By Andrew Macdonald
- Topic: MacPolitics: BMO Handles Blind Trust Stock Portfolio For NS Premier Tim Houston & Spouse Carol
Government records show NS Premier Tim Houston & his spouse Carole Houston have a stock portfolio in a blind trust, which is being handled by BMO Bank of Montreal.
The blind trust was disclosed to government by Houston’s chief of staff, Nicole Parker LeFosse, on Nov. 30th, 2021 – weeks after The Notebook on Nov 7th, 2021 reported on the premier’s stock picks, as it stood in June 2020.
The premier discloses the blind trust is for “personal investment” opportunities.
He discloses property held in Trenton, the civic address was not detailed. He later discloses he is a landlord, renting to Bell Aliant & Bell Mobility.
Because Premier Houston has established a blind trust, his individual stock picks have not been disclosed per government regulations.
However, I am intrepid and so looked up his June 2020 disclosure to government – when he was Opposition leader.
Houston did not have a blind trust in 2020, and last November The Notebook detailed Premier Houston’s stock portfolio in totality.
Here is an encore presentation of that story, to give you an idea of the stock he held that year, 2020:
MacPolitics: Premier Tim Houston’s Stock Market Picks – Big On Tech & Banks & Some Stocks He Holds Pay Minimum Wages...
By Andrew Macdonald – November 7th, 2021
MacPolitics: Premier Tim Houston’s Stock Picks
How about a story on Conservative Premier Tim Houston’s stock market picks?
Playing the stock market is not something most Nova Scotia MLAs do – but when it comes to the premier, I would expect this person to play the stock market – because running NS is a $15-billion entity.
Looking at the stock portfolio Houston held as of June 2020 – there are a few of his choice stocks such as McDonald’s restaurant – which pay minimum wages.
I like to play the stock market, and maybe as a fool, I self-direct it.
Houston and other MLAs are by law obligated to disclose their financial interests, so that is how I am able to report his favourite publicly traded entities in his portfolio.
What is not disclosed to the legislature is the value of any said stock portfolio.
Houston is a chartered accountant, and spent most of his career in Bermuda.
Looking at his stock portfolio – he has many technology companies in his stock picks, including Google, and Amazon
For the record here is his stock portfolio, as disclosed in the year 2020 to the NS legislature’s conflict commissionaire:
Alphabet (Google)
Amazon
Bank of Nova Scotia
BCE
Bank of Montreal (BMO)
Brookfield Infrastructure
Cagles
CN Rail
Coca Cola
CSX Corp.
Enbridge
Fortis
Goldman Sachs
HGC Arbitrage
Homburg Invest
JC Flowers
Johnson & Johnson
Lysander
Microsoft
Penn Trafic
Pepsi
Pro Real Estate Investment Trust
RBC, Royal Bank of Canada
Rogers Communications
TC Energy
Telus
Thomson Reuters
Toronto Dominion Bank (TD Bank)
Verizon Communications
Waste Connections
Houston also lists bonds he holds in the following publicly-traded entities:
Algonquin
Birchcliff Energy * (disclosure, I have that stock in my own portfolio).
Bridging financing
Lysander
Pimco
RP Strategic
TC Energy Corp
Houston also is a commercial landlord, owning a property in Trenton that he rents out to Bell Aliant.
And, there you have Premier Tim Houston’s favourite stock picks from his portfolio, as required to be disclosed by law with the NS legislature.
