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

FEATURED PRO: Fred Pynn is executive vice-president and a portfolio manager with Calgary-based Bissett Investment Management.

Fund Form: The Bissett Canadian Equity 'A' Fund has a one-year return of 16.1 per cent compared to the group average of 15 per cent over the same period. The five-year compound annualized return for the fund is 8.9 per cent compared to the group average of 7.7 per cent.

Management Expense Ratio: 2.61 per cent.

Fred Pynn

Pynn's Game Plan: Defence.

Pynn's Perspective: "The market looks fully valued and I don't see a huge amount of upside potential. We're still, on balance, wary of the whole commodity area, both the energy and materials sectors. These sectors have had a huge run. Maybe they can keep going higher, but nothing goes up in a straight line anyway. We've seen what can happen with natural gas (price collapse) and investors should take that as a warning and not fall in love with these things. It could happen in oil, copper, zinc or any other commodity.

"We're underweight those two sectors (energy and materials) and we're overweight the consumer and financial stocks. We're looking for companies that aren't so cyclical and those that continue to grow their earnings - even in an environment where we might have an economic slowdown as interest rates continue to increase."

First Star

* Shoppers Drug Mart (TSX:SC)

* Recent Price: $44.

* 52-Week Range: $38.51-$46.12.

* Snapshot: Shoppers is a Canadian drugstore retailer with more than 925 stores under the Shoppers and Pharmaprix (Quebec) banners.

* CEO: Glenn Murphy.

* Head Office: North York, Ont.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 29.4; Revenue (last 12 mos), $6.5 billion; Earnings (last 12 mos), $334.7 million; Market Cap, $9.39 billion; Shares Outstanding, 213.6 million; Dividend Yield, 0.4 per cent.

* Pynn's View: "This is a company that is the epitome of a defensive stock. They basically sell things that you have to buy or need to buy, like basic personal grooming needs on one hand and drugs and pharmaceutical prescription drugs on the other. This gives them very stable revenue and earnings prospects. The company also continues to build out their stores across Canada. They're not only adding new stores but they're also expanding square footage of old stores. We think they have several years of solid growth ahead of them.

They have instituted a dividend policy and we see the company generating surplus cashflow that will allow them to continue to raise the dividend going forward. It's expensive, but we think it's very high quality and we think the stock will continue to work its way higher."

* Pynn's Risk Rating: Moderate.

* Web Watch: www.shoppersdrugmart.ca

Second Star

* Loblaw Companies (TSX:L)

* Recent Price: $55.09.

* 52-Week Range: $52.75-$76.50.

* Snapshot: Loblaw is a retailer of food and general merchandise sold through various store banners, including Loblaws, The Great Canadian Superstore, Dominion and Extra Foods.

* CEO: John Lederer.

* Head Office: Brampton, Ont.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 20.8; Revenue (last 12 mos), $27.8 billion; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 6.8 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $746 million; 5-Yr Earnings Growth, 12.4 per cent; Market Cap, $15.1 billion; Shares Outstanding, 274.1 million; Dividend Yield, 1.5 per cent.

* Pynn's View: "This stock has come under a lot of pressure because their earnings haven't been great as they do a lot of reorganizing in order to lower their costs and position themselves to compete against Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT). Although there is a threat there (from Wal-Mart), we think it's been overstated. Loblaw has great management, they have great locations for their stores and they are a fierce competitor. We think the current weakness in the share price is just a blip in a very strong long-term trend. However, it's a very defensive stock when you're dealing with groceries and very basic items and we're taking a longer term view."

* Pynn's Risk Rating: Moderate.

* Web Watch: www.loblaw.com

Third Star

* Home Capital Group (TSX:HCG)

* Recent Price: $34.75.

* 52-Week Range: $30.63-$43.

* Snapshot: Home Capital, through its subsidiary Home Trust Co., provides deposit, mortgage lending, consumer lending and credit card-issuing services and administers mortgage assets. It specializes in first mortgages to borrowers that don't qualify at major banks.

* CEO: Gerald Soloway.

* Head Office: Toronto.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 20.8; Revenue (last 12 mos), $229.1 million; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 25.8 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $56.3 million; 5-Yr Earnings Growth, 36.2 per cent; Market Cap, $1.19 billion; Shares Outstanding, 34 million; Dividend Yield, 0.6 per cent.

* Pynn's View: "They had a profit warning for the first quarter of 2006 that caused the stock to drop, but the company continues to be very profitable and our assessment is that the profit warning is a one-time event. But if they come out (in the second quarter) and say, 'Oops, we've got another profit warning', then we've got a problem. This has been a tremendous long-term growth story, even though they've had a blip. But that gives you the opportunity to purchase a very rapidly growing company with good management at what we think is an attractive price. I think it's a tremendous buying opportunity and we have been buying this stock again for our accounts. We think there's lots of long-term potential."

* Pynn's Risk Rating: Moderate.

* Web Watch: www.homecapitalgroup.com

* Pynn's Edge Record (past 12 mos): +13.3 per cent. Best Pick: Research In Motion (TSX:RIM) +28 per cent. Worst Pick: Alliance Atlantis (TSX:AAC.NV.B) +0.4 per cent.

Disclosure: Pynn owns shares in the Bissett 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.)