TAKING STOCK

WE’RE REMINISCING...

About the good old days when gold was riding high and so is CIBC World Markets. It took a look at the bull market between 2005 and 2012 to see which companies outperformed and why as a way to perhaps show which ones will do well in the future. The top performers were Randgold Resources Ltd. with a total shareholder return of 763%, Yamana Gold Inc. (500%) and Eldorado Gold Corp. (345%) — which generated strong production growth, which is interesting given many miners are now stressing margin growth instead.

WE’RE REMEMBERING...

When Loblaw Cos. Inc.’s planned real-estate spinoff — now called Choice Properties REIT — looked like a good bet, but Charles Marleau, senior portfolio manager at Palos Investment Funds, believes there are now better choices. “The REIT market has dramatically changed since May 24, 2013. The REIT market aggressively corrected to the point where [Choice’s] IPO price is no longer interesting,” he said. The REIT was priced at a 6% to 6.5% yield with a 90% payout ratio, making it very attractive versus competitors such as Calloway REIT.

WE’RE FORGETTING...

That Verizon Communications Inc. has already tried to enter the Canadian market and holding out hope the U.S. giant can succeed in providing a credible alternative to the big three incumbents, who can’t be enjoying the beating their stocks took this week. RBC Capital Markets analyst Drew McReynolds said Verizon’s possible arrival would have limited impact on the incumbents until 2015, but expects their shares to remain under pressure.