Investment Q&A

Q: Hello!

What are your thoughts on VantagePoint AI software? I went through a 2hr demo which looked very impressive but too good to be true. Looking forward to your take on it. Also, is this is one of the marketing schemes, what leggit AI software packages would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!

Q: What is the formula that allows you to compare the after tax return on Canadian dividend income compared to interest income. For example how do you calculate if it is better to receive a 5 per cent dividend from a stock that qualifies for the dividend tax credit or a 8 per cent interest income assuming you have a 60,000 taxable income per year. Thanks for you help.

Q: These companies are all now the subject of an active open Dutch Auction / share buyback offer to purchase for cash. I am interested in your thoughts on the merits of entering these auctions, and if entered at what price point (the offers are between $29 - $35 depending on the company). The shares have all risen with the release of the offer. Will they fall back after the offer closes? What is the longer term outlook for these companies?

Q: Gentlemen Good Morning
Your answer today about dividends in US$
"Holding US-dollar dividend companies inside a US account saves this fee, and we would prefer to see them held in a US dollar account"
Not always thru unfortunately.
At NBDB, if you have CSU, FNV, OTEX, NTR in US account the fees fx/x conversion are double, because NBDB said it receive dividends in Ca$ from their agent (or custodian). I will complain to the Ombudsman.
At Scotia-ITrade they said the dividends are in Canadian by default because its a Canadian corporation, but they deny that dividends are payed in US$. The agents don't understand (or not competent)
At BMO said they dividends as paid in US$ if the stock is in US account, I feel some uncertainty on this answer but maybe true
VB said "This will only happen for two reasons at Virtual Brokers. First, if you do not have an U.S. side open in your account. Second, if the company trades on Canadian exchanges and pays the dividends in U.S. dollars we convert it to Canadian". Its clear. The G&M gives to VB best discount broker.
Best Regards.

Q: Hi ,
This is a follow up question to the March 25th one asking which companies pay dividends in US dollars. As the US dollar dividends are (usually) automatically converted to Cdn dollars when paid into a Cdn held account, would there be an advantage to buy and hold the equities paying dividends in US dollars in a US account? Or do the currency risks outweigh any potential benefits?
Thanks, as always, for all your insight and suggestions!
Dawn

Q: Can you refer me to any sites (including subscription) that are good for trading options? What I had in mind was a service that provides some form of probability analysis on the likelihood that an option contract will expire worthless or in the money? Thanks in advance.

Q: Hi Peter, on the 5iResearch’s company tab, for each company listed there are approximately 35 financial numbers & ratios describing the company’s financial situation. Could you please suggest the most important financial figures or ratios listed for the company that an investor with a limited understanding of financial statements could look at in order to get a feel for the company’s present financial health. Thanks … Cal

Q: Further to a question asked by ‘M John’ on March 15, about CIPF protection for larger portfolios, my understanding is that an investor is protected to a maximum of $1M, but that is for the ‘cash’ side of things, meaning, if you had $900,000 of stocks and $100,000 of cash, should the broker go under, you’d only be calling on CIPF for $100,000, because all the stock holdings are automatically ‘guaranteed,’ because they’re held separately. So in theory, a portfolio held at one institution can be very large, and one need not worry, unless they get above $1M in cash or cash-equivalents.

Is my understanding correct, or is it $1M total, including all stock holdings?

Thanks for clarifying this.

Q: Good mornng,
Thank you for your prompt and very helpful answer to my question re: Mutual funds/ETFs that do not pay any DISTRIBUTIONS and only generate CAPITAL GAINS.
As a follow up to your general HORIZON Total Return ETFs recommendation, what are your thoughts in terms of appropriateness if I were to split the amount to be invested in each of my minor grandchildrens' Non Registered in-trust accounts as follows: 50% in HXS.CA and 50% in HXT.CA? Your comments/thoughts on these specific ETFs would be most appreciated. Feel free to recommend other ETFs as need be . Thank you.

Q: Hi 5i,
When considering individual stock weighting % allocations should I use the consolidated market value of all equity RRSP, TFSA, Non-Reg accounts? For example a $40K position in KXS is 2% of $2M ( but because the position sits in a RRSP account it makes up 15% of that account then the position is over weighted)?

Q: I continue to try and learn by reading reports, analyst ratings etc. Tudor Pickering has recently released ratings for MX as a hold and price target of $59, currently at $79 and change, and TRP as a buy with a Price target of $62 currently $60.79. This does not make any sense to me. Why hold a stock they estimate will loose $20, and buy a stock that will gain only $1.21.
Please explain if possible, am i missing something?

Q: Any reason for the lack of performance in the Growth port? Canadian small caps have not done well in the last 5-6 years, the Venture exchange has been dropping for 10 years now and is near historical lows. I know there are always a few gems but not enough to cover the all the looses. Is this going to be the new norm or is it just a part of a bigger cycle? I personally feel like to much money is getting poured into the marijuana sector and good quality value stocks are getting no attention. Any thoughts?

Q: I am considering purchase of one of the following 3, CTC, BNS, LB.

If one were to analyze the decision to purchase one of the 3 according to dividends only.

The question is spending 100 000 dollars to purchase any given one of the 3 today, along with the following assumptions, hold x 10 years, no dividend cuts and ongoing ANNUAL dividend growth at present rate (based on present dividend and last years' dividend growth)
CTC present dividend 1.038 dividend growth last year 13 %
BNS present dividend 0.87 and dividend growth last year 5.9%
LB present dividend 0.65 and dividend growth last year 4.2%

At the end of 10 years, WHAT WOULD MY DIVIDEND FOR EACH be in dollars ?

(I can't seem to get the math right and can't find a website calculator to help me.)

Your opinion about the PROS AND CONS of my approach to dividend investing would also be welcome.

Q: Please explain negative interest rates. Why would a bank or country pay someone to hold their money? How does this relate to countries purchasing their own debt? If the economy/markets are in good shape why would negative rates exist and why are they needed?

Q: Does the new digital subscription tax credit apply to our 5i newsletter fees?

Q: Hi 5i. To further transfer from Balanced to Income portfolio, please pick from my top gainers and % gain from which to reduce or sell outright in order from 1st to last or leave alone.
XHC75%, VUN60%, ATD.B35%, ZUH30%, XEF25%, VXC25%, IYT25%.
The proceeds will then be used to top up your income port. and global div. players on pullbacks or as required. Does this make sense? What % cash should I keep in reserve? Thanks

Q: Dear 5i..I am still struggling with the fixed income portion of my portfolio and I am ok with a low but stable, steady income stream (age 68) but I don't wish to see erosion of my capital..my question is-over a period of 15 to 20 years(or longer) as I begin the deaccumulation process do you see any significant difference between bonds and laddered GIC's knowing in fact that both options are yielding peanuts. I would appreciate your comments and alternate strategy...regards. gary

Q: Hi,
I have shares of Equinox Gold in my TFSA and a few months ago they separated their copper assets into a company called Solaris Copper Inc. There was no value assigned to the shares, I'm not sure if they are even a public company yet.
Regardless I assumed the shares will just sit there until a value is assigned and they could be traded publicly. Recently I received a letter from iTRADE informing me that the shares of Solaris are a non qualified security and all income earned and all capital gains derived from the non-qualified investment will be reported to Canada Revenue Agency on a T3RET trust return . Any tax payable on this amount will be levied directly against the TSFA account.
Can you explain this to me? The shares have no value so I can't see that I am on the hook for any penalty. 50% of $0 is $0. Secondly I am angry at Equinox for putting me in this position.
Thanks,
Charlie

Q: I have read your recent ETF and Mutual Fund Update with great interest. The forecast growth numbers for the ETF industry are truly impressive. On the surface, ETFs would appear to be a magic bullet for individual investors who wish diversification at low cost.

Over my lifetime, I have seen a number of financial trends/theses, which start with very strong growth. However, after a period of time, these trends invariably collapse and end badly for the "buy and hold" investors. Do you see any possibility of this occurring for ETF investors? What risks do you see for (conservative, retired) investors who have a portfolio of ETFs as opposed to a basket of diversified, dividend aristocrats? Have you seen any analyses which look at the long-term impact of this trend (i.e. what will happen in the markets if most people buy ETFs and not individual stocks? What risks does this trend pose to individual investors?). Thank-you for your insightful advice.

Q: Lots of press this morning on calls for a much weaker CAD going forward - some forecasting into the low 60's. In the case of prolonged weakness would it be safe to assume that Canadian companies that generate most of their income from foreign operations are "hedged" (companies like MG and BIP.UN for example). In other words - as CAD weakens their CAD translated income and cashflow increases which should lead to higher share prices on the TSX.
Thanks