FEATURED PRO: Glenn MacNeill is vice-president of investments for Toronto-based Sentry Select Capital Corp (www.sentryselect.com). The 28-year veteran of the investment industry specializes in Canadian oil and gas stocks and manages the Sentry Energy Growth Fund and the Sentry Canadian Resource Fund.

Fund Form: The Sentry Energy Growth Fund has a one-year return (through September) of 67.6 per cent compared to the group average of 52 per cent.

Management Expense Ratio: 2.46 per cent.

MacNeill's Energy Perspective: "We've been seeing some (technical) base building in the sector, but as the weather gets colder the sector traditionally seems to recover miraculously. Oil and gas companies can still make an awful lot of money at $40 or $50 (US) per barrel. Although the market tends to overreact in the short term, I wouldn't be too worried if the (oil) price goes from $60 to $50 because these companies will continue to generate good cashflow. We've always maintained that, based on supply and demand fundamentals, we think there's a base somewhere in the $45 to $50 range. We expect the companies to be profitable in that range. We've got a declining supply and that sets the stage for what we think will be relatively high prices. I'm not expecting prices to spike to $100, although that's certainly possible. We think the price may be in this range a year from now but the higher the price goes, the harder it is to predict.

Glenn MacNeill

"Our focus is on growth-oriented companies. What I look for are companies that are growing at least 20 per cent a year. Otherwise, the geologists aren't doing a very good job and the companies should turn themselves into royalty trusts."

First Star

* Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ)

* Recent Price: $48.92.

* 52-Week Range: $33.46-$74.75.

* Snapshot: Canadian Natural Resources is an oil and gas company with a vast network of producing wells in Western Canada, the North Sea and offshore West Africa.

It also is developing the Horizon Oil Sands Project in northern Alberta.

* President: Steve Laut.

* Head Office: Calgary.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 38; Revenue (last 12 mos), $8.2 billion; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 24.4 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $677 million; 5-Yr Earnings Growth, 9.2 per cent; Market Cap, $26.27 billion; Shares Outstanding, 536.9 million; Dividend Yield, 0.5 per cent.

* MacNeill's View: "They're pretty well balanced in terms of production with about a third oil, a third natural gas and a third heavy oil. They also have a good slate of prospects, including the interesting bitumen (Horizon) prospect on the horizon. This company's management is very driven, the management works very hard, they've created a lot of value over the years and I would expect them to continue to do that."

* MacNeill's Risk Rating: Low.

* Web Watch: www.cnrl.com

Second Star

* Highpine Oil & Gas (TSX:HPX)

* Recent Price: $21.90.

* 52-Week Range: $16.60-$23.45.

* Snapshot: Highpine produces oil and natural gas from three core areas in Alberta.

* CEO: Gordon Stollery.

* Head Office: Calgary.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 110.5; Revenue (last 12 mos), $41 million; Earnings (last 12 mos), $3.2 million; Market Cap, $968.02 million; Shares Outstanding, 44.2 million.

* MacNeill's View: "This company has a large number of high-quality drilling prospects in front of it and I think they have a good chance of turning them into high-volume, successful oil wells. The disadvantage is that it is oil and I think that over the short term the (natural gas-weighted) companies are going to do a little better. Still, I like this one because I think the company is going to grow at a very fast rate, considering that they've identified a very prolific area."

* MacNeill's Risk Rating: High.

* Web Watch: www.highpineog.com

Third Star

* Fairquest Energy (TSX-FQE)

* Recent Price: $9.35.

* 52-Week Range: $6.50-$10.55.

* Snapshot: Fairquest Energy is an oil and gas exploration and production company that was created in June. Fairborne Energy split its assets into an income trust - Fairborne Energy Trust - and Fairquest. Its major projects are based in Alberta.

* CEO: Richard Walls.

* Head Office: Calgary.

* Vital Stats: Revenue/Earnings, N/A (company was formed in June). Market Cap, $243.56 million; Shares Outstanding, 26 million.

* MacNeill's View: "We like this one because we feel that they have a number of high-quality drilling and development prospects which we think will lead to significant growth next year. Fairquest has a good variety of prospects across Alberta."

* MacNeill's Risk Rating: High.

* Web Watch: www.fairquestenergy.com McNeill's Edge Record (past 12 mos): +10.1 per cent. Best Pick: Innova Exploration (TSX:IXL) +30.7 per cent. Worst Pick: Paramount Resources (TSX:POU) +0.3 per cent.

Disclosure: McNeill owns shares in the Sentry Select funds in which the featured stocks are held. He does not own the individual stocks.

(This feature is provided for information purposes. Investors should do their own due diligence or consider consulting a registered investment professional before making investment decisions.)