Investment Q&A

Q: Where can I find a repeat of the Feb 4 webinar by Ryan

Q: Rob's question regarding Constellation not issuing new shares and any other companies, I thought maybe BRK fit that or because of BRK.B guess not.

Also not to nitpick but CSU and GOOG can't be compared in the non issuing equity even though not a direct comparison as you did say "To our knowledge, GOOG has not issued shares other than for acquisitions, which is not quite the same" as GOOGLE has issued insane amounts of shares via SBC and of course they buyback to keep share count BUT Is there not a better way? BEN HUNT says it well I think:

"When stock buybacks are used to sterilize stock-based comp (i.e., a company gives managers stock with one hand and buys it back from them with the other hand), no money is “returned to shareholders”. This is true whether or not management actually sells its shares into the buyback program.
Stock buybacks only “return cash to shareholders” to the degree that the buyback program reduces the share count. To the degree the buyback program does not reduce the share count, but simply sterilizes new issuance to management, it is purely a transfer of wealth from shareholders to management."

Thoughts or rebuttal to that?

For readers on Constellation:
Mark Leonard was funded with 25 million from OMERS in 1995 to start, they had one private placement in 2000 that Leonard regrets for 60 million (TD Capital – Birch Hill and OMERS), then going public in 2006 no shares were issued just provided exit for OMERS/Birch Hill.

The best things about them among never issuing new shares for acquisitions etc is they have no Stock Based Compensation or RSU/ESO and that combo is not replicated anywhere (plus executives and employees having to buy stock with parts of their bonus and hold for 4 years is great alignment).

This along with numerous other factors are why its my highest holding and you never worry about it, ever, 10 years reading your answers and your views have never changed on this company, you have always been a big bull and wish I didn’t wait until 2022 to buy or really understand the company!

Q: I was unfortunately unable to participate in the webinar yesterday. Is there a recording that I am able to access?

Q: Hi 5i Team - Constellation Software is a company that has never issued shares beyond their initial IPO. I'm pretty sure this applies to LMN and TOI as well but could you confirm. In all three, is there any possibility of them issuing more shares in the future.
Also could you name a few other companies that have never issued shares, Canadian, U.S., any size market cap, any sector.
Thanks.

Q: I don't really want to spend C$1.45+ for each USD cash. So to gain US market exposure, does it make sense to buy CDRs of US companies (Cdn $ version of their large cap stocks) ? for example JPM, MSFT, GOOGL, BRK.B etc.

Q: In the event that the USD reverses course and starts to become even moderately devalued (e.g. BRICS decides to actually develop an alternative trading currency system that by-passes the USD), how should Canadian investors strategize and position themselves within the various asset classes?

Q: My son inadvertently, a while back, bought Canadian companies (eg. SLF) in his US Margin account. Is there a way to get them back to the Canadian margin account? Is that called "Journaling"? Would you end up with more shares on the Canadian side, given that you are converting from the US $? Any gain/loss/currency tax issues? Thanks very much.

Q: I looked on Fundata on this ETF and it says
Management Fee. 0.18%
MER. 0.20 % So does that mean I’m paying .38 % in total to be deducted in total and when would that be payed and also do you think this is a decent ETF to just kind of set and forget,possibly. thanks

Q: Questrade will now let me journal voucher stocks online for no charge until April 1. What would be the advantage to do this to my dual listed TSX and NYSE stocks? Would it just be making a bet that the US dollar will continue to gain on the Canadian dollar?

Q: What are your thoughts on market-linked GICs as opposed to traditional fixed rate GICs?

Thanks

Q: Hello Peter and team,

We look into each question for your transparency on US holdings. We are truly thankful for that insight. I must say that our portfolio for US holdings would be so much better if your team managed our portfolio! :-) The 5i team is always 3-6 months ahead of the curve (buying or selling). We have and will continue to do well with your suggestions.

For all that you and your team does. Thank you.

D&J

Q: So how many people do you know that have asked “ why does a stock fall everytime after I buy it ? “ I bought GXLY the day before DEEPSEEK. LOL. Derek

Q: Follow-up to my earlier question about any news for the drop today. You indicated no news. I was hoping for more than this. Can you provide some thoughts on why it's down? I don't think its profit taking as the stock hasn't been a great performer recently.

Q: Hello 5i,

Can you shed some light on Bloomberg's article into alternative off-exchange activity. The report indicated that 51% of all trades now are through this or alternative platforms called dark pools instead of Wall Street. It sounds like rich people getting higher value for their investments than the ordinary joe.

Thank you

D&J

Q: Good morning, just wanted fire off a note to say how appreciative I am with your timely communications. With this Deepseek announcement, I knew there would likely be some carnage with the AI stocks. I recognize that this could still adversely affect stocks like NVDA long term, but it is most helpful to receive your comments so quickly,

Q: Everyone, if you were just starting out on a long journey of investing your savings in the market, what would be the first three things you would do? Clayton

Q: Just a comment, So now we have preliminary numbers for the quarterly reports, we have quarterly report numbers. What next? I thought we were supposed to be investing for the long term. What happens if a company doesn’t provide preliminary numbers, you may think something might be wrong? Investing is definitely getting complicated thanks for your help, but where does it end. I’m surprised they can even do that.
Sorry for my rant but that caught me by surprise.
Publish only if you want to.

Q: So what is the big deal that the staff of 5i cannot buy Cdn. stocks, i do not feel you would sway the market by being involved any more than your ownership of US stocks that you hold probably does not move your stock choices on the US market. Seems confusing to me and outdated.
Thanks Again.

Q: Hi everyone,

I have a hard time using the MARKET DATA to compare similar companies. For example, which ratios would you use for NVDA, AMD, MU, and others in the same space if you wish. It would be nice to have the same info for other industries, so we might be a bit more self-reliant . P/E are sky-high these days and seem not to matter anymore. Thanks.

Q: How can I find out who is buying IZO & the number of shares they are buying?

Thank you.