Hi Pat: I hold about 30 stocks in a well-diversified portfolio based on your guidelines. Most are companies recommended in your newsletters with a bias towards large well-established firms in Canada and the U.S. (most rated Above Average). This portfolio has been performing well for me and I expect it to do well in the future. I also hold a small position in the Bank of Ireland. I would be interested in your view on this company.
Bank of Ireland (ADR), $6.56, symbol IRE on New York (ADRs outstanding: 753.3 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; www.bankofireland.com), provides a range of banking, life insurance and other financial services, including personal and business loans, loan insurance, mortgages, foreign exchange, stock brokerage and credit cards. The bank’s customers are in Ireland and the U.K.
Investing in the Bank of Ireland has attracted some investor interest in Canada lately after Fairfax Financial (Toronto symbol FFH) bought shares of the bank.
However, Fairfax’s chairman and founder, Prem Watsa, has said that the investment may take as long as five years to pay off. That’s because the Irish economy remains fragile, and there are still fundamental problems at the bank itself. For example, it must pay high interest rates to depositors to gain market share from its competitors (which cuts its profit margins), and it is setting aside more money to cover bad loans.
Each Bank of Ireland ADR represents ownership of 40 of the bank’s…
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