Investment Q&A

Q: Is the cost of currency exchange something that can be written off on taxes? And if it is, is it captured in the tax statements most brokers provide? And where?

Q: I was just wondering if you could clarify what the 'blackout' rules are for company insiders prior to an earnings report. I have seen this pattern before when a company reports decent earnings, the stock gaps up but sells off on heavy volume. To me, that suggests that some holders were waiting to 'sell the news' on a day that would have heavy volume/liquidity. In your experience, could that be company insiders finally able to sell their stock because they are not allowed to do it prior to earnings? CLS this week is a good example, because usually it is a very low volume trader. Thanks!

Q: I recently heard a podcast which said that buybacks generally benefit insiders and were actually illegal prior to the Clinton administration. I do notice myself that the stock price does not seem to rise much on the announcement of big buybacks and that companies seem to do it when the price is higher rather than times like these when it would seem most worthwhile.

What is your take on this?

Q: Hello Peter et al:

A great question by James today and equally a great answer by you! AAPL wasn't included in James' question and hence the price targets characterized by Good price VS Great price for AAPL wasn't mentioned. I have added AAPL here.
(MSFT: 240/210; GOOG: 95/80: AMZN: 95/80.)

IF I were to request you to wear your Option trader's hat, (after all you manage a fund based on options!) how would you play these stocks. Assume that these are long term holdings and cash covered. Should one simply either buy puts or sell covered calls. Your "great" price targets roughly assume about 15% downside correction.

If indeed these solid stocks are going on sale and if one is determined to hold them for ever, why would one not make any money whilst one waits?
That's the thesis behind my question.

Many thanks in advance.

Mano

Q: in which sector would you classify this stock

Q: So, I made a booboo.

I intended to purchase CTS in my TFSA (CAD) but I made the purchase in my TFSA (USD) account. I didn't think much of it, but turns out I seem to have purchased CTSDF on the OTCQX exchange (Over the counter).

It still reads as 'Converge Technology Solutions' but in USD and with a different ticker.

What did I buy and what should I do to make the switch?

Luckily, I'm up 18% in 40 days.

Q: Please advise what was the yield and price per earnings of the S & P TSX as of dec 31 2022. In the future where would I find this info?
Thank you.

Q: Good day 5i - I would like to know if it is advisable to pay a fee for an ETF Cash Account if you are frequently depositing and withdrawing funds to use to buy stocks, etc. I realize the funds are more liquid. Also, not having used an ETF previously, do you need to be concerned when the ETF is at a higher price when you purchase it. Thank you.

Q: I am having difficulty finding out about fees associated with CDRs. On the one hand I see the answer 'there are no fees'. On the other hand, I see this on CIBC's website: "The notional currency hedge includes a spread earned by CIBC which will on average not exceed 0.60% on an annualized basis." Is this 0.6% paid for by owners of the specific CDR? If so, is there a similar expense at every bank or brokerage through which one might buy a CDR? This would severely hurt the value of buying CDRs would it not? You are still taking all the equity specific risk, you would still be charged the withholding tax, and unlike an ETF, you are not gaining any diversification for your fees. Thank-you.

Q: Hi Folks, about the NCIB. Has there ever been any research done on what affect an NCIB has on the share price and overall financial health of the company. Thanks for considering this.

Q: On Jan 18 Dan asked a question
Your answer indicated a search for your “Watchlist followed by sub category”
How am I able to locate this information
Thanks

Q: Hi Peter and Staff

Yesterday "D" asked a question about websites to find returns of various indexes and you provided a link for S&P, Nasdaq and TSX. The S&P link clearly said the returns quoted included dividends. Perhaps I missed it but did the other two state whether the returns included dividends.

I am not sure if this is a separate question but when the TSX index shows up on the tickers every day and whether it is up or down and yearly tsx indexes are compared , is it reasonable to assume that is a factored mathematical calculation based on size of companies and their prices over a certain period of time? Does it assume price only or that you re invested the dividends into more shares of those companies?
Thanks for all you do

Dennis

Q: For a covered call ETF,the ROC will reduce progressively, year after year ,the initial book value,so what will happen then if you don't sell the ETF after many years : if the book value reaches zero,does this means that the book value could then become negative? If not,it will be interesting to keep the ETF for very long term..

Q: Hi There!

I and family own CDR shares on NEO of several US companies. I thought that, as they are fractional shares of the main shares they would mostly move in same direction of the parent shares. Lately I’ve noticed quite often even though the main shares are up on a day the CDRs are moving lower sometimes significantly. I can understand a few things that may cause this such as USD/CAD FX or perhaps it’s trading volume differences. Can you please explain this further?

Thank you!

Q: What criteria do you use in providing suggestions when you are asked for:
a) top dividend picks, or
b) top growth picks?

Thank you.

Q: I have noticed a few TSX listed companies mentioned positively in the 5i answers to questions that I haven't seen before. Nice to see some different names suggested as ones you like. In going back and looking at these companies, I see very good results in the latest earnings report. The stocks have, however, had a nice move up already, since those earnings reports were issued. It would have been great if we were made aware of these very good results soon after they were announced, so that we could not miss out on the subsequent run up in the share price.

So - I am wondering if 5i would consider issuing some kind of alert right after a company has reported quarterly earnings that are impressive, better than expected, and which are now looking like possible buy candidates that we could be looking at. A few of these a year could make a big difference. I try to do this occasionally in the forums section with Canadian companies that I follow that announce very strong results. No in depth analysis needed, just a "hey, have a look at this".

Q: With interest rates rising and bond yields now almost at levels worth looking at I want to start adding a few bonds to my portfolio. Obviously the easy thing to do would be to buy a few of your recommended bond ETFs but I would rather buy and hold individual bonds over bat for the average with an ETF. Can you recommend some good reading material on the subject of building a self managed bond portfolio. I understand the basics, looking for a slightly more advanced guide for a DIY investor.

Q: Schedule K1 Tax Form. I was looking at general commodity type funds and see that DBC and PDBC seem somewhat similar if looking at their commodity portfolios. Both deal with 14 traded commodities. Was using ETF.com as the information source.

DBC seems to have more trading volume and also a higher mgmt expense (0.87%).
PDBC has mgmt expense of 0.62% and assets under mgmt seem to be approx 6Bil. vs 2.53Bil with DBC

One difference noticed is that the structure of PDBC doesn't result in the creation of a Schedule K1 Tax Form while DBC does.

Please explain to me like I'm a 12 year old and that I have a "BIG RED L" on my ETF/ETN trading knowledge and trades vehicle.... what significance is the K1 thing and what sort of pitfalls do I need to be aware of if trades are being done in non-registered accounts? Does the K1 have the potential to add complexity and hassle at tax time?

Thanks for all that you folks at 5i are doing. Much appreciated.

Q: In a previous question you recommended ZSP be held in a RRSP so as to avoid the US withholding tax on dividends. Does the same tax rule apply to a RESP? If not & there is a US withholding tax on dividends, is it still worth holding ZSP in a RESP. Thanks … Cal

Q: Recently you answered my question for US dollars in my US RRIF account.Would it be better to transfer US funds into my Canadian RRIF to buy those stocks you suggested. Tks 5i