Chris Blumas

Everybody's sitting on pins and needles, there's just so much geopolitical tension right now. And that's what's captured everybody's attention -- how long will it last, and how will it play out over the long run?

The flipside to what's going on geopolitically is what's going on in the technology sector in terms of chip demand and the buildout for AI. There's a massive land grab going on right now, and it's massively expensive.

Different parts of the market are pushing higher. The way that the indexes are composed means that some of these larger companies are getting more and more fund flows. There are always nuances to the market overall, but this is more of a continuation where just a few names continue to drive the market.

He doesn't do it quite like that. Cash in the portfolio is a by-product of opportunities within the markets. Some parts of the market are definitely overvalued, but there are also undervalued parts.

There are about 50 names that he'd be willing to use in client portfolios, with about 30 names in a standard portfolio. About half of them would be within the buy range, and half aren't. Just be patient, as you may get an opportunity. And that goes back to the volatility.

Important to know what you want to buy, and what price you want to pay. Then just watch and wait. Because the market's so volatile, you'll likely get a really good opportunity.

Doesn't follow it closely. Does, however, follow CSH.UN.

Very reasonably valued at 13x when you look at price to FFO. Similar market to CSH.UN, but EXE is a corporation and that makes it unique. (REITs have to pay out more, or there's a punitive tax.) Pays out roughly half of its FFO. Likes the business model. Bouncing back from pandemic. Doesn't own due to growth outlook.

Follows quite closely. Has owned in the past, but not currently. Being a REIT, it's going to grow aggressively by developing projects and buying other companies. So in a downturn in the economy, such as the pandemic, it won't have retained any capital. Instead, they'll have to raise equity, and that's really dilutive to shareholders at a really bad time.

If you're a corporation in the real estate space, you control your destiny a little more.

Stock's come up on the back of growth plus multiple expansion. Now trading around mid-20x PE. Rich for him, he'd look for a pullback. If you buy now, significantly more valuation risk. He hasn't been selling, but not buying anew either. Numbers tomorrow will likely be quite strong. Releases data monthly, so there are fewer surprises.

Typically, he doesn't buy into a release. But in this case, the last monthly release was quite strong, and demand is the same. So numbers are likely to be strong. However, it also gets into what was the market expecting? If the market was expecting 35% growth, but it comes in at "only" 30%, will the stock sell off? So directionally he expects quite strong topline growth, but will that satisfy the market?

Typically, he doesn't buy into a release. He'd wait for the release and then assess. It's not that he's never done it, but there would have to be a very specific catalyst for him to do so. 

The amount of money that companies are spending on AI is staggering. How will this all impact our lives? Will likely impact employment and other technology solutions such as software. In the end, the massive spend doesn't make any sense if there isn't a market application for it. So it'll either replace people, or software, or some combination.

Certain software is likely more susceptible. 

He sold a while back. It wasn't delivering. Hit his downward loss trigger, and he exited. Lack of shareholder friendliness tipped the balance. Company was sitting on massive cash, but not using it in (what he thought) was the best interests of shareholders.

Looks very undervalued compared to peers. Business is declining more aggressively. Could be a value trap. Whether to sell depends on your individual profile. If you're down big, and it's in an unregistered account, you could bank a loss. If you're a newer investor and down just slightly, might make sense to sit tight and wait for a catalyst or potential takeover offer.

Very well run. His go-to name (along with CNQ) for dividends and energy exposure. Right now, he owns CNQ. Valuations between the two are comparable. CNQ has more flexible capital allocation choices.

New CEO has done a wonderful job making it more efficient. Chris is a cashflow-focused investor. Some of these energy names just gush cash, and they're all keen to return capital to shareholders. Oil price is down, so good time to buy. He prefers CNQ, but SU is a reasonable choice for a dividend-seeking investor.

He's a huge fan, owning it almost his entire career. Very attractive valuation. The potential Seven & i acquisition really spooked the market, and a selloff ensued. Not a lot of excitement around the name right now. Could be a bit of economic weakness coming, with an attack on discretionary income.

Generates massive cashflows, which gives them so many options -- buy back shares, increase dividend, make acquisitions. Excellent at allocating capital. All this likely to reasonably boost EPS. Good growth (though not AI-type growth) at roughly 17x PE. Reasonable price for high-quality compounder.

One trigger was valuation, trading at mid-30x PE. Look at its sourcing -- most stuff comes from China. As Canadians are getting pinched, all the discount banners are benefiting massively -- almost every metric has been sensational, but so are the valuations.

He'd love to own it, but can't come to grips with paying that valuation. A great one to add on a large pullback.

He did his "down from cost" review, and found that his turnaround thesis had changed. Three things limit upside. Tariffs. Structural changes in the Chinese business that will be difficult to overcome. Anti-American sentiment. He used the Q1 rally to exit.

Core holding for a very long time. Printing press for money. Debt-free balance sheet. Well positioned for the future. Recent catalyst has been that anti-trust penalties less severe than feared. Holding, as it's now above his buy price.

Thesis still intact. Most of the return for this past year was the dividend, and that's why you want to own it. Still very inexpensive. One to own for the future.