GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $16 – Toronto symbol GWO

GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $16 (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 943.9 million; Market cap: $15.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; SI Rating: Above Average) is Canada’s largest insurance company. Great-West administers $339 billion worth of assets. The company also offers wealth-management services… Read More

Look beyond banks for Finance growth

We continue to recommend that all investors own at least two of Canada’s big-five banks. But these should not be the extent of your financial holdings. Other types of financial investments, such as high-quality insurance companies, should play a role in your portfolio, as well.

Here… Read More

Pat, Could I have your views on Oracle Corp.?

Oracle Corp., $17.11, symbol ORCL on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 5.05 billion; Market cap: $86.3 billion), makes and sells database software and middleware (software that connects computer servers). Companies use Oracle’s database-management software to store and access data. Oracle also offers software for data warehousing, customer… Read More

Profit From Confusion

Conservative investors have little need to dabble in risky stocks these days, since many conservative favourites are unduly cheap.

BCE Inc. plunged last month after its $42.75 takeover by a private consortium fell through. That happened because BCE failed the ‘solvency test’, which was a condition… Read More

BCE Confusion Profit

BCE $21.90 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 806.2 million; Market cap: $17.7 billion; SI Rating: Above-Average) was bound to drop following news that its $42.75 takeover bid appears to have died. But it may have dropped more than it deserved.

Due to the high price of… Read More