Investment Q&A

Q: As we are not investing gurus, we often have difficulty understanding company reports. Could the 5i team suggest 5 impotant metrics to look for in company reports, both quarterly and annually. Perhaps this could be one of Peter's columns in the media. If this has been addressed previously, please advise.

Thank you,
Pat & Cyril

Q: What is the best way to think about position size of a particular stock and sector size, should it be based on total portfolio value or value within individual accounts?
Mike

Q: I am donating some of my CSU shares (20% of holding) and am considering whether or not these should be replaced in my portfolio. Currently, CSU is 3% of my investment portfolio and 6% of my equity portfolio (before the donation). When you speak to 5% as a ceiling for exposure, is that in the total portfolio or the equity portion of the portfolio?

Q: Hello 5i
I wonder if you would enlighten me on another aspect of your option selling. I know the object is to create premiums. But, psychologically I feel that I have lost if I buy back a stock which has risen and been called away. For instance, last month I sold a call on shop US for $94. Now, it is $100. Would you let it go, buy it back at the new price and sell a new option; buy back the call and sell another option or let it go and buy another stock that may be better priced to sell an option on. The answer is probably obvious for you. But, I am a bit muddled on this
Thanks as always

Q: I noticed that some of the big American stocks that were trading as CDRs I believe on the NEO Exchange,stopped trading there on Feb 14 and now it looks like their trading in Toronto and only have a history back to Feb14
The companies are NVDA,MSFT,TSLA,GOOG META and COST,there’s probably more,do you know why this happened and is their any significance to it Thanks

Q: Good morning and thank you for your many years of valued service.

In this unsettled market, investor focus is shifting away from a narrow focus on price appreciation. Are there any available resources to review the total return of a single stock or make the same comparisons of any pairs?

Scott

Q: My question is about ETF's with dividends. How many days do I have to own an ETF BEFORE I'm eligible to receive their dividend?

For example, TDIV has an Ex-Dividend Date of 12/13/2024

What date did I need to have bought this by to qualify for that dividend?

Q: Hi 5i Team - Price per Earnings and forward P/E is often used as a measure of valuation for a stock. Also I am assuming that when someone talks of a company trading at 20 times earnings they are referring to this ratio. However I have never been completely sure about what this means. Does earnings mean EBITA. Could you elaborate on the exact meaning of earnings.

Secondly is this the best measure of a company's success, at least for investment purposes, or is there another metric (or more) that gives a better insight into the valuation of a company.

I've never seen a price per profit ratio so here's the third part of this question. Does something like this exist or is there a similar ratio that would help in evaluating a company's performance.

Thank you.

Q: I was overthinking diversification all night long and got to wondering about purchasing foreign stocks. There are 4 solid Australian stocks that are their "aristocrats".

It seems strange that US/CDN markets are interchangeable yet I can't find how to even buy something listed on the .ASX ( not so simple for Wealthsimple)

Given diversification is so important, do you purchase foreign stocks directly? How so?

I understand that tax treaties and commissions may make the issue pointless. But money is money. Even if it's EUROS or Aussie dollars. Curious about your experiences.

Thanks for all you do

Q: Everyone, what financial metric do you wish people knew more about or understood? Clayton

Q: Does it make sense in buying a small position in something like sqqq? Any other general short recommended? What is a suggested position size given for a short given that all my other positions are positive. Is my maximum loss limited to amount of money invested in sqqq..ie can it go in the negative? Thanks.

Q: Where to easily find receipt for membership fees for taxes please.

Q: What percentage would you consider hihh, moderate and low short interest in any given stock please - thank you.

Q: How is a DRIP for VBAL advantageous for an investment in an RIF? Would it not be beneficial if the market value or the number of units increased rather than the cost base? I don't understand why my financial adviser would set this up. Please help me understand this investment in a registered account. Thank you for your invaluable service.

Q: Let’s talk taxes … According to prior Q&As , subscription to 5i Research would be tax deductible. If I subscribed to a Bundle including CMS and ETF/Mutual Fund , I assume only the basic amount (now $250+Tx) is tax deductible?
I do not subscribe to Portfolio Analytics but same question could be of interest to the members.
Thanks.

Q: Would you be able to provide some insight to why the tariffs are having such a dramatic impact on the Oil & Gas industry.
President is pushing for "drill-baby-drill" but the US and CDN segments are being negatively impacted?
Your great service is much appreciated. Ted.

Q: Is there a free site where we can see the amount of shorting in each stock, and perhaps how that has changed over time, that you know about? Thanks.

Q: Hi 5I
Pls comment on canap from altian trust as an investment. Is it also available from other sources.Tks in advance

Q: Good morning. I'm intrigued by Wealthsimple's offer of bonuses for transferring RRSP etc. What's the catch? Seems the bonuses would accrue over a couple of years but, other than that, is this legit? What do you think about this bid for adding "sticky" accounts? thanks as always

Q: Is it concerning that NVDA had really good results (but not good enough) and the market is selling off? When all the good news is baked into prices and there's nothing stock earnings can do to impress the markets, is it time to get defensive? Is it more tariff and recession related? The 10 yr is down to 4.3% so you would think it's good for equities that rates are coming down, but if the reason for the decline is because we are expecting a recession, it's not good. I'm not really panicking but portfolio is mainly growth oriented and there are signs that the market is rolling over due to excessive valuation and a whole lot of other worries. Any advice on how we should be positioning or getting more defensive? Thanks!