Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, what is your opinion of Canadian General Investments (CGI). Thank you.

Article Excerpt

A: Canadian General Investments Ltd., $38.85, symbol CGI on Toronto (Units outstanding: 20.9 million; Market cap: $790.2 million; www.mmainvestments.com), is a closed-end fund that mainly invests in shares of Canadian companies that it sees as average or above-average in quality. Established in 1930, it is one of the oldest closed-end funds in North America. Morgan Meighen & Associates Limited has managed the fund since 1956. Canadian General’s largest holdings are Nvidia Corp., 6.7%; TFI International, 4.9%; Canadian Pacific Kansas City, 4.3%; Apple Inc., 3.8%; Descartes Systems Group, 3.6%; WSP Global, 3.5%; West Fraser Timber, 3.3%; Franco-Nevada Corp., 3.3%; Mastercard Inc., 2.8%; and Amazon.com, 2.7%. Following are the fund’s holdings broken down by industry: Industrials, 22.2%; Information Technology, 21.8%; Financials, 12.9%; Energy, 12.8%; Materials, 11.5%; Consumer Discretionary, 10.0%; Real Estate, 3.8%; and Communication Services, 1.5%. Canadian General’s units now trade at a 37.8% discount to their net asset value of $62.41. It pays a regular quarterly dividend; the fund raised that payment by 4.2% in…