Investment Q&A

Q: You have repeatedly recommended PBH, TSGI and PHO in your portfolios, so I am interested at starting positions in PBH and TSGI, and adding to my existing position in PHO.
While I like that they have all come down in price, I am hesitant to buy because you recommend buying into positive momentum not negative.
I use stockcharts for my evaluations before I buy so my question is: How would you determine when to enter a stock showing negative momentum using technicals? Do you wait until it crosses the xx day ema, MACD crosses positive, RSI above 50, etc.?

Q: I much appreciate the US market maps that finviz.com provides, with its various options and details. Finviz does provide a small market map of the Canadian market, but it lacks relevant detail. Is there a site that provides more fine-grained maps of the Canadian markets? There is a Canadian one at https://stockcharts.com/freecharts/carpet.html?[TSX], but it lacks much detail. Thank you.

Q: Are there Canadian companies whose dividends are paid in USD and qualify for the dividend tax credit? If so please provide a list of a dozen or so or alternatively how can I locate them?
Thank you.

Q: Peter,
In your opinion, what is a better predictor of future cash flows, Earnings vs Cash Flows? The FASB indicated operating earnings are a better predictor but just wondering your general thoughts on this topic? Also, which earnings do you prefer: EBITDA, EBIT, EBT or Net Income?

Thanks.

Q: Press release from last week:
American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP ("AHIP", the "Company") (TSX: HOT.UN, HOT.U, and HOT.DB.U) discloses that Rob O'Neill, CEO, purchased 5,000 additional units today, through open market purchases.
Since January 1, 2018, Mr. O'Neill has acquired 163,398 additional units of AHIP, including 15,498 units provided as part of his agreement with the Company to take 100% of his 2018 compensation in the form of equity.

Seems to me a CEO taking 100% of his 2018 compensation in equity is a great sign and bullish for the stock. Do you agree? Also, how common is this for a CEO to be 100% compensated in equity?

Q: Thank you very much for your answers and service. You has been helping me in my investment decisions quite a lot.
I have noticed that responses to questions seems to be variable at times. It seems that some answers have a different approach than others. I am not saying that responses have been wrong of conflicting, just different. Different perspectives are indeed helpful, but can also be confusing.

My question is: How many people do you have answering questions? Would it be possible to sign the answers so that we know who is answering? I am sure each person has a slightly different view. All views are valuable, but knowing where the answer is coming from would also be valuable.

Thanks,

Fed

Q: Hi 5I team, when you adjust the portfolios, you talk about 1%. Does it refer to total capital . Is it not easier to understand if number of shares is used? We try to follow your recommendation as close as possible. Thanks.

Q: How does it work that a Canadian co. trades in US $ on the TSX??

Q: Hi 5I
You have answered previously that you prefer and have done well by adding to a position experiencing upwards momentum. My question is to what degree that applies , would you overweight a full position (by a little/a lot) ?
I'm guessing you're reply will be along the lines of each situation is different but hey I've loads of credits so appreciate your experience.

Thanks

Q: hello
I could swear you used to have an excel list of all the companies you cover, but I cannot find it.
Do you still have one or could you provide such a list?
thanks
Francois

Q: Hi 5I
It has been my experience for the last few years that around the 2ND half of August my portfolio (hopefully we'll diversified both by sector and geographically) sees high volatility and drops only to pick up in September where it left off as nothing happened,! Just curious to know if there is any known "effect" (like a Santa Claus rally type event) that exists or whether it is just an odd recurring feeling that I'm experiencing.
Thanks

Q: Russia has sold most of its US Treasuries and is buying gold hand over fist. Putin is not a nice guy, not stupid either.
Trump is making everything more expensive for people in America with his trade war, and other countries are retaliating, could this is help drive inflation?
The stagflation every one was on about did not materialize because our consumer oriented economies responded to the central banks band aid.
Inflation did not happen as it "should" have after the 2008 crash because interest rates are artificially held down and "money" was printed like it was going out of style.
I feel like the past ten years of bull market maybe be the mother of all "dead cat bounces" and the piper is yet to be paid.
I also wonder if the inflation numbers are artificially low/lagging?
Makes me think I should sell the investment properties and buy more gold or gold mining stocks that would normally be acceptable.
Opinion?
Please take as many questions as you see fit.

Q: Recently there have been discussions regarding a change from quarterly to semi-annual reporting. Do you have an opinion on a change of this magnitude. What affects, both positive and negative, might this have on investors, both small and large?

Q: For safety's sake I believe you recommend not allocating more than 5% to any individual stock in the event it went poorly. What about an ETF such as XTR for the fixed income portion of a portfolio - would 5% still hold as a maximum? If it is higher what percentage would you be comfortable with?

Q: Hello Peter and Ryan - I'm in my retirement years and interested in learning how to use options and how to read charts. Would you or any of your readers have suggestions for good, safe sites - preferably Canadian - but realize there are likely several great US websites.
Thank you for all your guidance.

Q: Hi guys,
Given the strong suggestions Trump will carry through with his threat for a 25% tariff on Canadian autos next month, and the rock solid guarantee this would lead to a huge drop in the Canadian markets, would you delay new investments in Canadian companies for a bit?

Q: Hello: I thought I heard David Driscoll on BNN the other day saying that when holding "cash" for clients in Canadian accounts he buys Bankers acceptance notes. Could you please help me understand what these are and how they compare to other fixed income products such as GICs. Thanks very much
Marilyn

Q: As a small investor I am getting tired of companies issuing more shares to line their pockets ,a lot of times it is for a good purpose but lately it seems they are just cashing in and hurting investors .In the past I would vote on these matters but don't any more when I realized how futile it was.The big pension funds should be holding these boards accountable as they have most of the shares ,are they all scrubbing each others back? When you look at the compensation these ceo's and boards make the greed is getting ridiculous .I think they are making enough without having to raid my bank account. Sorry for the rant but something has to change.

Q: Would you tell me what is the influence on Cdn stocks for those listed on an American Exchange?
Proportion of total daily trades that are American?
Arbitrage that exists?
Will American trades still operate when our TSX is closed for a holiday?
If so, is there any relationship between a closing price on the American Exchange and the next day opening price of the Cdn Exchange?
Why have I never read about this before?
George Murphy

Q: Even though I'm approaching my 81st birthday, I am not, nor have I ever been a fan of the old balanced approach to portfolio composition, although I am quite aware that circumstances for some people may make that approach desirable. Just because I'm old doesn't mean I want bonds (which I don't really understand anyway).
I just spend a half hour comparing your three portfolios and my opinion has been justified in spades. I looked at the 3 year annualized performance, the maximum drawdown, profitable periods, losing periods and the up standard deviation.
The standard deviation for the BE portfolio is higher than the Income portfolio but that's the only metric that I would consider positive. The 3 year annualized performance of the BE is 12.95% vs. 4.51% for the income but most alarming was the maximum drawdown; that's the metric I thought the income portfolio investor would be looking for, that is a minimum drawdown. But the maximum drawdown for the BE is 6.8% compared to that of the income portfolio of 8.59%.
Okay, so here are my questions: Am I wrong in my all equities portfolio even at my age? Am I missing something in my interpretation of the results? And, why would anybody want to go income given the superior numbers of the balanced equity?