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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: I have held the Keg for the past few years. I am thinking about selling in favour of buying a and w on recent weakness. Can you fully dissect each company and provide an opinion on each?
Read Answer Asked by Cory on July 18, 2017
Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team,

I'm a bit confused with your answer to Florence about TXF. Your answer said "This one overlays 75% of the portfolio with call options......".

However, according to the First Asset website: "Distributions are paid quarterly and no more than 25% of the portfolio's securities will have call options written upon them at any given time".

If no more than 25% of the portfolio have call options, doesn't this strategy mean that an investor wouldn't be giving up as much as your answer indicates? Am I missing something here?

Thanks in advance for any clarification.
Read Answer Asked by Jerry on July 18, 2017
Q: Hello 5i,
I am looking to increase my U.S. and International exposure. I currently hold VIG-N, JNJ-N and a number of Canadian ETF's which also hold U.S. equities. I am open to either USD or hedged products and would like a yield in excess of 2.25% if practical. Since I look to yield for income I was considering ZWA. Would you have any other options you would prefer over ZWA?
On the Int'l. side I hold CYH and ZDI and am happy with both; I held VEE at one time, but the yield is on the lower side for my needs. Should I just increase my holdings in these two or, again, do you see a better option? I could move out of one or both of those if you think there is a more compelling option I'm missing.
As always .... thanks so much for all of your help - very much appreciated!!!
Have a great summer!!
Cheers,
Mike
Read Answer Asked by Mike on July 18, 2017
Q: Hi,
Further to your reply: "ENB pays its dividend in Canadian dollars. You could buy it in the US, in a US account, and dividends would be converted, but you would incur exchange fees.
Rather than looking at this strategy, we might instead holding some US exposure in general, for general diversification, and avoid trying to predict currency movements"

Since I'm seeking USD income, I'm looking for the biggest bang for my buck (so the Dividend Tax Credit is something I would want to take advantage of). Would my strategy work with something like a ENB.PR.U (USD preferred)? Or does the same currency conversion issue occur. Thanks again.
Read Answer Asked by Carlo on July 18, 2017
Q: Dear 5i,

I currently own XHU and am comparing it to PUD.B.

PUD.B is more expensive, with a MER of 0.67 vs 0.34 for XHU.

PUD.B is attractive because it appears to involve a strictly quantitative screen including 5-year non-negative dividend growth and Piotroski scores; whereas XHU involves quantitative but also qualitative assessments by Morningstar analysts (economic moat, uncertainty index, distance to default).

PUD.B is higher conviction, with 40 holdings vs. 75 for XHU.

Do you think that over the long-term, PUD.B will have higher dividend growth? Higher total return? If so, do you think PUD.B is worth the higher MER compared to XHU?

Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Walter on July 17, 2017
Q: Is there any merit in considering a buy of these two stock in my TFSA, or would XHY as an ETF be better as I am a 77 year old senior?? Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Terry on July 17, 2017
Q: I am retired living off dividend income. I am building my portfolio based on your income portfolio. However, I am not interested in index or bond funds.
Can you recommend 3-4 income stocks that are looking most attractive at current prices and yielding +4% that are not in the income portfolio to replace the index/bond funds?
Read Answer Asked by Curtis on July 17, 2017
Q: Hi, Brian Acker recently recommended Met Life as a better/cheaper alternative to Canadian Life Insurance companies, such as SLF. If you have to pick two north american life insurance companies, regardless of country, what would they be? Focus is on some growth potential.

Thanks, Kelly
Read Answer Asked by Kel on July 17, 2017
Q: I hold ENF. I recall that, in the past, you have expressed a preference for ENB - perhaps the former being more for income and the latter being more for growth. Is this correct? Is there any other reason to prefer one over the other? (Perhaps I should consider switching.)
Read Answer Asked by Carl on July 14, 2017
Q: I invest for dividends, dividend growth and some growth in stock price. I am currently holding ala but am thinking of switching enb or enf. Would you make this switch and if so which Enbridge holding ? I have a diversified portfolio.

Thank you and thanks for providing this great service
Read Answer Asked by James on July 14, 2017
Q: Can you give your thoughts on CDZ in light of the following Globe commentary (similar to other blurbs I've seen in the Globe):

"And another thing: The way some dividend ETFs weight their individual constituents is a bit nuts. Take the iShares S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index ETF (CDZ). Choosing stocks that have raised their dividends regularly, as this ETF does, is a great strategy, but assigning the largest weightings to stocks with the highest yields is a problem. Why? Because a high yield is often a sign of a struggling company whose dividend is unsustainable.

Case in point: At the end of April, CDZ’s largest holding was Aimia (AIM), which at the time yielded 8.8 per cent. But the loyalty plan operator’s shares collapsed in May after Air Canada said it would be parting ways with Aeroplan, and Aimia recently suspended all dividends. CDZ’s top holding now? Corus Entertainment (CJR.B), another struggling company that yields about 8.7 per cent and hasn’t raised its dividend since January, 2015."

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investor-education/im-still-waiting-for-the-perfect-dividend-etf/article35453106/

Would you recommend a switch to a different ETF for broad-based Cdn exposure in an RRSP? What alternatives do you like that are not over-exposed to financials/materials?
Read Answer Asked by Chris on July 14, 2017
Q: Hi 5i Team
We have approximately $80,000.00 US cash to invest. Thinking of buying XHY for income to cover some of our expenses for property we have in US. Would like your opinion. It would be approximately a 5% position of our portfolio. In the event you think it would be a good idea, do we deploy the funds gradually or take the full position at once, obviously it would be based on what is available for purchase. We would probably us our TFSA account. What would you suggest. Thank you. Heather
Read Answer Asked by Heather on July 14, 2017
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