Financial Log Book - Interim Report on Investments

The portfolio has recorded some nice gains, driven primarily by advances in precious metals and companies such as Polaris Minerals.  In my personal portfolios the gains since the beginning of the year have been slightly north of 4 percent.  (This includes some spectacular gains with Questor Technology Inc: 71 percent in 2014 ... and this stock has yet room to grow.)

Entity	Initial Price/ Purchase Date	Price 2014/02/19	Gain/Loss year to date %	Gain/Loss Since Purchase %
Central Fund of Canada (CEF.A)	9.77 2007-09-04	16.26	15.9	66.4
Silver Wheaton (SLW)	12.37 2007-09-04	27.62	28.8	123.4
Polaris Minerals (PLS)**	10.70 2007-06-01	2.46	36.7	-77
Cenovus (CVE)	32.39 2010-07-27	28.49	-6.3	-12
Canadian National Railway (CN) *	48.88 2009-04-14	61.65	1.8	155.5
North West Company (NWF)	16.23 2009-05-07	24.83	-2.5	53
Powell Industries (POWL)	36.75 2009-11-12	SOLD		61.24
Waterfurnace Renewable Energy (WFI)	28.62 2010-04-12	22.59	-5.8	-21
ABB (ABB-N)	20.18 2012-12-13	25.31	-4.7	25.4
Oceaneering International (OII-N)	52.95 2012-12-13	71.75	-9	35.5
Deere & Company (DE)	88.07 2013-01-03	84.29	-7.2	-4.3
Rocky Mountain Dealerships (RME)	11.89 2013-01-03	12.85	0.5	8
HollyFrontier (HFC)	47.95 2013-01-28	45.86	-7.7	-4.4
Titan Logix (TLA)	1.25 2013-09-11	1.48	16.8	18.4
Kelso Technologies Inc. (KLS)	2.20 2013-09-11	3.16	0.6	43.6
U.S. Silica Holdings (SLCA)	25.15 2013-09-11	30.25	-11	20.2
Oak Tree Capital Group (OAK)	56.45 2013-10-28	60	2	6.3

*CN split 2 for 1 2013.12.02

** does not reflect impact of follow-on investment @ $.67 per share

Note: the performance figures for SLW and CEF.A do not reflect profit taking at the beginning of last year when I decided to take about 75 of my stake off the table and invest it elsewhere. 

I see no reason to exit from any of the positions noted in the preceding table.  

The petroleum companies are, in essence, marking time until the market finally reacts to:

• regulatory decisions regarding pipelines which would very likely result in higher prices for producers;
• the impact of unconventional production in the U.S. and, to some extent, Canada; and,
• domestic demand.

In my view, the long-term outlook for tar sands producers remains positive.  

The most recent rail-oriented investments have done exceptionally well and my sense is that even better days are yet to be reflected in the prices of Kelso and Titan.  

A more detailed commentary will be presented in the March 2014 edition of The Financial Passage Maker.