Media Co-op Investor celebrates its 3 month anniversary!

The Media Cop-op Investor Series is a project of the Toronto Media Co-op aiming to help the general public understand the stock market, how it works and the major companies which benefit from it.

Every two weeks we examine an element or term in the stock market, how the Toronto Media Co-op has done fake-investing in companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange as well as highlighting specific large Canadian Companies, why their price has gone up and down and what they are all about.

As we have passed the 3-month pole, I figured we'd check in on how we've done financially fake investing and the latest developments in the companies we've been tracking.

How we've done

Oh, brother!  It seems investing ain't that difficult after all.  Given our experience, a successful investor at the moment would have to have one thing in abundance: money.

As such, we started the Media Co-op Investor Series pretending that we had a bunch of it.  Close to $50,000 to be a little more exact.

Why?  We thought it would be a tangible number.  We figured most people know what it's like to see $1,000 and be able to imagine investing it in a company.

And if we did have it, we would have done amazing.  The current rate for a term-deposit at my credit union (just keeping your money locked in the bak for a year) is something like 1%.  On $50,000 you would make $500.  Media Co-op Investors on the other hand have made a whopping $5,248 or a 10.5% return in 3 months!

Now, there are a couple of things to remember here.  First, there's no guarantee we could or would keep the money.  If we keep it in the 'markets', we could lose it all in a day.  Then again, we could pull the money out and stop investing for the year.  Second, investing should be viewed as a long game; had we started the project in February 2008 we would have vastly different results.   Many investors move money around like mad to make the most cash, but many large investment companies or agencies will reach targets and leave well enough alone, having risk management protocols to keep money safe.

Third and most important, we think we've demonstrated that our theoretical dollars could have done a lot of theoretical damage.  All of the companies we've profiled so far have some skeletons in the closet.  From taking advantage of civil war, funding cluster bombs and stealing from first-nations to pushing lower taxes for the rich, polluting and human rights violations; investing in these companies has collaterally invested in this activity.  Let's take a look at how most of these companies have fared since September:

Potash Corporation

Right before we bought our first TMC stock, Potash Corp became the subject of a hostile takeover bid by BHP Bilton Ltd., sending it's stock soaring. But Brad Wall and Potash Corps board of directors fought hard to get Ottawa to squash the deal.  Kady O'Malley at the CBC uncovered the Lobbyists involved the day after the $38.6 billion bid was rejected by the Federal Government .  In the meantime, Vancouver-based Potash One Inc. was pending a March take over by a Germany company for $434 million.  Two Russian firms merged to create the world's second largest potash company in December.

Suncor

Suncor got busted in December for dumping material harmful to fish in Steepbank river in Alberta.  $200,000 fine.  Five days before that it buddied-up with France's Total to share development of new tar-sands projects near Fort McMurray.  One of their refineries in Montreal spilled a bunch of oil in to the St. Lawrence in September.

ARC Energy Trust

Started boosting production in September.  Had to deal with new taxes on Investment trusts starting 3 days ago.

Shoppers Drug Mart

Got sued in November for $1 billion by 2 store owners claiming breach of contract.

Scotiabank

Another bank the subject of another bomb threat.  This time in Kamloops. 

Cameco Corporation

Hiked their dividend by 43% in December.  Signed a deal in November to supply a Chinese power company with 29 million pounds of uranium over 15 years.  Had workers at two Saskatchewan mines vote to strike in October.

TransCanada Corporation

Opposition to their massive Keystone Xl pipeline continued as opposition, including a bunch of US congress members, pushed for another environmental impact study of the project claiming the first one had 'issues'.