Alex Ruus

Really bifurcated market. Magnificent 7 have dominated index returns to the upside. A narrow collection of stocks have been rewarded in the market, yet there's a whole bunch that have been left behind. People are coming to grips with interest rates being up, there's a lag, debt-ridden companies are having some issues, and the economy is definitely slowing. 

Yes, that's a theme in the portfolio right now. Certain stable businesses can carry a bit more debt. He's calling for a higher for longer interest rate environment, and companies that carry a lot of debt are facing significantly higher interest rates when they go to refinance. Interest payments come right out of bottom line earnings, so that's going to be a drag for companies with a lot of debt.

Has had a lot of issues over the years, but he thinks things have improved. At the end of the day, all the banks are starting to show increasing loan losses. 

Within the banks, there have been some outperformers and some underperformers. At the end of the day, all the banks are starting to show increasing loan losses. There's always a lag on the impact from higher interest rates, and the economy is now starting to see the effects.

Banks have big balance sheets with a lot of assets and a lot of debt. When things start to go wrong, it can cause some consternation among shareholders. They've broadly underperformed this year and may continue to struggle. Canadian banks are in a better position than a lot of US banks, but it's an area you want to keep your eye on.

He's definitely underweight.

Cheap at 8x earnings, 3.3% dividend yield. Clean balance sheet. Has done well in the last year. Even if activity remains flat, probably going higher because of the price of oil.

Coming into 2020, it was the worst performing sector on the market. The scaremongering narrative of oil/gas coming to an end has been bought by a lot of uneducated investors. 

Money's gone away from the sector and a lot of people refuse to go back. This has provided an opportunity for the rest of the investing community that looks at stocks in a pragmatic way. You can pick up cheap assets with a good business that will make a lot of money over time.

Oil's hitting 6-month highs. There's a reason for that: a supply/demand imbalance. Oil will probably stay here or go higher over the coming year. This will probably encourage more activity.

Most of the stocks in the sector are undervalued and a buy. If you buy now and just sit and hold, you'll be rewarded from here.

Another cheap stock of 3-4x cashflow, he'd be a buyer. Concerns about debt going into 2020, but it's been largely repaired to reach "investment grade". Great assets. Initiated a small dividend of 1%, starting to buy back stock. 

Telcos have underperformed in the last year, pretty cheap. People are worried about rising interest rates affecting income. Majority owner of TIXT, which missed on results. Undervalued. Solid buy.

Focusing portfolio more on deeper oil/gas Alberta plays. Cheap. Buying back stock, increasing dividends. Around 3-4x cashflow. Yield is 3.3%.

Concerns that Europeans have capped returns on some assets. Pretty solid company that does a good job acquiring. Don't invest just because of the Westinghouse partnership with CCO, as nuclear faces headwinds right now. See his Top Picks for his choice in the sector.

Renewable power producers are, by and large, buys here. There's been huge hype. It's a growing area, but currently only a small part of the energy pie, around 10%. 

If you look at increasing the green power grid, you get to a certain point that if you're all wind and solar, you start having blackouts and brownouts because it's just not reliable enough. It will take a huge amount of investment to solve these issues by, for example, improving storage capacity. Politicians are being too idealistic on progress.

He categorizes nuclear power as reliable, green power. That's why Ontario has a good power grid, because 60% of our power comes from nuclear. It should be a growing area, but people have negative views on uranium and radioactive waste. Nuclear is one of the few options that makes sense, and people have to get comfortable with it.

Coming off one heck of a run. Recent misses. It will come down to executing and coming through a good quarter. Rising interest rates starting to affect retail. Be cautious. Good company long-term. Starting to look attractive on valuation, but he's not at Buy yet.

The blue chip play in AI, but trading at an astronomical valuation. Don't buy today. Superb company, but remember there's a difference between the stock and the company. Wait for some dislocation in the market, semis are very cyclical. With increased competition, he predicts NVDA will have some huge misses in a couple of years.

Solid company. Pipeline companies get lumped into the energy sector. Backbone infrastructure assets. So hard and expensive to build more in the sector. Dividend aristocrat.

NA gas is trading sideways, and will probably stay that way for a while. A cold winter could easily cause gas price to spike. Low-cost gas producer. Trades at 6x price to cashflow, one of the best-run oil/gas companies in the world.