Mar 15, 2017
Stephen Groff's Top Picks: March 15, 2017
BNN Bloomberg
Stephen Groff, principal and portfolio manager at Cambridge Global Asset Management
Focus: North American dividend stocks
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MARKET OUTLOOK
Valuations remain stretched and sentiment is quite bullish. We have been positioned conservatively for some time and continue to be, which can be seen in our holdings as well as elevated levels of cash. We do, however, like the businesses we own and are finding select areas of value in the market.
Our investment team is actively seeking out opportunities around the world (our team has been to the U.K., China, the U.S. and Japan in the past month) and remains highly disciplined in following the Cambridge investment philosophy focused on bottom-up fundamental analysis.
UPDATES
SINCE DECEMBER 5 TO NOW, “MATERIAL” TRADES INCLUDE:
ALLISON TRANSMISSION HOLDINGS (ALSN.N)
- Reduced holdings in the mid to upper $30s
- Less attractive risk/reward
EXTENDED STAY AMERICA (STAY.N)
- Modestly reduced the position in the higher teens
- Based on our risk/reward framework
BROOKFIELD INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS (BIP_u.TO)
- Position size has been reduced as risk/reward has become more balanced. Occurred in the mid to upper $40s
STORE CAPITAL
- Position size has been increased in the low to mid $20s on improved risk/reward
TOP PICKS
STORE CAPITAL (SSTOR.TOR.N)
- Strong management team that consistently executes on a well-defined growth strategy
- Earns attractive spreads while taking minimal amounts of overall risk
- Attractive valuation
- Most recent purchase at $22.90
METRO (MRU.TO)
- Excellent track record of executing operationally
- Very disciplined capital allocator that has created considerable shareholder value over the long term
- Valuation — while not a bargain — has become more attractive on industry concerns, which should dissipate as we progress through 2017
- Most recent purchase at $39.18
CASH
- Remains a large weighting in our portfolios
DISCLOSURE | PERSONAL | FAMILY | PORTFOLIO/FUND |
---|---|---|---|
STOR | N | N | Y |
MRU | N | N | Y |
PAST PICKS: APRIL 20, 2016
BROOKFIELD INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS (BIP_u.TO)
- Then: $35.34
- Now: $48.92
- Return: +38.43%
- TR: +45.36%
ALLISON TRANSMISSION HOLDINGS (ALSN.N)
- Then: $27.56
- Now: $36.26
- Return: +31.56%
- TR: +34.23%
WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE (WBA.O)
- Then: $81.13
- Now: $84.92
- Return: +4.67%
- TR: +6.57%
TOTAL RETURN AVERAGE: +28.72%
DISCLOSURE | PERSONAL | FAMILY | PORTFOLIO/FUND |
---|---|---|---|
BIP | N | N | Y |
ALSN | N | N | Y |
WBA | N | N | Y |
- 1 month: Fund 1.7%, Index* 0.2%
- 1 year: Fund 17.6%, Index* 23.2%
- 3 years: Fund 13.2%, Index* 5.8%
* Index: S&P/TSX Composite Index
* Source: Morningstar
* Returns are net of fees and based on reinvested dividends
TOP HOLDINGS AND WEIGHTING (AS FEBRUARY 28, 2017)
- Walgreens Boots Alliance: 4.1%
- George Weston: 4.1%
- Metro: 4.1%
- Extended Stay America: 3.8%
- Franco-Nevada: 3.5%
WEBSITE: http://blogs.ci.com/cambridge