Gardeners are looking forward to the start of spring as they plan for planting season.

Similarly, investors should have a plan when it comes to the markets, and it might include planting a few stocks from the Free Cash portfolio, which looks for bargains with lots of free cash flow.

The portfolio has been a big grower with average annual gains of 16.9 per cent over the 26 years through to the end of February, 2026. In comparison, the Canadian stock market, as represented by the S&P/TSX Composite Index, climbed at an average annual rate of 8.1 per cent over the same period.

(The returns herein are based on backtests using monthly data from Bloomberg. They include dividend reinvestment but not fund fees, taxes, commissions or other trading…