Investment Q&A

Q: The dynamic of how business operates in the US has continued to change and there are now new creative
few structures being charged for international
business, most notably this week to American chip manufacturers for exporting to China. To what degree do you see potential for Canadian companies to be hamstrung for US operations in new creative ‘pay-to-play’ ways? It seems increasingly possible that anything is possible, especially where it doesn’t directly impact the US voter base.

Q: Hi,

I've been a longtime customer of BMOInvestorline and have been happy. However, I've seen WealthSimple offering to pay customers a 1% bonus to transfer accounts to them. For example, if I transfer an unregistered account in kind with a value of $1M, then I would receive $10K from WealthSimple paid over 10 months.

That seems like a very good ROI for the few hours that it will take me to complete the forms and submit them to WealthSimple to complete the transfer. They also don't charge any commissions on trades, unlike BMO.

I have a friend who transferred $3M and will start collecting $30K over 12 months. Not too shabby.

How do they make money when they are paying customers 1% to transfer accounts and then don't charge commissions?


Robert

Q: In a recent market update you stated that the markets were approaching or beginning to appear a little frothy!!

Given that the markets have continued to reach all time highs (albeit earnings have been very good) do you continue to view the market as somewhat frothy or full on frothy??

How would you position your holdings going into a potentially frothy market?

Thank you
Tim

Q: The situation ..... A U.S. ETF that pays a rather large dividend . I get an email from them with dividend announcements for every month ..... The ex dividend " and " date of record are the same ...... Hypothetical situation ..... I buy the stock today ...... It goes both ex dividend and date of record tomorrow..... The dividend is paid the following day ..... First question is how they would know I bought the stock in enough time to pay me ? The ex dividend and date of record are the same so I think I'm entitled to the dividend . Am I ? If the ex dividend and date of record are the same day I would think the " settlement date " { whenever that is } would be irrelevant ..... Is it ? The reason I ask is I can collect a rather large dividend and trade myself in and out of the ETF in a short period of time limiting my risk ...... If the settlement date does comes into play { It shouldn't according to their own statements } How long is the settlement date ?

Q: Hello 5i
I am starting to move from a strong growth approach to a defensive position. I still want growth but a little less risk. I have a more less balanced portfolio and am in my mid seventies. I don’t need the cash and want to avoid dividends. Capital gains instead. I am thinking about increasing my holdings in the stocks mentioned above. What i am trying to figure out is what percentage of total port can I go up to with these. I already hold about 5 % of each. I keep thinking of your recommendation of holding only 5% in each stock. I would like to have more in these stocks for safety reasons. But, is it a good idea to do so? And up to what levels
Thanks as always for your excellent service
I asked a question earlier about percentages of a portfolio some big, stable companies could take. I neglected to add csu to the list. Possible to add it in ? Also, implicid in the previous question, if not clearly stated, is the question of what happens to the percentages of all the other companies, if these take 10 or more percent each?

Q: During the monday morning strength in the market I trimmed a few high flyers back to +/- 5% positions, now sitting at 12% cash expecting a sale on stocks in the future. RBC portfolio analyzer shows my position in NBIS at 7.5% currently, but if I minus the cash holding its closer to 10 %. To me it makes sense to minus the cash from the total when looking at position sizes, or not?

Q: Greetings,

I am honestly perplexed by the current performance of the S&P 500. I don't understand why the valuations are near all time highs. From my point of view the uncertainty with tariffs (now settling on with alot of baseline tariffs), the revision in the jobs report, the firing of people who report info the president doesn't like, and the pressure mounting on the federal reserve make the current price levels not make sense to me. Is it because the market is pricing in higher inflation or expects the tariffs to help the US economy? I understand the market is complex but would it be possible for you to shed some light so I can better understand why the market is as high as it is?

Thanks in advance,
Aidan

Q: Palantir CEO Alex Karp on Monday characterized his company’s performance using a simple rule that has historically boded well for tech stock returns.

Karp said in a release that the company’s score with the “Rule of 40” was a 94%


Rule of 40 says that the sum of the revenue growth rate and the profit margin should be 40% or higher.

Do you use this?

How can an average investor measure & use it?

Can it be used on all stocks [company's]?

Thank you.

Q: Where do I find the “best stock ideas” tab

Q: Like most people, I am worried about Trump tampering with the fed. That being said, I noticed in a recent article, that the people Trump has in mind for Powell's post tend to look more at forecasting rather than recent data. How much of this is spin and how much is forecasting a legitimate approach for the fed?

Q: Hubby and I are getting close to retirement. Would you be comfortable with your entire portfolio at Questrade? Or WeathSimple? The free trading is really attractive. Or would you suggest having some at a brokerage at one of the big banks, for more security? Thanks.

Q: What are your thoughts on the class action securities lawsuits filed against NVO, and on class action securities lawsuits in general? Specifically related to NVO, I understand there are two lawsuits alleging that NVO misled investors, one linked to the ~18% stock price drop on December 20, 2024, and a more recent claim linked to the ~21% drop on July 29, 2025. What are the typical chances of receiving a recovery, what might the recovery amount be (% of losses), and how long do these lawsuits usually take to resolve? As an NVO shareholder, should I sign up for the more recent lawsuit, if eligible?

Q: You have been extremely kind to help us with US Stocks and we have extremely benefited from it, but would prefer answer to Canadian stocks
First as sometimes there are too many US stocks answered and I read all before getting into Canadian Stocks.(

Q: Hi, I have a general question about portfolio management and overall positioning. I have a pretty good overall diversified portfolio with quality names that are often discussed here, though I don't really hold any names in utilities or materials. I'm early 40's and generally on the growth side of investing. My highest sectors are tech (27%), Financials (19%), Industrials (14%), Cyclicals (9%) and Energy (8%). My lowest sectors are Staples (5%), Health care (5%), and Communications (4%). Crypto is at 4%. REITS zero as my house is paid off.

How often should we re-position sector allocation in a year for our portfolio? Is it once or twice a year? Quarterly? I'm not talking about big sector changes but small adjustments such as trimming tech and adding to other sectors. Some of these market rotations happen quickly in the market. Its not a question of IF a correction will happen, but more WHEN and how to be prepared for it. What is the best way to capture upside vs downside protection? What are some key metrics to look at in our individual names? Gains have been good the last few years and I've been around to experience many crashes over the last 25 years since University and have learned a lot about holding quality long term compounders. Thank you!

Q: Everyone, I do not day trade but I was interested in learning more about this type of investing but I am not sure we’re to start. Would you recommend a book or magazine or blog that I could learn from. Clayton

Q: With rich valuations in the market and inflation poised to move higher on tariff deals, what would be your asset mix to preserve capital while seeking a modest total return of around 4%?

Q: What happens to out of the money call and put options on PKI after the takeover?

Q: When I look at what the insiders are doing on a company which is available on some sites, with the stocks they hold, I see:

Sell post exercise?
Exercise?
Sell;
Award?

Which of these should be concerning? Could you please explain the terminology of the ones above with a question mark.
Thank you.

Q: As 5I research noted the 5 reasons to be worried about markets. Are there at least a few good reasons to be a bit optimistic. I tend to be overly optimistic for too long sometimes.

Q: Hi, when looking at what sectors your companies fit in, what source do you use and why are there many different sites that give different sectors? For example, Dollarama. I see that you have it as cons cyclical in your portfolio, as well as does Koyfin. But when I look at yahoo, tmx, morning star, and globe and mail, they have it listed as cons staples? Which trusted source should we go with when allocating %'s to our sectors because it could throw off our sector allocations if not allocated properly. Thanks!