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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Hello 5i Team,
I was curious on your thoughts about Fairfax India and Africa Holdings and why are both these positions down significantly (below BV). I hold both a 5% position in my account and wondered if I should add a bit on the premise that the USD is near its all-time high as well as benefiting from tax-loss selling.
These appear to be well managed holding companies that are invested in the growth of emerging markets.

I appreciate your response and thank you for the great service you offer.

Massimo
Read Answer Asked by Massimo on November 02, 2018
Q: During this pullback I have been adding what I think are high quality Canadian mid to large caps with decent growth profiles and pretty good balance sheets (CAE, TOY, GIB.a, WCN, KXS, X).

I'm thinking now of adding to my existing small cap positions starting with Park Lawn (PLC-ca) and Andrew Peller (ADW.a-ca). How would you view each company's debt levels and growth profile.

Thanks.

John
Read Answer Asked by john on November 02, 2018
Q: Good morning...we own gs and are down but this had a good dividend and we are long term investors but are looking to add fsz for both dividend appreciation and larger company. Would you have an equal allocation to these two or move out of gs which we are down on in a cash account and move that money into fsz...thanks for the great service...Gene
Read Answer Asked by gene on November 02, 2018
Q: In your answer to Dennis you indicated cash flow was 33 cents were 44 was expected. However normalized cash flow rose from 24 cents to 44. What is "normalized" and is that the 44 cents that was expected? Sounds like one of those "alternate truths" we hear about these days.
The sale of $1b in assets seems to have rattled stock holders however isn't that Brookfield's forte; sell fully valued assets and use the funds to buy the bargains they see in emerging markets and US public equity markets.
In summary I am wondering if I should buy shares at the current price to return the holding to 5%.
Your assistance is, as always , appreciated.
Mike
Read Answer Asked by michael on November 02, 2018
Q: So, this is a what am I missing question, and I have missed a lot over 30 plus years of investing. I have held this for INCOME for over 2 years and at a 2.5% weighting and a cost base of $8.25. An average yld of 8% more then suits my requirements for income. A part of my thoughts were this fund should actually do OK in a raising interest rate situation, however it seems to be dropping recently. Is this a simple market reaction, a negative view on Manulife as a parent, or am I wrong on my views for stable value here? I am thinking of adding to 3% and seek your views. Again this is for a Yield play and stable cost base. Thanks
Read Answer Asked by James on November 02, 2018
Q: Just a comment about ALA's changed circumstances. During the conference call management made reference to changed circumstances in relation to access to capital and cost of capital for funding its growth plans. In addition to changes in interest rates over the past couple of years, a significant aspect of the capital equation is that its share price has basically been halved since the announcement of the WGL transaction. Recourse to capital through an equity raise would likely further reduce the share price and have a relatively greater dilutive effect on per share earnings and cash flow than it would have had when the share price was $33. The result is that the answer to the question of what is the most prudent means for the company to raise money has shifted. Though it's market cap is around $4.5B, according to the Q3 balance sheet ALA has about $23B in assets against about $12B in liabilities. Under those circumstances, if it can get anywhere close to 'value' for its assets, its cheapest access to capital by a longshot is simply through the monetization of some of its own asset base. If it can create further increased value by reinvesting that capital in its preferred growth projects, that can still be a very attractive proposition and set the company up well for the future. But in the meantime, the resulting reduction of the asset base for funding purposes will mean that it will have diminished cash flow from operations, and it is that cash flow that is required to pay/maintain/raise the dividend. As a long-time shareholder, I have taken a significant loss on my ALA exposure but I don't think there needs to be recourse to suggestions of fraud to explain the circumstances that the company has come to today. My view is that ALA may well rise again and be successful but that it would be further in the future than I had been looking for, there will probably be a (prudently) reduced dividend in the meantime, and the present market conditions are setting up better near-term opportunities elsewhere for loss recovery and profit, through companies that are not in the doghouse when the market comes definitively out of its corrective phase. ... for what it's worth.
Read Answer Asked by Lance on November 02, 2018
Q: Hello,

I’m attempting to make sense of the current ALA situation. For months, the market has been suggesting that the ALA dividend is in trouble, as the yield continued grow. With this in mind, in September I asked my financial advisor if a cut was probable, and he replied that it was more likely that the dividend would increase rather than be cut, and that ALA should be ok for my income portfolio. Now, less than two months later, he’s stated that a cut is probably on the way.

I’m confused. Did ALA hide information (which has now been revealed) ? If the answer to this is “yes”, then I can understand how people have been hoodwinked. If ALA did not hide information, and the share price had been signalling trouble, I am tempted to say goodbye to this advisor and move my money, as this has cost me a substantial sum.

Did ALA hide information from the market that you are aware of ?
Read Answer Asked by Mike on November 01, 2018
Q: Hi Guys: I hold an Altagas Preferred (ala.pr.e) which is down significantly over the last year. I hold it principally for the yield so I am not too bothered by the drop, unless of course I begin to believe that the company will have to default on its debt obligations. This seems (to me at least) a pretty unlikely scenario, notwithstanding all the current drama with its debt and stock price etc. Please give me your opinion in this regard. With thanks, Don
Read Answer Asked by Donald on November 01, 2018
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