Welcome to the Newcomer Investor Channel, where we uncover the story behind great businesses and make investing accessible and fun for everyone!  

In this episode, I chat with Mahima Poddar, Senior Vice-President and Group Head, Personal Banking at EQ Bank. We explored EQ Bank’s innovative Challenger mindset, their cutting-edge products, and how they are reshaping banking to better serve Canadians with smarter, more efficient solutions.

Please note, this conversation was recorded on September 12th. As a result, any references to  specific future dates/events in the episode may refer to a time that has already passed.

Connect:

Newcomer Investor on X: https://twitter.com/NewcomerInvest

Newcomer Investor Email: [email protected]

Follow EQ Bank on X: ⁠https://x.com/eqbank

Sign up for an EQ Bank Account using my referral: join.eqbank.ca/?code=ANTHONY5814

Sign up for a Small Business Account: https://www.eqbank.ca/business/business-banking/business-account

Episode Highlights:

(0:00) - Introduction

(1:24) - Introducing Mahima

(2:52) - The Challenger Bank Mindset

(5:00) - Building the EQ Bank Brand - early challenges and victories 

(9:37) - EQ Bank’s product differentiation compared to the Big 6

(18:45) - Who are EQ Bank’s customers? + customer acquisition/retention strategy

(22:00) - Second Chance campaign with Eugene and Dan Levy

(25:00) - The benefits of technology

(27:45) - Open banking

(30:45) - The Branch vs Branchless debate 

(34:25) - Anthony and Mahima’s bank customer experience anecdotes

(35:55) - What Mahima is excited about in the years ahead for EQ Bank

(38:35) - Post-conversation debrief

Welcome to the Newcomer Investor Channel! 

Welcome to the Newcomer Investor Channel! 

FOLLOW TOM THE SAVINGS CAPTAIN:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SavingsCaptain

His podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2zjNi99LEYHMwOpEbqensL?si=10af4fc815444870

(12:25) - Coca-Cola $KO

(23:29) - Starbucks $SBUX

(33:15) - Walmart $WMT (and a side of Costco, Smartcentres, Loblaws, Alimentation Couche-Tard)

(43:12) - Tesla & Elon Musk

(58:15) - International stocks - why Tom’s portfolio is 100% USA, and the ONE emerging country he would potentially be interested 

(1:05:00) - Tom’s ETFs and allocation + some commentary on VTI, SCHD

(1:10:00) - Tom’s strategies depending on market situations, crashes; investing psychology; approach to risk

(1:15:00) - Musings on potentially risky stocks - $SOFI & the semi-conductor hype

(1:19:00) - Disney $DIS

(1:22:00) - One final piece of advice for investors

Welcome to the Newcomer Investor Channel! 

I love to chat about great businesses with awesome people.

Please note: this podcast is not financial advice. I'm not telling YOU what to do... I'm just sharing what I do!

Newcomer Investor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NewcomerInvest Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@newcomerinvestor/featured Email me at ⁠[email protected]⁠ 

TIMESTAMPS

(1:18) - Morguard Corporation $MRC.TO - High Level

(4:27) - Financials; MRT.UN and MRG.UN

(6:45) - K Rai Sahi and the guiding principles behind Morguard; zero tolerance for subpar management; value investing philosophy

(12:40) - Final thoughts on Morguard

Welcome to the Newcomer Investor Channel! The overarching goal for this channel is to share insights, learn from each other, chat about the beauty of investing and foster healthy debate by sharing various viewpoints.

TIMESTAMPS

(0:00) - Intro

(0:44) - Fortis is Canada’s new dividend king

(5:39) - Fortis’ dividend

(7:45) - Should you buy Fortis?

(11:49) - Northwest Healthcare Properties cuts dividend

(15:39) - My buys this week!

Welcome to the Newcomer Investor Channel! The overarching goal for this channel is to share insights, learn from each other, chat about the beauty of investing and foster healthy debate by sharing various viewpoints.

(5:35) - What made you start investing?

(8:20) - North West Company $NWC

(11:35) - Growth catalysts for NWC?

(13:00) - Government involvement in business

(15:35) - Is NWC a core holding or trade?

(17:22) - Loblaws, Metro, Empire & grocery industry

(19:50) - Residential REITs

(21:45) - Exchange Income Corporation $EIF

(25:00) - A&W Income Fund $AW.UN and Restaurant Brands International $QSR

(31:34) - The importance of being really good at one thing

(32:54) - Coca Cola $KO

(36:40) - Chartwell $CSH.UN, and retirement home REITs

(44:00) - Drunk Dividends’ love/hate relationship with the Canadian banks 

(50:00) - Quebecor $QBR.B, and the telco industry

(54:20) - Pesorama  $PESO (yes, you read it right.) 

(56:15) - Alcohol stocks & industry: Anheuser-Busch, Diageo, Andrew Peller

(1:03:35) - Publicly traded companies vs private ownership

(1:08:37) - What advice would you give a younger person?

Welcome to the Newcomer Investor Channel! The overarching goal for this channel is to share insights, learn from each other, chat about the beauty of investing and foster healthy debate by sharing various viewpoints.

STREAM His Podcast: https://linktr.ee/harris.elliot

(4:17) - Penny’s strategy for tech stocks/growthy stocks

(5:45) - QQQM

(8:00) - ETFs = lifetime holds

(8:45) - Realty Income (O)

(12:00) - VICI presentation (VICI)

(15:00) - VICI is a (mostly) play on Las Vegas

(18:30) - Entertainment: Disney (DIS) & Nintendo, Activision Blizzard (ATVI)

(23:00) - Main Street Capital (MAIN)

(25:30) - Being intentional with your purchases: what role does the company play in your portfolio?

(27:55) - Ally Financial (ALLY)

(33:10) - Canadian Banks & TD Bank (TD)

(36:00) - Why investing in international stocks may be less necessary as a US investor vs Canadian

(38:52) - McDonald’s (MCD)

(40:00) - SCHD

(42:35) - Hershey

(44:40) - Music industry

(46:46) - Investing according to your values: what stocks/sectors Penny does not want to invest in

(48:25) - Tesla (TSLA)

(49:05) - Biggest lesson/advice, and AT&T (T)

(50:00) - Thank you! Please follow Penny on all platforms and give us a 5 star

Welcome to the Newcomer Investor Channel! The overarching goal for this channel is to share insights, learn from each other, chat about the beauty of investing and foster healthy debate by sharing various viewpoints.

(1:50) - How Kage started investing

(4:58) - Top holdings: VTI and VOO; key similarities and differences, and the appeal of ETFs

(11:10) - Never chasing yield

(11:40) - AT&T: what’s going on?

(14:00) - Verizon, and the issue with most telco companies: heavy capex requirements, debt, and dividends

(15:30) - T-Mobile: a telco success story in the US

(17:05) - Costco’s business model, and competitive advantages

(21:47) - Special dividends

(22:40) - Costco valuation

(25:00) - Buying companies that trade at high PEs - sometimes quality and moat will justify those valuations

(26:32) - Kroger: growth by smart acquisitions

(30:00) - Apple, the greatest business in the world (for consumers) - super powerful ecosystem + product innovation

(36:16) - Microsoft, also the greatest business in the world (for businesses) - the power of bundling

(41:26) - ExxonMobil: America’s oil giant

(45:35) - How did Kage feel about investing when COVID started

(50:25) - The importance of maintaining a cash balance

(53:28) - Why Kage only invests in US stocks 

(58:10) - Bank of America

(1:00:30) - Why North American investors may want to consider investing in foreign stocks

(1:03:20) - Starbucks: everyone needs to try the Irish cream cold brew. Also, the stock is pretty cool, & the genius of Howard Schultz

(1:06:55) - Last piece of advice from Kage for new investors

Welcome to the Newcomer Investor Channel! The overarching goal for this channel is to share insights, learn from each other, chat about the beauty of investing and foster healthy debate by sharing various viewpoints.

(1:13) - Canadian National Railway is now my 3rd largest position

(3:00) - Other updates: Sold some Google; bought some XEI, VFV, GRT.UN; placing a Limit sell on AC

(4:16) - I must select people to put my faith 

(6:13) - Play the long game

(7:59) - Negative sentiment means it is time to buy

(9:35) Why private assets are attractive: no distraction

(12:42) - Be bullish, but prepared

(14:33) - Transition & renewables

(17:15) - Where does Brookfield stand on China?

(19:48) - Closing thoughts

Listen to the full interview here: https://youtu.be/iGnYQUplOOo