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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 seem to remember in past recessions that I was able to buy bonds of troubled companies like Air Canada and GM with yields in excess of 12%. I just looked on TD WebBroker and AC bonds are YTM 3.5%! No thanks! Definitely doesn't sound like a good risk reward, and there were many other companies with still 'normal' looking yields. Any thoughts on when bonds will be re-rated (or not)? Even the energy sector at some point should be yielding much much higher, with better risk profile than equities.
Alternatively, I always hear that the bond market is smarter than the equity market. Could this be a sign that equity markets have over-reacted? Thanks for all your good work!
Read Answer Asked by Philip on March 23, 2020
Q: I have few bonds in my RRSP portfolio, one of them is RUSSEL METALS (HY) 6%19APR22. The price for this bond is down significantly in the past 3 weeks even though there is only 2 years to maturity. While my other bonds down 3-5% this one is down almost 20% so I don't think it can be explained by investors selling to free up cash... Is a risk that Russell Metals will go bankrupt in two years or will not be able to pay bond value at maturity? Is there a risk that bond issuer defers payout on maturity date or somehow avoids paying maturing bonds?
Read Answer Asked by Jeffrey on March 23, 2020
Q: Good Morning
I own two Bank of Nova Scotia bonds. The first is issued in Canadian funds and matures in 2021. The second is issued in US funds and matures in 2022.
The Canadian bond has dropped in value by half a percentage point in the last month. The US bond however dropped by more than 4%.
Is there an explanation for the drop of the BNS US bond?
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Terry on March 23, 2020
Q: Good Afternoon
Can you please provide a site where we can get the prices of Corporate Bonds?
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Terry on March 21, 2020
Q: Greetings 5i: I have some XLB which I thought would do well when/if interest rates fell. When interest rates plummeted the unit value dropped almost $7. Now I could be wrong (again) but I don't think interest rates are moving up or down any time soon. It's my expectation that when rates do eventually start to go up that XLB may not be something I want to own. I'd appreciate your thoughts. Thanks. Rick.
Read Answer Asked by Roderick on March 20, 2020
Q: Hi Amazing Team,

Don asked a question today about Canadian Western Bank: With Alberta hurting and oil prices crashing would you consider the western bank safe. Your answer began with: We would be cautious on CWB....

My question is please: I have a significant CWB bond maturing Jun 16 2022. It is in the money. Would you be inclined to hold or sell?

Many, many thanks for what you are doing in this time of crisis. Michael
Read Answer Asked by Michael on March 20, 2020
Q: I am wondering about Bond ETFs and why they are dropping when interest rates are at historic lows. Does this have to do with liquidity issues of the etf's, with people trying to sell them so fast that the managers of the ETF cannot sell the underlying assets quick enough? Does that mean that the underlying assets of the ETF are actually much higher than the price to buy the ETFs themselves? As an example I am considering the 9% drop of ZAG that occurred today.
Read Answer Asked by Federico on March 20, 2020
Q: I Have held these bond etfs for a long time and they are down considerably. (-16 & -30% -9.00 % -5.16%)and still counting

My question is :
Do I have any reasonable reasonable expectation of ever recovering the capital if I hold them ?
Or I am reasonably safe in selling them and putting what is left in a better place ?


Read Answer Asked by Leonard on March 20, 2020
Q: I know very little about bonds and most ad advisers suggest some bonds for a 73 year old like me. Is this a good time to add bonds to a RRIF? If so, what bonds or bond funds do you recommend?
Thank you for your service.
Don
Read Answer Asked by Donald on March 20, 2020
Q: Dear 5i
With the recent chaos in the markets i had gone to mostly cash but kept the bond ETF`s ( CLF , CBO , XBB , ZAG ) , only to watch them go down quite a bit as well . It's a bit concerning to think that i was well protected to the down side ( at least i thought i was ) , only to see bonds go down . You would think with interest rates going down ( generally good for bonds ) bond yields going down that bond prices typically go up . But such haven`t been the case . In light of all this should i be temporarily reducing my bond exposure or is the worse over do you think for dropping bond prices ?
Would appreciate your insight .
Thanks
Bill C.
Read Answer Asked by Bill on March 18, 2020
Q: XRB is 100% government bonds and is now trading at a substantial discount to NAV. How can this be as the bonds are all government issue and (hopfully) the government is not going to default? Is this another case of dumping anything for cash or is something else happening? Would you enter a small position here as hedge against inflation down the road?
Read Answer Asked by Ronald on March 18, 2020
Q: Do you know why GOC 5YR bond yield are rising so much today? I'm surprised at how theses rates have held up... do you know why?
Read Answer Asked by Darcy on March 17, 2020
Q: Hello 5i,
What do you think of REM as an income stock for a retired person?
Thank you.
Lisa
Read Answer Asked by Elisabeth on March 17, 2020
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