Three of our picks just raised their dividends

IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $39 (Toronto symbol IMO; Cyclical-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio; Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap: $33.1 billion; Dividend yield: 1.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.imperialoil.ca) is Canada’s secondlargest integrated oil company, after Suncor Energy. U.S. based ExxonMobil (New York symbol… Read More

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, May 19, 2017

TELUS CORP., $45.66, Toronto symbol T, is Canada’s second-largest wireless carrier, after Rogers Communications, with 8.6 million subscribers. In addition, its wireline business serves 1.35 million traditional phone customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec. That operation also has 1.7 million Internet users and 1.1… Read More

These four oil stocks cut your risk

Below are four oil producers that cut risk with their low costs and high-quality reserves. Although crude prices have moved down lately, we continue to recommend all investors maintain some exposure to oil stocks such as these.
SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $44 (Toronto symbol SU; Conservative Growth… Read More

Pat: What is your view on buying the Canadian Vector Equity Fund? I believe it’s tilted towards value stocks and small cap stocks. Its MER is higher than an ETF, but maybe the value and small-company approach over long periods of time will add value. What are your thoughts on going with this mutual fund or a small-cap ETF such as the iShares S&P/TSX SmallCap Index ETF?

A: On a broad level, funds that specialize in small-cap stocks are always more volatile. However, some small caps do offer above-average potential—like those we recommend in Stock Pickers Digest.
Incidentally, we think it’s a mistake to generalize about small cap stocks. Some small caps are… Read More

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, May 5, 2017

GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC., $34.47, Toronto symbol GWO, is Canada’s second-largest insurance company, after Manulife Financial (Toronto symbol MFC). It also offers mutual funds, retirement planning and wealth management services.
With the March 2017 payment, the insurer raised its quarterly dividend by 6%, to $0.367 per share… Read More

Our updated advice on six popular ETFs

These six ETFs hold mostly blue-chip stocks that are widely traded on Canadian and U.S. exchanges. Each ETF mirrors, or tracks, the performance of a major stock market index. That’s different from narrower indexes that focus on resources or themes such as solar power or… Read More