For Canadian equities, we use a top-down, active investment style, premised on the reality that the Canadian stock market is dominated by cyclical stocks rather than pure growth stocks. This style is characterized by overweighting the industry groups we feel will outperform the market averages at various stages of the market cycle. Our top-down analysis is complemented by bottom-up stock selection within each industry. The stock selection process focuses not only on some key valuation parameters, but also attempts to identify those companies expected to experience the strongest growth within that sector.

When we invest in any of the S&P / TSX index’s sub-groups, we take a number of factors into account, including:

1. Different sectors respond at different stages of the economic cycle.
2. To beat the index, one should not look like the index. Client portfolios therefore tend to have industry weightings quite different from the S&P/TSX.

When investing in equities, we focus on solid companies with realistic opportunities for significant growth. We look for solid balance sheets, credible management, viable growth strategies and superior cash flow generation. We take meaningful positions and we act quickly and decisively when investments under-perform, identifying and re-investing in better opportunities.