MARQUEST WEEKLY COMMENTARY – AUGUST 17, 2014

Liis Palmer, Cassels Investment Management Inc.

Last week the Marquest Monthly Pay Fund (A units) closed at $5.32 down from $5.35 the previous week. The TSX was down 0.2 percent in the same period. The prices of WTI crude oil and most commodities were down on the week.

Leading contributors in the portfolio were Canexus (up 8.2 percent), Royal Bank (up 1.7 percent) and Bank of Nova Scotia (up 1.3 percent). Canexus produces sodium chlorate and chlor-alkali products primarily for the pulp and paper and water treatment industries. It also provides fee-for-service hydrocarbon transloading services to the oil and gas industry. A court decision favouring Canexus enforced provisions of the pipeline agreement between Canexus and MEG Energy. Canexus announced that it would immediately resume construction to tie-in the Cold Lake pipeline system from Lamont Station into the MEG pipeline.

Laggards in the portfolio were Surge Energy (down 4.7 percent), Vermillion Energy (down 5.7 percent) and Sherritt International (down 10.1 percent). Sherritt has nickel projects in Canada, Cuba and Madagascar and is the largest independent energy producer in Cuba.