Kelsey Dunwoodie, portfolio manager and chief operating officer at Vancouver-based Deans Knight Capital Management Ltd. Illustration by Joel KimmelThe Globe and Mail
Money manager Kelsey Dunwoodie has been racking up double-digit returns in recent years without owning a single artificial intelligence stock.
“What’s interesting about this industry is that two people can never own the same thing and still be very successful,” says Ms. Dunwoodie, portfolio manager and chief operating officer at Vancouver-based Deans Knight Capital Management Ltd., which oversees about $700-million in assets.
“It doesn’t mean you don’t appreciate businesses that other people own. It’s about sticking to your circle of confidence.”
For Deans Knight, it’s a focus on Canadian small- and mid-cap companies in sectors such as natural resources, industrials and both consumer staples and discretionary.
“I’m a perma-bull on Canada. I feel like Canada has so much potential and, hopefully, we’re going to unlock more of it by accelerating some of the resource projects that we have on Canadian soil,” Ms. Dunwoodie says.
“I always remind people that our portfolios might include Canadian-listed stocks, but they’re international businesses.”
Deans Knight Equity Growth Fund, Series F, returned 54.5 per cent in 2025. Its three- and five-year annualized returns were 25.7 per cent and 23.6 per cent, respectively, as of Dec. 31. Some of its top holdings as of Dec. 31 included Kinross Gold Corp. K-T, Aritizia Inc. ATZ-T, Premium Brands Holdings Corp. PBH-T and West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. WFG-T.
Deans Knight JDS Resource Fund, Series F, returned 77.3 per cent in 2025. Its three- and five-year annualized returns were 28.4 per cent and 27.3 per cent, respectively, as of Dec. 31. Some of its top holdings as of Dec. 31, included Lundin Gold Inc. LUG-T, Heliostar Metals Ltd. HSTR-X, Lundin Mining Corp. LUN-T, Taseko Mines Ltd. TKO-T and Equinox Gold Corp. EQX-T.
Ms. Dunwoodie also likes to own companies with strong, often founder-led management teams that have a “meaningful” equity stake in the business and that she’s comfortable owning for the long term.
“We’re definitely not macro and really shy away from trying to make short-term predictions,” she says.
The Globe spoke with Ms. Dunwoodie recently about what she’s been buying and selling:
Name three stocks you own today and why.
Discovery Silver Corp. DSV-T, a Toronto-based precious metals company that includes the Porcupine gold mine in Timmins, Ont., and the Cordero silver project in Mexico, is a stock we bought in the first quarter of last year and have been adding to since.
What spurred our investment was Discovery’s acquisition of the Porcupine mine in early 2025 [from Newmont Corp. NGT-T]. Discovery’s chief executive officer, Tony Makuch, whom we’ve followed for many years, was born and raised in Timmins and has a deep understanding and passion for the community and the mining opportunities. He was previously the CEO of Kirkland Lake Gold, one of our past positions. During his six years as Kirkland’s CEO, shareholders saw a 40.6-per-cent compound annual return. [The company merged with Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. AEM-T in 2022].
We believe Discovery’s deep technical and operational experience can unlock value left by prior operators. There’s also the undeveloped silver asset in Mexico that could create significant long-term value if Discovery secures the permits and gets development underway.
Paramount Resources Ltd. POU-T, the Calgary-based energy producer, is a stock we’ve owned since 1998 and have been adding to regularly. It’s one of our core positions.
The Riddell family, Paramount’s founders and largest shareholders, have a track record of exploring and building oil and gas fields in Western Canada. The management team has a deep history of creating value.
Last year, Paramount closed a deal to sell more than half of its production to Denver-based Ovintiv Inc. OVV-T [for about $3.3-billion], creating significant value for shareholders, including a special dividend payment. It then embarked on a plan to bring its production back to about 100,000 barrels [by 2027]. The company also owns land, service companies and energy equities, which are often misunderstood and undervalued by the market.
Paramount and the Riddell family have found success in going where others can’t or won’t. Over the longer term, the company’s consistent track record of building and selling assets has created substantial value for patient shareholders.
Premium Brands Holdings Corp. PBH-T, the Richmond, B.C.-based producer and distributor of branded specialty food products, is a stock we bought at the end of last year. We’ve been watching the company’s growth for years and recently found a reasonable entry point at approximately $100 a share.
It’s another stock we like in large part because of its management. Since 2001, under his leadership George Paleologou has grown the company to more than $7-billion today in annual sales from about $200-million. We initiated our position following meetings with George, which reaffirmed our conviction in the company’s strategic direction and plans for long-term value creation. We saw it as an attractive entry point with growth driven by disciplined, accretive acquisitions alongside a robust capex program.
Name a stock you recently sold.
The last stock I exited was MEG Energy Corp. because it was taken over [by Cenovus Energy Inc. CVE-T in November, 2025]. We owned it for less than a year. Most of our sales are due to takeovers. We decided to sell the stock because Cenovus isn’t the type of company Deans Knight likes to own, given its very large market cap.
This interview has been edited and condensed.