(Business Edge columnist Gyle Konotopetz regularly profiles the top stock picks of some of Canada’s most accomplished investment pros.)

FEATURED PRO:

Deb Abbey is the founder, president and portfolio manager of Real Assets Investment Management. The Vancouver-based firm (www.realassets.ca) was the first investment management company in Canada to focus exclusively on social investing.

Fund Form: The Real Assets Social Leaders Fund has a return of 7.23 per cent since its inception on September 16, 2003, and the Real Assets Social Impact Balanced Fund has a return of 5.87 per cent since its inception on September 16, 2003.

Management Expense Ratio (MER): Social Leaders Fund, three per cent capped; Social Impact, 2.75 per cent capped.

Abbey’s Perspective: “We think the markets will surprise to the upside this summer by five to 10 per cent in contrast to the usually benign summer season, and foresee a rotation from cyclical stocks (interest-rate sensitive stocks) to non-cyclical stocks (health-care and consumer staples).

“We also believe the Bank of Canada is finished with its rate cuts and the Canadian dollar should stabilize in the .74 (US) to .76 range for the balance of the year.”



FIRST STAR

* Church & Dwight (CHD-NYSE)

* Recent Price: $43 US

* 52-Week Range: $30.35-$44.54.

* Snapshot: Church & Dwight is the world’s largest producer of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) used in cleaning, deodorizing, leavening and buffering. It is sold under the Arm & Hammer trademark to retail markets.

* CEO: Robert A. Davies III.

* Head Office: Princeton, N.J.

* Vital Stats (U.S. dollars): Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 22.6; Revenue (last 12 mos) $1.1 billion; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 10.7 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $81 million; 5-Yr Earnings Growth, 18.9 per cent; Market Cap, $1.74 billion; Shares Outstanding, 40.45 million; Dividend Yield, 0.32 per cent.

Abbey’s View: “Church & Dwight has been environmentally conscious since its inception in 1846. Baking soda is used in place of chemicals and harsh detergents in various applications. The company started using recycled packaging as early as 1907. They sponsored the first Earth Day in 1970 and introduced the first phosphate-free detergent at the same time.

“Of over 300 chemicals that are regulated in the U.S., this company only uses four of them. This is a mature company with an excellent management team that continues to generate excellent shareholder return.”

* Abbey’s Risk Rating: Low.

* Web Watch: www.churchdwight.com

SECOND STAR

* SunOpta Inc. (SOY-TSX)



* Recent Price: $12.85.

* 52-Week Range:

$5.90-$15.03.

* Snapshot: SunOpta operates three principal businesses: Natural and organic food production, sourcing, processing and packaging; processing, distribution and recycling of environmentally responsible aggregate products; and engineering and marketing of a clean pulping system.

* CEO: Jeremy Kendall.

* Head Office: Norval, Ont.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 52.2; Revenue (last 12 mos), $265.5 million; Earnings (last 12 mos), $11.2 million; Market Cap, $551.42 million; Shares Outstanding, 42.91 million.

* Abbey’s View: “Food production, on an industrial scale, can have devastating impacts on the environment. Organic farming is one means of mitigating those impacts and restoring soil productivity. By working to make these practices mainstream and building a network of subsidiary food distributors in major Canadian cities, SunOpta is establishing a sound business platform with low environmental impact.

“In the U.S., SunOpta supplies natural food ingredients to major restaurant chains and retailers, and works with farmers to certify and market non-genetically modified and organic soy, corn, rice and oats. The company is growing by acquisition and, as it grows, we expect it to realize synergies from acquisitions in addition to organic growth.”

* Abbey’s Risk Rating: High.

* Web Watch: www.staketech.com



THIRD STAR

* Wainwright Bank and Trust Co. (WAIN-Nasdaq)

* Recent Price: $15 US

* 52-Week Range: $9-$15.65.

* Snapshot: Wainwright is a small Boston-area retail bank that was founded in 1987.

* CEO: Jan Miller.

* Head Office: Boston.

* Vital Stats (U.S. dollars): Revenue (last 12 mos), $36 million; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 5.8 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $4.7 million; 5-Yr Earnings Growth, 5.2 per cent; Market Cap, $69.84 million; Shares Outstanding, 4.66 million; Dividend Yield, 1.40 per cent.

* Abbey’s View: “Forty per cent of this company’s commercial lending goes to not-for-profit organizations, homeless shelters and other community development projects. Wainwright also has exemplary internal diversity programs which lead to greater productivity. In fact, the company has one-third fewer employees than a traditional bank of its size.

“The company hopes to encourage the installation of 10,000 solar water-heating systems by offering the first discounted home equity loan in the U.S. that is tied to promoting solar power.

“The big sleeper is that it paid a 10-per-cent dividend for the past three years in addition to its regular dividend. Earnings per share are growing at five to 10 per cent per year with loan defaults at less than one per cent.”

* Abbey’s Risk Rating: Medium.

* Web Watch: www.wainwrightbank.com

Abbey’s EDGE Record: +6.9 per cent. Best Pick: United Natural Foods (UNFI-Nasdaq) +14.5 per cent. Worst Pick: Canon (CAJ-NYSE) +0.4 per cent.

Disclosure: The featured companies are held in the Real Assets Social Leaders Fund. Abbey owns shares in the Real Assets funds.