Q: The only energy exposure I have is through CDZ and VDY. I'd like to have more in order to balance the heavy financial exposure in those two. I could use XEG for that purpose or single companies. I'd like to keep it simple. I don't "need" a dividend, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. I'd be OK with just CNQ, SU, or CVE to keep it very simple. I don't think Hormuz is going to get sorted out anytime soon, so I'd like to capture the current opportunity of high and rising oil prices, but this would be a long term position. As a complement to the two ETFs I have, XEG is probably best, but you might see more opportunity in a single company, so as to increase the weighting in my current ETFs, which seem focused on dividends. Thank you for continued great recommendations. Love the service.

Q: I recently put together a spreadsheet that pulls together all of the Canadian equity holdings that my wife and I have in our registered and non-registered accounts.

This is what we have in the Oil & Gas Sector:

• the three majors SU, CVE and CNQ
• the three pipes TRP, PPL and ENB
• and an assortment of other companies TOU, WCP, ARX, ALA, TPZ, MDI, MER

I’d like to trim this back to 6-8 holdings and, as well, have more of a balanced profile. What would you recommend? And if there are different O&G stocks you’d sub in, please recommend as well.

Thanks.

Q: I’ve recently subscribed to 5i, and appreciate all the good information that you have on your website.

A question: how do you choose which stocks to research and which to not research? In your model portfolios, you have included a number of big-name stocks (BCE, L, TD, BN, amongst others) that aren’t rated. I understand they are included in your model portfolios to provide sector diversification, but would I be correct to infer that if you rated them they wouldn’t likely be “A” stocks?

A somewhat related question: your Income Model Portfolio includes BCE, CNQ, FTS, H and TD (amongst others), all non-rated, but your Balanced Equity Model Portfolio does not. Does this mean that although you view these stocks as being good dividend-payers, you also think they have limited upside?

Thanks