Gluskin Sheff and Associates (GS.TO)

(A Top Pick Aug 30/13. Up 74.07%.) Had thought this was the best publicly listed asset manager on the TSX. Represented good value and he had thought the stock would move up as they benefited from incentive fees. Recently completed an acquisition. Valuation is getting somewhat stretched and he has been trimming along the way.

Doing very, very well. Part of it is because the stock market has done well and part of it is because they’ve figured out how to market the funds properly. Have very strong margins and very rewarding shareholders. The problem is you are paying a high price in performance fees. If you think the fees are going to continue forever, then Buy the stock. If you don’t, then it is overpriced. Wouldn’t be surprised to see them get taken out.

(Market Call Minute) Done very well given rising markets so she would not buy it here, but longer term she is positive on markets and this is a good company to own in this space.

Done a great job of growing the high net worth business. They have great margins. They have performance fees and continue to grow their asset base. Expanding into the US. Has run up, but there is still opportunity to do better over the next few years.

Likes this name a lot, but feels the move is over. There are a couple of things going on broadly. Equities are getting back in vogue, which is good for smaller asset managers. This name has done very well and they have some great managers. At this point, he doesn’t see valuation looking too attractive, so he would look for something else such as Investors Group (IGM-T) because they’ve got, proportionally, a huge weight in equities.

Likes the asset management space. This one really stands out. Should do well. Special dividend reported last week. Decent regular dividend. They have an annual special dividend for holders on Feb 18^th.

He has been a pretty significant investor in financials over the last 14-16 months. Started in banks and worked his way into insurance companies as they started to rise. Early last year started actively investing in asset managers as his view was that equity markets were getting better. Although this company is a competitor of his, they are in a good business. We are in a good market and this company should benefit. Feels asset managers in general are going to have a tailwind for some time to come. Not only will they get asset growth through performance, but also going to have new money put to work as people move from things like fixed income and more towards equity markets.

Have been in the process of putting themselves up for sale. Ranks fairly high in his process. If financial markets continue to increase, they will continue to plug along. Have had great performance from their portfolios, which means great performance fees, which means great earnings. He thinks this continues. At some point in time, someone is probably going to step in and buy them.

(A Top Pick Nov 29/12. Up 98.97%.) Likes where they are competitively positioned. Returns have been good and asset growth is turning around. You also have the benefit of these special dividends. Wouldn’t add to it at this point but would Buy more on pullbacks.

Trading at a very high valuation. Most mutual fund companies trade at 2%-3% of assets under management. Thinks this one has $5-$6 billion and is trading at 9%-10% of assets under management. Yield of 3.4%.

Not particularly cheap. Probably better value here. If it dipped 15% he would buy, 15-20% up and he would sell. Prefers mortgage lenders.

Recently eliminated the dual class structure as Mr Gluskin and Mr Sheff have sold the bulk of their shares. The fact that they sold their shares is an indication that it was probably close to a full value.

This is a play on asset management. Has a fairly rich structure. When things are going well that is great, but when they are not doing so well, it tends to be more volatile. David Rosenberg is a great figurehead for them and the stock has done relatively well but, in the last 3 years, it has been range bound. Wouldn’t advise this one until it is a little clearer how well their fee structure is going to hold off in the new era.

Private client wealth manager, high net worth clients. Acquisition candidate. Will benefit from increase in net sales. Could get special dividend next year.

Asset management. Fund flows are going in the right direction and they could surprise to the upside with respect to the performance of some of their funds next year. $23 would be a reasonable target. 3.2% dividend and they will pay a special dividend at the end of the year if the cash flow can support it.