINANCIAL, $29.72, is a buy. This safety-conscious blue-chip company (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares o/s: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $53.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 4.9%; www.manulife.ca) is one of Canada’s largest life insurers. The company also sells other forms of insurance including health, dental and travel plans;… Read More

These Resources partners are solid buys

Demand for Major Drilling’s specialized services has now recovered. Meanwhile, Computer Modelling is benefiting from expanding oil and gas drilling in response to overall higher energy prices. We think there are still gains ahead for both stocks.
MAJOR DRILLING, $8.98, is a buy. This large contract driller… Read More

Ovintiv aims to cut its debt

OVINTIV INC. $55 is a buy. The oil and gas producer (Toronto symbol OVV; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 273.7 million; Market cap: $15.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ovintiv.com) operates four core properties: Montney (B.C.), Permian (Texas), Anadarko (Oklahoma) and… Read More