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

FEATURED PRO: Mal Spooner is CEO of Mavrix Fund Management and also one of the portfolio managers of a series of 18 funds.

Fund Form: The Mavrix Enterprise Fund has a one-year return of 33.6 per cent, compared to the group average of 9.3 per cent.

Management Expense Ratio: 2.95 per cent.

Mal Spooner

Spooner's Perspective: "Well, the market tends to climb a wall of worry and as long as they're worried, I guess it's going to continue to rally, with some interruptions. Corporate earnings continue to plow on ahead, which bodes well for equity valuations, at least, staying where they are. If I were to look at anything vulnerable, we might be in for a bit of a correction in the resource sector, if only because it's volatile and we've seen the upside of that volatility for several months now.

"We've shifted some money out of the strong metals market that we've had and we've been buying undervalued situations, such as those in the forest products sector. They (forest products companies) are finally kicking into gear with the resolution (in the softwood lumber dispute with the U.S.). Probably more important is that their earnings, as I'd expected, have been better than analysts expected despite the fact that these companies have had a strong dollar working against them."

First Star

* Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.SV.B)

* Recent Price: $4.30.

* 52-Week Range: $2.34-$4.32.

* Snapshot: Bombardier is a manufacturer of business, regional and amphibious aircraft, and rail equipment. The company also provides servicing to the aerospace and rail markets.

* CEO: Laurent Beaudoin.

* Head Office: Montreal.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 28.7; Revenue (past 12 mos.), $16.8 billion; 5-Yr Earnings Growth, -0.6 per cent; Earnings (past 12 mos.), $284 million; Market Cap, $7.5 billion; Shares Outstanding, 1.7 billion.

* Spooner's View: "The whole business-jet market has picked up significantly, air traffic is solid and the stock is pretty much still out of favour with institutional investors. Even though it's rallied a little bit from its bottom, it's done so discreetly. You sure don't see a lot of news about it. When a cycle really gets mature, it's names like Bombardier that tend to start to get some respect as their order books begin to fill."

* Spooner's Risk Rating: Low.

* Web Watch: www.bombardier.com

Second Star

* Cabo Drilling Corp. (TSXV:CBE)

* Recent Price: $0.60.

* 52-Week Range: $0.30-$0.68.

* Snapshot: Cabo provides drilling services, primarily to the mining sector, through its four Canadian divisions - Advanced Drilling, Forages Cabo Drilling, Heath & Sherwood Drilling and Petro Drilling Company.

* CEO: John Versfelt.

* Head Office: Vancouver.

* Vital Stats: Revenue (past 12 mos.), $28.5 million; Earnings/Loss (past 12 mos.), $100,000 Loss; Market Cap, $18.5 million; Shares Outstanding, 30.8 million.

* Spooner's View: "This is primarily a mining contract driller and they've been receiving a number of contracts from cash-rich mining companies (it recently secured a contract with Aur Resources). As is the case in oil and gas, what we find in mining is that (in) the first leg in a strong market, the stocks do well and the companies are successful at raising money. The next step is where the companies do what they're supposed to do, which is explore. And Cabo is my favourite company in that space and it's cheap."

* Spooner's Risk Rating: High.

* Web Watch: www.cabo.ca

Third Star

* International Forest Products (TSX:IFP.SV.A)

* Recent Price: $7.81.

* 52-Week Range: $6.13-$8.11.

* Snapshot: International Forest Products, also known as Interfor, is a logging and sawmilling company that harvests timber and manufactures lumber products for global markets. Its operations are in B.C., Washington state and Oregon.

* CEO: Duncan Davies.

* Head Office: Vancouver.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/ Earnings Ratio, 19.5; Revenue (past 12 mos.), $835.2 million; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 2.2 per cent; Earnings (past 12 mos.), $19.7 million; Market Cap, $380.3 million; Shares Outstanding, 48.7 million.

* Spooner's View: "This company has paid an awful lot of money into the U.S. Treasury because of the duties from the softwood lumber. That means that they stand to gain a large impact on their fortunes with the settlement in the dispute (between Canada and the U.S.). Many of the (Canadian) lumber companies have also been constrained by railway car shortages and they've been unable to deliver on the significant demand for lumber, which has been robust due to the buoyant U.S. housing market. And that (railway car shortages) is clearing up now.

"Furthermore, the entire sector is under-owned by institutional and retail investors alike, so I think it has some room to go."

* Spooner's Risk Rating: Medium.

* Web Watch: www.interfor.com

Spooner's Edge Record: +31.7 per cent. Best Pick: IPSCO (TSX:IPS) +366.2 per cent. Worst Pick: Zarlink Semiconductor (TSX:ZL) -41.1 per cent.

Disclosure: Spooner owns shares in the 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.)