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

FEATURED PRO: Randy Oliver is president and portfolio manager of Hesperian Capital (www.hesperiancapital.com). The Calgary firm manages the Norrep series of funds featuring small-cap and mid-cap equities.

Fund Form: The Norrep fund has a compound annualized return of 25.8 per cent (management expense ratio: 2.49 per cent).

Oliver's Perspective: "We still think the market is pricey so we're being very careful, focusing more than ever on buying value-oriented investments. The markets are expensive on a P/E (price/earnings ratio) basis these days, so it's a time to be careful and stick to the methods of stock picking that work.

Randy Oliver

"I foresee the Canadian economy remaining fairly strong over the next year.

The American economy is floundering right now as they seem to have lost sight of the fact that they have some major problems in terms of both debt and trade imbalances. The American economy will probably plug along at above-average growth rates, but they still aren't working on the key problems that will come back to bite them sometime down the road."

First Star

* Canam Group Inc.

(TSX: CAM.SV.A)

* Recent Price: $7.10.

* 52-Week Range: $4.01-$7.60.

* Snapshot: Canam is a major player in the construction industry, operating steel fabrication plants, constructing concrete flooring systems and manufacturing equipment for the forestry industry.

* CEO: Marcel Dutil.

* Head Office: Boucherville, Que.

* Vital Stats: Revenue (last 12 mos), $683.6 million; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, -8.5 per cent; Earnings/Loss (last 12 mos), $5.9 million Loss; Market Cap, $279.13 million; Shares Outstanding, 39.3 million.

* Oliver's View: "This company had a couple of bad years, in 2002 and 2003, but right now they're in a strong recovery mode. The primary reasons for liking them are that they're trading at a (forward) P/E ratio of 8.1 times earnings and their forward return on equity is at 16 per cent. It's just a great value story of a company that was hated for a couple years, is falling under the radar screen of most people and is on a strong comeback. This story is higher risk, as anything to do with the construction industry would be."

* Oliver's Risk Rating: High.

* Web Watch: www.canammanac.com

Second Star

* Major Drilling Group (TSX: MDI)

* Recent Price: $12.79.

* 52-Week Range: $6.60-$14.75.

* Snapshot: Major Drilling is one of the world's largest drilling services companies serving the global mining industry.

* CEO: Francis McGuire.

* Head Office: Moncton, N.B.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 23.3; Revenue (last 12 mos), $249.2 million; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 16.9 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $11.8 million; Market Cap, $279.65 million; Shares Outstanding, 21.9 million.

* Oliver's View: "The resource market is strong and will continue to be strong with the demand from India and China. Whenever there is money raised in the mining industry, that money goes into the ground and Major tends to benefit from it. It meets our model perfectly, having a 9.5 (forward) P/E ratio and a 22-per-cent return on equity. Even at its current price, it's great value. The risk here is based on the commodities markets. Yet, I don't know why that would change in the near term. If there were a worldwide economic slowdown or a major change in demand for resource products, Major's performance would be disrupted."

* Oliver's Risk Rating: Medium.

* Web Watch: www.majordrilling.com

Third Star

* Home Capital Group (TSX: HCG)

* Recent Price: $33.50.

* 52-Week Range: $19.71-$37.95.

* Snapshot: Home Capital, through its Home Trust Co. subsidiary, is a federally regulated trust providing mortgage lending and retail credit and credit-issuing services.

* CEO: Gerald Soloway.

* Head Office: Toronto.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 24.5; Revenue (last 12 mos), $199.8 million; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 26 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $48.1 million; 5-Yr Earnings Growth, 35.2 per cent; Market Cap, $1.13 billion; Shares Outstanding, 33.9 million; Dividend Yield, 0.40 per cent.

* Oliver's View: "This one's a little pricier than our other picks in terms of its P/E ratio, but it has a 32-per-cent return on equity. They specifically cater to immigrant families and small-business owners for mortgages on homes. They've become experts in those markets which the big banks won't touch. The downside risk on a company like this is simply that, with a (current) 24.5 P/E in financial services, if there were a negative blip in earnings, that would be harshly evaluated by the market. Yet, considering that they've been growing at about 35 per cent per year, that's not an unreasonable risk to take."

* Oliver's Risk Rating: Medium.

* Web Watch: www.homecapital.com

Oliver's Edge Record (past 12 mos): +47.4 per cent. Best Pick: Strongco Income Fund (TSX: SQP.UN) +109.3 per cent. Worst Pick: Geac Computer (TSX: GAC) +4.5 per cent.

Disclosure: Oliver owns shares in the Norrep funds in which the featured stocks are held.

(This feature is provided for information purposes. Investors are advised to do their own research or consult a qualified investment professional before making investment decisions.)