Become a Patron Now to Access My Top Performers, Portfolio, & Watchlist

Below you’ll find My Small-Cap Stocks (November, 2017). There’s currently 18 holdings, ranging from $100M – $10B in market capitalization. All of my small cap stocks are Canadian companies. In the list below, I also include Return on Equity (ROE) for each company. The average ROE for my small cap stocks is 25.44%

You can learn more about my FULL Portfolio (I don’t just invest in these 18 stocks), Top Performers, and Watchlist by becoming an exclusive Patreon member. There’s currently over 20 members. Starting at $5.00, I’ll send you 12 issues / year. As a BONUS to all of my members, I’ll also be sending out my Portfolio Year-End Review on an annual basis. Learn more here.

My Small Cap Stock Holdings (Nov, 2017)

Company	Ticker	ROE (Latest QTR ’17)
SPIN MASTER	TOY	104.00%
POLLARD BANKNOTE	PBL	32.94%
SLEEP COUNTRY	ZZZ	32.40%
INTERTAPE POLYMER GROUP	ITP	32.31%
CLAIRVEST GROUP	CVG	30.83%
COMPUTER MODELLING GROUP	CMG	30.80%
TUCOWS	ATC	29.41%
BOYD GROUP INCOME FUND	BYD.UN	25.97%
KINAXIS	KXS	21.57%
ANDREW PELLER	ADW.A	19.81%
MTY FOOD GROUP	MTY	18.72%
RICHELIEU HARDWARE	RCH	17.32%
PHOTON CONTROL	PHO	15.83%
LASSONDE INDUSTRIES	LAS.A	14.77%
SAVARIA	SIS	14.53%
CARA OPERATIONS	CARA	14.07%
TECSYS	TCS	13.11%
FAIRFAX INDIA	FIH.U	-10.47%

/// ​Become a Patreon Member Now to Access My Top Performers, Portfolio, and More (12 issues / year, membership starts at only $5)

Become a Patron Now to Access My Top Performers, Portfolio, & Watchlist

Below you’ll find My Top 10 Stocks for the month of November, 2017, based on performance (i.e., capital appreciation).

You can learn more about my FULL Portfolio (I don’t just invest in these 10 stocks), and Watchlist by becoming an exclusive Patreon member. There’s currently over 20 members. Starting at $5.00, I’ll send you 12 issues / year. As a BONUS to all of my members, I’ll also be sending out my Portfolio Year-End Review on an annual basis. Learn more here.

My Top 10 Stock Performers (Nov, 2017)

Company	Ticker	Return
PINETREE CAPITAL	PNP	16.51%
POLLARD BANKNOTE	PBL	14.09%
INTERTAPE POLYMER GROUP	ITP	14.01%
CANOPY GROWTH	WEED	13.91%
KINAXIS	KXS	13.78%
TENCENT HOLDINGS	TCEHY	13.59%
SPIN MASTER	TOY	13.21%
SAVARIA	SIS	12.75%
BEVO AGRO	BVO	12.58%
ESTEE LAUDER COMPANIES	EL	11.60%

/// ​Become a Patreon Member Now to Access My Top Performers, Portfolio, and More (12 issues / year, membership starts at only $5)

Subscribe Now to My Newsletter (Join 3,500 Subscribers!)

*** Update: My Best 15 Ideas for 2019 are up +14.6% YTD (Jan). Learn more. ***

Who would’ve thought? Some of 2017’s best ideas: Bitcoin, FAANG (again), and Marijuana. These were the 3 areas investors poured money into en masse in 2017. For the record, I’m not a big believer in Bitcoin, or any other cryptocurrency for that matter (it’s gotta be a bubble), but I own 4/5 of the FAANG stocks, and one of the pot stocks – Canopy Growth (WEED).

2018 might look very different…

Market trends come and go. There’s always going to be those ‘hot’ areas that everyone wants to invest in to “get rich quick!”. But if you’ve followed me for the past 2+ years I’ve been publishing this newsletter (which has 1,700 subscribers now), and have read my various books – Market Masters, Capital Compounders, and My 72 Rules – you’ll know that I stick to a clear portfolio strategy. And I’ve been investing in the stock market for 12 years. My strategy is pretty basic but it works for me…

Here’s how I segment my stock portfolio (learn more here):

1) Small-to-Mid-Cap Capital Compounders;
2) Mis-priced Large Caps (at the initial purchase);
3) Speculative Takeovers (Micro Caps)

I allocate a big chunk of my capital to the ‘Capital Compounders’, where I look to identify, and then invest in companies ranging from $100M – $10B (Small-Caps -> Mid-Caps) in size that have a long runway to grow. But there’s thousands of stocks to choose from on the various stock exchanges. So, my criteria is clear, and the hurdles are high. Not only must my stock holdings have a large addressable market, but also outstanding management teams that effectively operate their companies, and deploy cash flow to new opportunities with high rates of return to compound shareholders’ capital over time. These are also predictable, non-cyclical companies with durable competitive advantages (i.e., moats) which are more common in these sectors; Consumer, Technology, and Diversified Industries (e.g. Media, etc.). Return on Equity (ROE) is my key benchmark for these ‘Capital Compounder’ stocks. My Capital Compounder ‘Best Ideas’ for 2018 average 52% ROE (latest quarter).

You can learn more about my FULL Portfolio (I don’t just invest in these 15 ‘Best Idea’ stocks), Top Stocks, and Watchlist by becoming an exclusive Patreon member. There’s currently 20 members. Starting at $5.00, I’ll send you 12 issues / year. If you become a member now, you’ll get the next issue (December) at the beginning of January. And as a BONUS to all of my members, I’ll also be sending out my Portfolio Year-End Review in the next couple of weeks. Learn more here.

Anyways, I’m probably shooting myself in the foot by releasing my Best Ideas for 2018, but it’s all in good fun. Don’t do anything crazy and put all of your money into these 15 stocks 😛 (and for that matter, Bitcoin *shudder*). Always conduct your own research, and due diligence.

My 15 Best Stock Ideas for the New Year – 2018

 1) Capital Compounders (Small and Mid-Cap Stocks; $100M – $10B)
– National Beverage (FIZZ)
– Tucows (TC)
– MTY Food Group (MTY)
– Premium Brands Holdings (PBH)
– Savaria (SIS)
– Pollard Banknote (PBL)
– Spin Master (TOY)
– Match Group (MTCH)
– Photon Control (PHO)
– Richelieu Hardware (RCH)

2) Mis-priced (Large-Cap Stocks; $10B+)
– Yum China (YUMC)
– Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.B)
– Netflix (NFLX)

3) Speculative Takeovers (Micro-Cap Stocks; < $100M)
– Ten Peaks Coffee Company (TPK)
– Intrinsyc Technologies (ITC)

/// ​Become a Patreon Member Now to Access My Top Performers, Portfolio, and More (12 issues / year, starting at only $5 membership)

Become a Patron to Access Exclusive Content – Top Performers, Portfolio, Watchlist.

I gave away a bunch of copies of Market Masters in my last newsletter, but I’m still in the giving mood. Christmas is right around the corner! So, grab my latest mini-book, My 72 Rules for Investing in Stocks, for free here. Hurry, because the book will only be there until Nov 20th. (I also announced my partnership with Patreon that gives you exclusive access to my top stock performers, portfolio, watchlist and more. Learn about all the offers here.)

My 72 Rules is a really quick read (under 1 hour), revealing my thoughts on investing in the stock market for the past 12 years. It’s also being featured on the newly re-launched Stockchase.com, which boasts 150,000 visitors per month. That traffic combined with 500,000 page views / month make Stockchase one of the top Canadian personal finance sites on the internet.

I started visiting Stockchase in 2005, at the beginning of my investing journey. The site gave me access to other investors, and their opinions on stocks. For example, Hedge Fund Manger, Jason Donville, and his top pick in 2010: Constellation Software. You can see on Stockchase.com that Donville recommended Constellation Software (TSE:CSU) at $39.75/share on 2010-02-24. Today, CSU is $738/share. You’d have done pretty well by investing in Constellation Software back in 2010…

Jason Donville [on Constellation Software, 2010-02-24]:
“Big company without a huge profile. 30-40 companies under it to do all kinds of things in Canada and the US. Able to buy companies at a very good valuation. Single digit P/E. Thinks stock is worth double.”

Btw, Jason Donville, and 27 other Top Investors are also featured in my National Bestselling Book, Market Masters, which contains exclusive interviews on stock-picking strategies.

Anyway, the history of Stockchase is interesting. Founder Bill Bruner had a habit of watching stock opinion shows [notably BNN] and taking notes about everything that was said. His son, Chris, had the idea of publishing his father’s notes online. The Bruner family ran the site for almost 17 years (2000-2017). That’s a pretty incredible thing for a part time family business. You can learn more about the new ownership of Stockchase here.

Ok, so I made the announcement last week but I’d like to mention again that I’ve recently partnered with this cool, new platform called Patreon to offer some of you exclusive content. Many of you know that I provide quarterly updates on My Top 10 Stock Performers through this newsletter. However, I don’t ever reveal my full stock portfolio, or watchlist, and only provide updates every three months – never on a monthly basis. Well, with Patreon, that’s all going to change. I’ll still release quarterly updates (i.e., My Top 10 Stocks) through this email-newsletter, but if you want more, you need to visit, and become a member on my Patreon page.

Here’s what I’m offering exclusively on Patreon:

• My Top 10 Stock Performers (Monthly)
• My Portfolio Snapshot + Watchlist (Monthly)
• Investment Coaching + Portfolio Review (Anytime)
• VIP Package (All + Market Masters Book, Signed by Me)

Learn More Here. (I’m releasing my first exclusive content in December)

Become a Patron Now to Access My Exclusive Content – Top Performers, Portfolio, Watchlist.

I’m starting to feel that Christmas spirit. Malls are getting busier. Amazon is getting more clicks. Office productivity is dropping to seasonal lows. My waistline is getting bigger. And I think it might even start snowing soon here in Toronto where I live.

Around this time of the year I also start to reflect… Yesterday I was thinking about my old job at Best Buy, and how I committed one of the biggest errors of omission in my investment career. The year was 2005, and I had just finished my exams (1st Year, University of Waterloo). I moved back to Mississauga with my parents for the Christmas holiday break, and resumed a part-time job at the Best Buy in Oakville, that spanned a couple of weeks. I worked in the camera department lol (who buys cameras anymore!?). Anyways, I’d also walk the floor at Best Buy to help other customers, and noticed that the new Apple iPods always sold out soon after the store received a new shipment. The product was hot, hot, hot. I was 18 at the time, and if you’ve read about my investing journey, you will know that I only held 5 stocks in my portfolio at that time. But while I was always seeking and researching new stock ideas, I didn’t invest in Apple. The opportunity was literally right there in front of me. Doh! Big error of omission.

In hindsight, investing in Apple (AAPL) was a no-brainer, but looking back at it logically, Apple still hadn’t released its uber-product – the iPhone – which catapulted the company into the big leagues. I invested in Apple years later, but obviously didn’t capture a big chunk of its price appreciation. I missed a couple of ‘baggers’ there. You live n’ learn. Now, I like to plant seeds in stocks if I have a strong gut-feeling. But then if things don’t work out with the company, the inner-debate becomes, “What’s worse; errors of omission (i.e., I failed to pull the trigger on an eventual winner) or errors of commission(i.e., I pulled the trigger but then lost money on a loser)”?

I certainly didn’t commit an error of omission on Canopy Growth Corp (formerly “Tweed”). If you’ve read my book, Market Masters, you might remember that I wrote in 2015 about first buying into Tweed while it was trading around $1/share. Now Canopy Growth Corp (TSE: WEED) is trading around $20/share. It might soon become my first 20-Bagger (up 20x). We’ll see.

Ok – now I’d like to make an announcement. I’ve recently partnered with this cool, new platform called Patreon to offer some of you exclusive content. Many of you know that I provide quarterly updates on My Top 10 Stock Performers through this newsletter. However, I don’t ever reveal my full stock portfolio, or watchlist, and only provide updates every three months – never on a monthly basis. Well, with Patreon, that’s all going to change. I’ll still release quarterly updates (i.e., my top 10 stocks) through this email-newsletter, but if you want more, you need to visit, and become a member on my Patreon page now. Who knows; maybe I’ll find another 20-bagger early just like Canopy Growth Corp (TSE:WEED). But mostly you’ll get to see ALL of my well-researched small/mid-cap Capital Compounders for the first time.

Anyways, check it out. If 100 members sign up before Christmas, I’ll donate another $500 CAD to the SickKids Foundation. I’ve already donated $1,000+ to-date through the release of Market Masters.

Giving is a wonderful thing 🙂

Hi DIY Investors & Readers!

If you don’t already know me, I’m Robin Speziale, the National Bestselling Author of Market Masters, featuring exclusive conversations with Canada’s Top Investors, as well as Capital Compounders, and Lessons From the Successful Investor. I love the stock market. I’ve been saving, investing, and building my stock portfolio since 18. I built a $300,000+ Stock Portfolio Before 30 (and would love to show you how you can too!) I live in Toronto, and am a Proud Canadian 🙂 Don’t forget to Subscribe to my Investment Newsletter (it’s free!).

The VIP Experience – Patreon! 

I created a Patreon account to give DIY Investors & My Readers the VIP Experience. Please have a look at all the ‘Rewards’ that you can pick n’ choose from to unlock exclusive content on my Top Stock Performers, Portfolio Snapshot, Stock Watchlist, and More that I hope can add value to your own stock portfolio and boost investment returns. Plus, Subscribe to my Investment Newsletter (it’s free!)

My Offers to You (pick n’ choose):

$1 Support Me + Free Book (Capital Compounders)
$5 My Top 10 Stock Performers (Monthly) <— MOST POPULAR
$10 My Portfolio Snapshot + Watchlist (Monthly)
$15 Investment Coaching + Portfolio Review (Anytime)
$25 VIP Package (All + Market Masters Book, Signed by Me)

Access My Exclusive Content – Top Performers, Portfolio, Watchlist —> Become a Patron.

Cheers, and Happy Investing,
Robin R. Speziale

Become a Patron Now to Access My Exclusive Content – Top Performers, Portfolio, Watchlist.

I didn’t know about this Lynch/Buffett story. It’s in the latest Forbes 100th Anniversary Edition. Can you guys relate to Peter Lynch’s regret(s) selling great stocks too early? (e.g. Home Depot, Dunkin’ Donuts). I do… Stupid me sold out of SXC Health Solutions , before it became Catamaran Corporation. BIG winner, but I missed its significant later gains. DOH!

Happy thanksgiving! If you enjoy investing in small & mid-cap stocks, searching for the next tenbaggers, and want to see my quarterly portfolio updates, pls signup for my newsletter , and join 1,000 other subscribers (free!): https://goo.gl/NP7HxE

Become a Patron Now to Access My Exclusive Content – Top Performers, Portfolio, Watchlist.

Things don’t always work out in life. It’s no different in the stock market. The bad news is that the indexes (S&P 500 and DJIA) beat me this recent 3rd Quarter (July – September). But the good news is that I’m still beating the indexes (TSX; +2.94%, S&P 500; +13.08%, and DJIA; +14.48%) Year-to-Date (January – September) with a 17.42% YTD return. I attribute my bad quarter to weakness in the small/mid-cap segments (or maybe I’m just losing my touch? :P). Many of you know that a large portion of my portfolio is concentrated in small-cap and mid-cap stocks, and more recently, micro-caps (read more about my “MicroCap Experiment” here).

Others have written about this general weakness here, here, and here. However, things might be looking up. Gerry Wimmer, who I’ve featured in this newsletter in the past, concluded, “today many of the small cap stocks that were priced for perfection just six months ago have seen their share value decline significantly. On a valuation basis now may be the perfect time to buy them!”. Note: I should add that the summer months tend to see lower activity across the market (…”Sell in May and Go Away”, as they say).

Ok, let’s get to My Top 10 Performers for Q3 – 2017 (see table below). Two (2) takeover announcements were made in my portfolio in the 3rd quarter – Pacific Insight Electronics (+89.3%), and Jean Coutu (+22.1%). If you’ve followed me since the beginning of this newsletter, you’ll know that I allocate money to what I call “speculative takeovers”. You can read about my Rona case study here (another speculative takeover), where you’ll also learn about all the ways in which I pick winners based on my three portfolio ‘buckets’.

Canopy Growth (+34.5%), which I initially started buying at around $1/share, has been rebounding after some weakness. I still hold the thesis that Canopy Growth (aka Tweed) will be a leader in Consumer Weed products.

I initiated two new positions at the beginning of Q3 that appear in the top 10 – Match Group (+33.4%) and Tencent (+22.1%). Match Group is a consolidator, and operator of popular dating apps; POF, OkCupid, Tinder, and more. Their financials, and growth numbers are pretty good, and let’s face the facts – online dating is now the norm. I was recently talking with my cousin about this shift. I remember when in 2005, maybe 20% of girls were on online dating sites and apps. Now 10+ years later, I’d say 80%+ of girls are on dating apps, especially Tinder. Guys just go to where the girls are; that’s how it works… In 2005, most girls would say, “dating sites are for losers, and creepers”. But now, it’s “fun”! I will say, though, that even with this ‘shift’, I’m still always told, “Sorry, I have a boyfriend”, when I approach girls in bars. Some things never change lol.

No surprises with National Beverage (+32.6%) and Spin Master (+24.5%) – both stocks have performed very well for me over a long period, and so I hope they remain exceptional “capital compounders“. And now that Alibaba (+22.6%) and Amazon have similar market caps, $459 vs. $463 billion respectively, it’ll be fun to see which company reaches the $1 trillion mark first! (my money is on Alibaba). In my Q2 Portfolio Update, I listed some stocks on my watchlist. However, since then, I’ve only initiated a position in one stock from that list – Fairfax India (TSE:FIH.U).

My Top 10 Performers – Q3, 2017:

Top 10 Performers	Ticker	Q3 Returns
PACIFIC INSIGHT ELEC	TSE:PIH	89.3%
POLLARD BANKNOTE	TSE:PBL	44.1%
CANOPY GROWTH	TSE:WEED	34.5%
MATCH GROUP	NASDAQ:MTCH	33.4%
NATIONAL BEVERAGE	NASDAQ:FIZZ	32.6%
SHOPIFY	TSE:SHOP	28.9%
SPIN MASTER	TSE:TOY	24.5%
ALIBABA	NYSE:BABA	22.6%
TENCENT	OTC:TCEHY	22.1%
JEAN COUTU	TSE:PJC.A	22.1%

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy for me. I’ve given speeches at Queen’s Masters Finance Program, Brock’s Goodman Business Student Association, and coming up – UofT’s Institution of Management and Innovation Finance Competition.

And I’m sure you were all busy too during the summer months. Lots to do! Please check out my newsletter archive in case you missed any issues during the summer.

If you want to grab a coffee and talk stocks – pick a Starbucks downtown, and email me – r.speziale@gmail.com.

Here’s a photo from the 1st Pub Night last Thurs (Sept 14, 2017) at Duke of York in Toronto. Thanks for coming out everyone!! I’m planning on Pub Night #2 in November.

After a couple of beers that night, we thought it would be interesting to start a mock portfolio – the “Duke Fund” – which we’ll track indefinitely through our meetups. Here are the holdings (each of us picked one stock):

Ultra Clean Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UCTT)
Square Inc (NYSE:SQ)
Canopy Growth Corp (TSE:WEED)
Greenspace Brands Inc (CVE:JTR)
MedReleaf Corp (TSE:LEAF)
Mercadolibre Inc (NASDAQ:MELI)
RediShred Capital Corp. (CVE:KUT)
Medicure Inc (CVE:MPH)
Photon Control Inc (CVE:PHO)