FEATURED PRO: Fred Pynn is vice-president of Calgary firm Bissett Investment Management (www.franklintempleton.com/bissett). He manages the Bissett Canadian Equity Fund.

Fund Form: The Bissett Canadian Equity 'A' Fund has a one-year return of 16.6 per cent compared to the group average of 15.1 per cent for the same period.

Management Expense Ratio: 2.61 per cent.

Pynn's Perspective: "I think the market is fully valued and I don't see a lot of upside right now. The Canadian markets have had a pretty good year and the good news is pretty much reflected in share prices. I think at this stage it's important to emphasize selective stock picking and individual securities as opposed to buying the broad market.

Fred Pynn

"The kicker (for the S&P/TSX composite exchange) will still be oil and natural gas prices. If those prices reignite, the TSX will do well. However, I think we've seen the peak for oil prices for the next little while. We're slightly underweight in the energy sector (about 21 per cent in the Bissett Canadian Equity Fund)."

First Star

* Alliance Atlantis Communications (TSX: AAC.NV.B)

* Recent Price: $34.35.

* 52-week Range: $27.50-$38.15.

* Snapshot: Alliance Atlantis is a specialty broadcaster that co-owns, co-produces and distributes programs in Canada and internationally, including the popular CSI: Crime Scene Investigation series. It also holds a 51-per-cent limited partnership interest in Motion Picture Distribution Inc.

* CEO: Phyllis Yaffe.

* Head Office: Toronto.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 24.4; Revenue (last 12 mos), $1 billion; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 3.3 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $62.4 million; Market Cap, $1.5 billion; Shares Outstanding, 43.5 million.

* Pynn's View: "They own a lot of specialty broadcast assets, which is a pretty stable business, and also own a TV broadcaster in Australia and some broadcasting assets in New Zealand. One of their most interesting assets is CSI, which is consistently ranked as the most-watched show in the United States. Now, it's starting to go into syndication for reruns. We think there's more upside in the stock as people start to pay more for the CSI franchise."

* Pynn's Risk Rating: Medium.

* Web Watch: www.allianceatlantis.com

Second Star

* Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX: MFC)

* Recent Price: $67

* 52-Week Range: $53.25-$67.71.

* Snapshot: Manulife is Canada's largest life insurance company, providing services such as life insurance, long-term care, group life insurance and investment products to clients in Canada, the U.S. and Asia.

* CEO: Dominic D'Alessandro.

* Head Office: Toronto.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 17.4; Revenue (last 12 mos), $32 billion; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 15.7 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $3.2 billion; 5-Yr Earnings Growth, 12.4 per cent; Market Cap, $53.13 billion; Shares Outstanding, 793 million; Dividend Yield, 1.80 per cent.

* Pynn's View: "Financial services is still a good place to hide and Manulife is a very conservative big-cap company that you don't need to worry about too much. With the acquisition of John Hancock Financial Services (in 2004), it's one of the largest life insurance companies in the world and it provides Canadians with good international diversification with operations in the U.S. and the Far East. They're also moving into mainland China. The stock is not particularly expensive and management is committed to raising the dividend."

* Pynn's Risk Rating: Low.

* Web Watch: www.manulife.com

Third Star

* Research In Motion (TSX: RIM)

* Recent Price: $78.58.

* 52-Week Range: $62.01-$127.91.

* Snapshot: RIM is a manufacturer and marketer of wireless solutions for the mobile communications market through its Blackberry handheld device.

* CO-CEOs: Jim Balsillie, Mike Lazaridis.

* Head Office: Waterloo, Ont.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 38.5; Revenue (last 12 mos), $2.1 billion; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 47.8 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $402.3 million; Market Cap, $15.01 billion; Shares Outstanding, 191 million.

* Pynn's View: "Despite all the controversy (over a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. by NTP Inc.), the number of subscribers continues to increase rapidly, they're generating large amounts of surplus cash, they've got about $2 billion of cash on their balance sheet and no debt. They also have the largest market share (for handheld wireless devices). Of course, there's additional risk with this company because of the lawsuit but, as a result, you're able to invest in a very high-growth company at a reasonable price.

"What's interesting about this is that the various patents are being reviewed by the U.S. patents office and some are getting thrown out of court as they get reviewed because they're non-enforceable. So the risk for the guys who are doing the suing (NTP) is that, at the end of the day, they could wind up with no patents."

* Pynn's Risk Rating: High.

* Web Watch: www.rim.net

Pynn's Edge Record (past 12 mos): -4.1 per cent. Best Pick: Kingsway Financial (TSX: KFS) +10.1 per cent. Worst Pick: Axcan Pharma (TSX: AXP) -18.3 per cent.

Disclosure: Pynn owns shares in the Bissett Canadian Equity Fund 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.)