Investment Q&A

Q: Hi Team,
If the AI bubble bursts, what stocks do you think could still hold up? Could I get three ideas, please?
Friday’s market was rough — even the non-AI names took a hit.
Thanks!

Q: I know you don't like selling winners, but I am concerned about a bust following the AI boom which would devastate technology stocks (and the whole market). Nevertheless, I am thinking of selling some winners in my RRIF, AVGO and QCOM, to invest in BND, which would bring my bond allocation up to 10% weight. I have been retired for 15 years and live on the dividends from my portfolio. The growth in dividends has more than offset inflation and my portfolio income is more than enough for my lifestyle, so I have never seen the need for a higher bond weighting until now. Would this be a good move? Or do you think I being too fearful and should stay the course with my technology investments (currently 27% of my portfolio)?

Q: Hi,

I realize that the way I originally phrased my question about financial education may have been unclear.

What I truly intended to ask was more general in nature and not specifically related to covered calls.

I’m looking for the best way to acquire a solid, general foundation in securities — something that would enable me to invest with greater confidence and competence.

Apologies for the confusion in my earlier message, and thank you in advance for your guidance.

Best regards,
Jacques IDS

Q: I have some Pan American Silver shares in my Canadian dollar account at my broker, but I also have some Pan American Silver shares in my US dollar account (obtained through a US takeover).

I don't think my broker charges anything to transfer the shares from my US account to my Canadian account, but my question is: When I move the shares from my US account, will they automatically transfer one-for-one so that I simply have all the shares combined in a single (Canadian) listing? This would save me an extra commission, and a potential foreign exchange hit, if I ever decide to sell them. Thanks.

Q: I remember a question from a while back asking something like "How do you recommend members use 5i either Daily or Weekly?"

I can't seem to find it so can you please answer again? Thanks

Q: Hi 5i,

Many thanks for your very helpful and thorough reply to my question on covered call ETFs.

I realize that I still lack some financial education to become a better investor. Since I work full-time, could you suggest practical ways to build up this knowledge? For example, would you recommend evening classes in Montreal, online courses, or perhaps a good reading list?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

With gratitude,

Jacques IDS

Q: Good afternoon,

I am hoping to fill out a couple positions in my non registered account.

I’d like to do so while changing currency. Would it be worth selling the CDR, wait 30 days and rebuy in your prediction.

I’m assuming we may see some further downward pressure with tax season around the corner. What would be your strategy here?

Thank you.

Q: How much importance do you place on the level of the cape ratio when making investment decisions? If one were retiring in the near future with the cape at near record levels. Should they not be concerned about equity returns being low over the next 10 years?

Q: I would appreciate your thoughts on recent “noise” around circular financing. Is this not unusual in certain industries? A concern or risk to be aware of? Or just static noise that should be ignored? Thanks

Q: This is a question about portfolio management. In this atmosphere of sustained stock price increases reaching very high levels, could you please discuss the pros and cons of stop losses and stop limits. At what price do you place the stop loss, 5%, 10% ?? if used?

Thanks

Dave.

Q: I've reached a 100% return on SHOP and taken some profit. I'm happy with this result after a long time in the red through 2022 and 2023. Thanks for the service and this recommendation.

I've been managing a portion of my investments since 2010 and find one of the hardest decisions is when to sell an investment. One rule I follow is if I have a 100% gain, I sell a portion of if. This of course only covers one of many reasons to sell, and taking profits maybe the least stressful reason, but I find this reduces my overall mental load in managing my accounts.

I wanted to share and see what you thought of this idea and see if you, or any other members, have other rules of thumb for selling to help novice investors.

Q: It's all your fault? For which I'm always grateful for your sound advice. This is a good problem to have. NBIS is now 13% , HOOD 10%, CLS 15% and SHOP 14%. Yes, Im going to trim but the growth prognosis is good for all 4 going forward. What would you advise as decent position size for all 4 going into the 4th quarter?
Thank you David

Q: Sometimes when markets feel a little "frothy" I wonder what is behind the movement. I think one causal factor would be that certain investment managers, such as for larger pension funds, have cash flowing from contributions weekly (or at some regular interval) and they MUST keep cash balances within the range of their investment portfolio objectives so they need to buy SOMETHING!

If this in any way accurate? How much does it move the needle? What other strategies can these managers use to reduce volatility? (Maybe this comes full circle to Dollar Cost Averaging and that much of the time the market is at a new all-time high.)

Thanks!!

Q: I know market timing is a mugs game but would welcome your thoughts on the risk of a market top. What signs do you look for in determining when to reduce exposure? Is there an optimal cash level to provide some insurance? what inning are we in?

Q: I know 5I is a financial service. But sometimes, one may wish to invest in companies according to his/her values, regardless of the financial data. I remember a Q&A where a member wanted to sell its Amazon shares after it closed its operations in Quebec, but your answer was strictly about the financial outlook. It’s OK, AMZN is a good stock, but Amazon does not have a great reputation as an employer either.

Some sectors might be blacklisted by an investor such as Oil sands, alternative lenders with ultra-high interest rates (GSY) , ‘sin’ stocks (tobacco, gambling), ownership (E. Musk), monopolistic control (NWC in northern Canada), some countries (DRC, Russia, China) and more.

Of course, it’s the investors ‘duty to know and decide what they want to buy. But I was wondering if 5I-Market Data could include some type of ESG rating, even if they are far from perfect. And make it a subject of the Blog from time to time. And identify some web sites for concerned investors.

Sorry, my English is not perfect. Thanks, Denise

Q: Hi Guys,
I am unable to have a US Direct Investing account for my kids RESP through RBC. Do you have any thoughts on best institutions (ie. minimal fees, straightforward to use, safe) to transfer and hold RESP funds to - and, of course, to be able to trade in US market?
Thanks so much!

Q: What do you folks think of the proposal to cut back required financial reporting by public companies from quarterly to semiannually.

Q: When people compare investing a lump sum to dollar cost averaging to market timing they usually trot out long term averages showing lump sum is better. Doesn’t context matter? Valuations are currently elevated. If they ran the comparisons after eliminating the years when valuations were at or below some long term average would the answer change?

How would you approach this question in today’s market context.

Appreciate you get a version of this question regularly but I’d like your answer for today. Thanks!

Q: Can you please provide an updated assessment on Alibaba, and whether your sentiment has changed vs your answer in Nov 2024? Buy Sell or Hold? Thank you.

Q: Why would BN split?