Episode Details

John Zechner has seen this movie before — and when everyone’s on the same side of the trade, he starts looking the other way.

The Chairman & Founder of J. Zechner Associates joins Amber Kanwar to break down how he’s positioning his portfolio in a market driven by noise, geopolitics, and crowded trades. From calling the recent energy shock a potential “9/11-type” shift in investor psychology to arguing that markets are still mispricing long-term risks, Zechner lays out why being contrarian today could pay off tomorrow.

He explains why he’s adding selectively to oil while staying disciplined on position sizing, why gold still has a strong long-term case despite recent volatility, and why Canada could benefit from a renewed focus on energy security. At the same time, he’s taking the other side of the AI trade—rotating out of semiconductors and into beaten-down software names like Adobe (ADBE), Salesforce (CRM), and Shopify (SHOP), where valuations have reset and expectations are low. He also shares why he’s avoiding private equity and bank stocks for now, pointing to lingering risks that the market may be underestimating.

In the mailbag, Zechner weighs in on Fairfax Financial (FFH.TO), Cameco (CCJ), the Canadian telecom sector, his favourite Canadian utilities, and WSP Global (WSP.TO). He cautions against paying a premium for Fairfax’s investment track record, says Cameco remains a strong uranium franchise but an expensive one, and argues there is emerging value in parts of telecom even as he warns Telus (T.TO) may need to cut its dividend. He also highlights select Canadian utilities for their defensive appeal and discusses how to think about WSP Global as a quality name in a market where investors may need to look beyond the obvious winners.

In Pro Picks, Zechner first revisits his past picks: Cenovus Energy (CVE), Maple Leaf Foods (MFI.TO), and Uber (UBER). He then gets into his current top ideas: Premium Brands (PBH.TO), Oracle (ORCL), and the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (U.U / SRUUF). Together, the picks reflect the broader message of the interview: the best contrarian opportunities may be in quality names where sentiment is still skeptical, valuations are more reasonable, and consensus is no longer as reliable as it once seemed.

Timestamps
00:00 Trailer
02:40 Intro 
05:40 What is John doing in the portfolio? 

07:40 The energy question? What happens after the war? 

11:00 Why aren’t we seeing a rip your face of rally in energy stocks? 

15:00 Why John thinks the fundamental story in gold is still in tact and what he’s buying 
19:50 Has the tech sector suffered enough? Why John is snapping up software names 
27:00 John says private equity/credit problems are far from over 
30:50 John has almost no banks exposure 
34:55 ITM Mailbag: Fairfax Financial stock (FFH) 
37:25 Cameco stock (CCO) 

38:40 Canadian telcos 
43:00 Canadian Utilities, Capital Power stock (CPX) 

47:00 WSP Global stock & infrastructure (WSP, ATRL) 

49:40 John’s Pro Picks (Past: CVE, MFI, UBER, PBH, ORCL, U.U)

Sponsors

For over 25 years, Raymond James has been helping Canadians achieve their financial goals. Visit https://raymondjames.ca today to discover how you can live a life well planned.

Pro Picks is brought to you by ATB Financial. For more information on ATB Cormark Capital Markets visit https://ATB.com/inthemoney 

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