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me and my money

Laszlo Erdosy for MYOM.

Laszlo Erdosy, 52

Profession: Professional engineer

Portfolio: TD Bank, TransCanada, Fairfax Financial Holdings, Nokia, PetroChina, Canadian National Railway, Research In Motion, and Suncor Energy. Funds: Claymore Precious Metals, Sentry Select, Mackenzie Universal Canadian Resource, Fidelity True North, and AGF Emerging Markets.

His Approach
Mr. Erdosy likes to think big picture. He sees the U.S. dollar as heading for trouble thanks to the country's debt load. "There's no inflation if you factor out oil and food and gas, but who doesn't drive or eat?" As he sees it, the U.S. will eventually have to pay it all back to China, "And the way to deal with the problem is to inflate the currency."

His Focus
Mr. Erdosy has recently shifted 15 per cent of his portfolio into gold through the Claymore Precious Metals Fund, and Sentry Select. "Gold is priced in U.S. dollars, and there is an inverse relationship between the dollar and gold." He also has some money in resources, through Mackenzie Universal Resource fund, Fidelity True North fund, and AGF Emerging Markets fund. "China's gobbling up resources big time and I don't think it's likely to stop.

His Broker's Role
Mr. Erdosy says he has always got good value from his broker. "She calls me about where she's putting her money, and when we talk, it's 30 or 40 minutes at a time."

He also says there's a cost efficiency, since his broker's client base allows her to shell out for expensive independent research. "She gets good technical analysis and mulls it over, and she presents me with ideas. She's talked me out of selling some things, and out of buying others."

Why he uses Mutual Funds
"What I'm looking for is to establish income, because I'm nearing the age where I have to start thinking of my retirement." He also notes that selecting stocks is a little more risky, and "with funds at least you have a little diversity."

He also says he doesn't' mind paying for expertise. For instance, his first resource fund was AGF Canadian Resources, but he switched to Mackenzie Universal Canadian Resource Fund, after hearing manager Fred Sturm speak. "l liked his presentation and theories, and it's panned out. He is the kind of manager who goes and talks to management and makes investment decisions based on that," he says. "I realize I have to pay fees for that kind of service and I'm very happy to."

Why He's Big on Dividends
"They are your best friend," he says. "If a stock is paying dividends and you can reinvest them in the company, you don't pay commissions, and often they give you a little bit of a break on the stock price."

Best Move
Mr. Erdosy especially likes TD Bank, which he has been investing in since 1994. He has all his dividends reinvested, and in doing so he gets a discount of 1.5 per cent below the closing price.

Worst Move
In the eighties, Mr. Erdosy bought Bovar Inc., an oil service company. It didn't help that oil went to $10, he says, but the real problem was "the company overextended itself and kept going down and down and down. I should have exited much earlier," he says, noting that the lesson he learnt was to talk to others earlier on to get a second opinion.

Special to The Globe and Mail

Want to share your strategies? E-mail tony.martin@sympatico.ca



The Invest for Life series:

  • Part 1: Ten money tips for young people
  • Part 2: Ten money tips for people entering the work force
  • Part 3: Getting married? Ten money tips
  • Part 4: Having kids? Pull out the wallet and get set to invest for the future
  • Part 5: Married, with kids? Ten investing tips
  • Part 6: Financial tips as you climb the financial ladder
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  • Part 8: The retirement years: 10 financial tips


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