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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: Hi Guys
I also have a subscription to Simply Wall Street. I find their APP excellent, and like their analysis of companies.
Can you give me your opinion of what you think generally of their information, and specifically about their calculation of Fair Value.
Thanks !
Read Answer Asked by Gordon on May 25, 2020
Q: My outlook on the market is that there is a lot more downside risk than upside potential. I am thinking to use bull and bear ETF's to reduce market risk in a pair trade of sorts. For example, go long NASDAQ (QQQ) and short S&P (SH). The other one I'm thinking about is long investment grade (LQD) and short high yield (SJB). What do you think of the strategy generally? Secondly, what is your opinion on my choices?
Read Answer Asked by ROB on May 22, 2020
Q: Good Afternoon,
I recall that you released a list of Canadian domiciled companies that pay dividends in USD. CSU comes to mind, where can I find this list? Not sure whether you did a blog & discussion on this subject matter or was it simply a list, not sure.
thanks
Read Answer Asked by Chris on May 22, 2020
Q: When calculating a company's dividend payout ratio, I have seen some analysts use earnings while others use free cash flow. What is the difference between the two metrics, and which one gives a better picture of a company's ability to fund its dividend.
Read Answer Asked by Jay on May 21, 2020
Q: Re the question the other day about a service similar to 5i but for the USA... would Keystone Financial fit the bill? Not sure if they are conflict-free though, and a bit pricey.
Read Answer Asked by William on May 19, 2020
Q: Every so often I read an article which mentions “bail-in”. I would like you to explain this process and how it would affect an investor from being invested in stocks, banks as well as other companies, to holding cash. I currently have a healthy cash balance and am waiting for the markets to stabilize before I make more investments. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Ronald on May 19, 2020
Q: “Management teams prioritized liquidity and balance sheet strength,” Goldman said in a report to clients published earlier this week. “Heightened uncertainty prompted companies to reduce capital expenditures, buybacks, and dividends.”

Given this statement what do you consider the main focus areas for analyzing a company? PE? Book value? Free cash flow? Payout ratio? Debt/Equity? Revenue changes?

Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Ronald on May 19, 2020
Q: No Bid
5i made reference in March to companies like FSZ going no bid. Can you please explain further what this means. I am assuming no investors were bidding on the stock and short sellers would bid\ask the price down on smaller companies like FSZ. Thx
Read Answer Asked by blake on May 16, 2020
Q: I am trying to understand the value of diversification in our investments, particularly, for a buy-and-hold investor. I have the impression (correct me if I am wrong) that 5i regards ownership of one or more equities in each of the eleven TSX sectors as diversification (along with a portion of fixed income). To that end, I have been seeking (unsuccessfully) data that shows the progress of each of these sectors over time. I would like to know, for example, whether in the long term, one successful sector can compensate for another failing sector? As a rough proxy, in the absence of such data, I have examined the i-Shares sector etfs over the past twenty years and come to the conclusion that owning all sectors at all times may not be the best strategy. Over that period of time, one might have been better off to use only three sectors, namely, consumer staples, healthcare and information technology than to invest in all of the sectors. I would appreciate your view of what diversification means and what data you use to support that view. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by richard on May 15, 2020
Q: Good morning, Peter/Ryan!
I am interested in finding more detailed info about European and emerging market dividend paying stocks, essentially of the "blue chip" variety. Do you know of any specific resources that provides coverage in that area? As well, would you by chance have any recommendations of specific stocks and/or ETFs along those lines … maybe 4 or 5?
Thanks a lot!
Paul
Read Answer Asked by Paul on May 15, 2020
Q: For an individual bond that I hold to maturity, I would consider the yield to maturity as being more relevant than the current yield. But when it comes to a bond etf what is the relevant metric? Possibly the average current yield? As presumably the underlying bonds are not held to maturity as they would be bought and sold to keep the etf's duration in line with its target.
Read Answer Asked by William on May 14, 2020
Q: In your recent presentation, you screened for "shareholder yield". I have been unable to find this data in the usual places (Yahoo, Google, my RBC and BMO sites, TMX). Can you tell me if you know any free sites that would provide this for Canadian stocks?
Read Answer Asked by Paul on May 14, 2020
Q: Hi there,

I have been a member of 5i for a few years now and love the service you provide. I know you don't provide US coverage at the moment, but are there any services similar to 5i with US coverage that you know of that you would recommend? I would like to start purchasing US equities but am looking for a service similar to 5i, but for US equities.

Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by Michael on May 14, 2020
Q: Is there someplace on this site that shows me when my membership expires ?
Read Answer Asked by Robert on May 14, 2020
Q: Under the recent answers about Shopify, LSPD and Kinaxis there is no mention of " authors of these answers, directors, partners of 5i Research have a financial or other interest in any of these at the time of answering the questions.".
What is the reason?
Read Answer Asked by Lorraine on May 13, 2020