A Canadian advisor shares his three top stock picks
Grant White, an Investment Advisor at National Bank Financial, shares his three top investment picks.
Artis REIT – “Artis is a great Winnipeg story,” White says. “We always believe that one of the first investments people should make is into real estate. I like this investment because it’s easy to understand for our clients. They see the Artis building at Portage and Main here in Winnipeg and they know that when they buy into Artis they are buying a piece of that building and so many others across the continent.
We always stress to our clients that our major focus in buying real estate is that we like the distributions they pay. Obviously the capital value is important but we remind them that if you can receive a healthy distribution of 8.4% (at the time of writing) which we believe to be stable, that is what we are most concerned with. Currently the valuation is also attractive, as market value has been beaten up a little bit over the last two years.”
Nike – “Nike has always been a company that I have liked. They have an incredible brand and they produce quality products. Their market is somewhat challenging right now as competition is increasing from companies the likes of Under Armour and Lululemon. With that being said, Nike was born into a world of giants in terms of competition and through that they have thrived. I believe they will continue to do so in the long term as long as they stick to their core values. At the current valuation, it is a little expensive for me, but it is on my watch list. As a side note, I recently finished reading “Shoe Dog” A Memoir by the Creator of Nike – Phil Knight. It is my favorite book from 2016 and would recommend giving it a read.”
Wells Fargo – “Wells Fargo is one of those companies which really speaks to our Warren Buffett like mentality. To us, this is a company which we would feel comfortable holding for long periods of time as the fundamentals, cash flow and balance sheet, are strong. We like the growth opportunities they have and at current valuations we like it as a buy opportunity. To us it is something of a boring investment, but as one of my good friends and mentor in the business has often told me, ‘Keep your investments boring and your life interesting.’ Words to live by.”
“As value investors, we are finding a lot of the current valuations a little challenging out there and so buy opportunities have become difficult to find. However, opportunities do exist especially for those who can be patient.”
National Bank Financial is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of National Bank of Canada. The National Bank of Canada is a public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (NA: TSX). The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of National Bank Financial. The securities or sectors mentioned herein are not suitable for all types of investors. Please consult your investment advisor to verify whether the securities or sectors suit your investor’s profile as well as to obtain complete information, including the main risk factors, regarding those securities or sectors.
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