Investment Q&A

Q: Can you comment on Constellations Software's debt profile and cash position? From what I recall, it is a definite strength of the company. Is there any plausible short to medium term scenario where the company can destroy their strong financial position?

Q: Comments please on Constellation's latest quarter.
Thank you

Q: Do you know if the secondary offering of PKI shares has closed? There is no confirmation on SEDAR and my broker (RBC Direct) hasn't participated in this (yet).

If it has closed, with the price holding above $29, would you consider this a good time to add?

Q: Is the drop in BNS due to negative sentiment around Home Capital? I'm trying to determine if this is another buying opportunity.

Q: With the recent drop in price,would this be a good time to take a position for growth?

Q: Isn't it a a bit too coincidental that we learn that both Royal Bank and BMO are selling uninsured mortgage backed securities, a few days before the Home Capital death spiral? You have an optimistic bias, and typically trusting towards management, so I speculate that you will answer that there is nothing much to think of it, but could you take a distrusting view on this (without being paranoid) and guess what could have motivated them to do that?

Q: In regard to HCG I am on the wrong end of the stick with this one.
In your defence, I did notice a change in 5i's opinion of HCG around the end of March, here is an excerpt from one of your replies "Unfortunately, there is such a cloud hanging over the company right now, the fear and uncertainty surrounding it make it hard to be excited about in the shorter-term. It could still do quite well if they can get past all of the concerns but actions such as letting go of the CEO are not overly helpful in terms of boosting confidence. We would note that it has been profitable every year since 1999"
Fear and greed rule the markets, investor sentiment affects market value in the short term way more than fundamentals.
At this point, I want to learn what I can from this situation. What would you say are the take-away's from this debacle?
Thanks in advance for your continued excellent work.
Randy D.

Q: Should Gsy be linked to home capital?

Q: HCG has hired BMO and RY as strategic advisors and have now secured a 2 billion LOC. Thoughts please??

Q: With the demise of HCG there is plenty of blame to share. I am disappointed with 5I continuing to maintain its rating of B+ right to the end. You extensive experience in the field did nothing for your subscribers. As with most other advisory services your tune only changed when it was far too late to make a difference. I can add DH to the comments. It was only my own common sense and intuition that protected me in both cases. I hope 5I does some soul searching and simply does not write this one off as another miss.

Q: I purchased some of this stock for an RESP about a year ago. It has climbed nicely. The company seemingly achieved a good measure of success before going public. What are your views of this company and the stock going forward?

Q: Can you please give me your comments on Firstservice. it seemed like it was expensive, but it looks like earnings were good. Would you add to a position at this time, if it is not a full position/

Q: Which one of these 4 companies would you buy today
for growth and long term hold? (disregarding sector)
In which order would you rank them?
Thank you.

Q: Can the tariff rate for Acadian be determined at this point?

Thanks
bob Rose

Q: With the information provided, it seems that the company has no choice but to use a LOC with a very high funding rate. How come they can t offer GIC with well above market rates to fund their current needs and stabilize the situation? Would there be no buyer with cdic protection ? Also, why do they need as much as $2B ? Thank you.

Q: Wow. All that selling. My question is who is brave enough to be on the other side of the trades? How does HCG get itself through 2008 etc with its history and falter like this?

Q: Earnings look good. The stock has been so weak. Will these earnings kick start this company on an upward trend. I am down 20 percent and still holding for better days which seem to be coming.

Q: Hi 5i Team,

Do you know who or what APP Research is? The person BNN had on this morning certainly did not hold back on HCG. In case you missed it, he mentioned liquidation as a distinct probability. Unfortunately, I still hold the stock.

Thanks for your comments.

Q: What is causing this 7% drop today?

Q: Thoughts on this pullback and would you be buyers here?

Thanks,
Dave