May 2015 Portfolio Update as of May 17, 2016 2.5%

Ok, so we just looked at the poor performance of the May 2014 portfolio with it's one year loss of 16%.   And for the first time, it underperformed the TSX.   Now, let's see if the May 2015 portfolio fared any better.

And we see that the one year return of the May 2015 portfolio is about 2.5%.  That's about 2% more than what the banks will give you on a GIC currently.   This portfolio has not been immune to the stock market woes of late.

We are just a few weeks shy of the one year anniversary for the May 2015 portfolio.  A look at it's performance as compared to the TSX, shows us that the portfolio is doing better by about 15% over the past year.  Good news, that.

We again have a mix of crappy performing stocks and better ones.  So my stock picking skills still need improvement.  Let's look at the stocks.

DH Corp (DH) used to be one of the best performing stocks in this portfolio but it has recently been targeted by short sellers.  It is now down 15%, since portfolio inception.   Motley Fool thinks it's a good buy for patient investors (like us!).

http://www.fool.ca/2015/10/30/down-over-10-this-month-dh-corp-could-be-a-screaming-buy/

National Bank (NA) hasn't done well at all in this portfolio and is now down 14%.  I thought that it would have had a better return than the big banks, but I was wrong.   Really wrong.  The peer comparison graph and one year returns says it all.  However,  Motley Fool says now is a good time to buy NA.

http://www.fool.ca/2016/05/09/national-bank-of-canada-a-contrarian-bet-on-canadas-economic-recovery/

Telus is the other laggard in our May 2015 portfolio.  If it wasn't for it's stellar dividend yield, this stock return would be much lower.  It's down 2.5% on the year.  Motley Fool says Telus or Bell (BCE) are good to have in one's portfolio.

http://www.fool.ca/2016/05/11/should-you-buy-bce-inc-or-telus-corporation-today/

Stella Jones (SJ) has done alright in 2016.  It's up 5% over the past year.  What's confusing to me is why this stock is doing so much better than West Fraser Timber (WFT) during the same timeframe.  Both stocks are in the Forestry sector, so the poor US lumber prices that impacted WFT should also have affected SJ?  I guess I have to do some more research on these two companies and find out what's different about them.  Motley Fool says SJ is more influenced by the oil industry than being a wood producer, and thinks it's time has come and gone.

http://www.fool.ca/2016/01/15/stella-jones-inc-shares-have-returned-1000-over-10-years-can-the-run-continue/

We have way more winners than losers in the May 2015 portfolio vs. May 2014 portfolio.  Emera (EMA ) is one of the winners with a 12% return during the past year.  Dividend yield is good too.

Motley Fool says that either EMA or FTS should be in your portfolio.

http://www.fool.ca/2016/05/16/is-fortis-inc-or-emera-inc-the-better-buy-today/

ATD.B has given us a 15% return in the past year, but in the last couple of months it has lost steam.  Not sure if it's good performance will continue into the coming year.  Motley Fool says it's a good buy between $45-$52 dollars per share.

http://www.fool.ca/2016/04/20/can-alimentation-couche-tard-inc-rise-another-800/

The best one year return of this portfolio belongs to Winpak (WPK) at 18%.  Chart shows that it continues to look strong.  Here's what Motley Fool says:

http://www.fool.ca/2016/03/08/winpak-ltd-the-steady-consistent-performer/


Will check back in, around the end of August.