Investment Q&A

Q: I have been dealing with TD Web Broker to + 25 years and they continue to Nickel- and Dime for Stock & Option trades.
I am considering switching to InterActive Brokers or Questrade or WeBull Canada ....... Please give me your analysis on these three companies outlining the pros & Conns for each
Thanks MMD

Q: Hello 5i,

Tom asked about timing to transfer portfolios. IF you were informed it takes a month, add one more month as a minimum time. We have transferred 2x over the last 7 years. SLF is a nightmare. It took 9 months to get the funds from SLF to RBC. There was a hidden fee from SLF too. Even if you don't add to your RRSP, they used dividends to buy stocks, therefore they said the 7-year rule was not valid (not adding new money to a portfolio exempts you from withdraw fees) and tried to charge us 9k in exit fees.

We changed to Questrade this year. It was too expensive at RBC and their investment site is garbage. That process took 11 weeks. We had purchased GIC's through RBC which Questrade could not accept. Unfortunately, the transfer started a week before the market turn down in March. By the time funds were in place the market was already going up BUT, some stocks that fell 60%-80% have still not recovered today. Luckily, we had put 50% into cash before the transfer. Cash is your only protection from delays.

Our two bad experiences though should not deter a transfer though we would suggest going into a lot of cash as one stock, ETF, or GIC that can't be transferred can add weeks or months to a transfer.

Hope that helps.

D&J

Q: Dear Peter et al:

I enjoyed your article , "This December, free up some time by ignoring these investing issues". A timely article. Well written. As a long term subscriber, I know that you live by these "principles" even when we pepper you with questions on target prices! :)

You didn't mention about what would make you "sell"! In other words, what are your exit strategies other than trimming your position sizes in those multi baggers!

I ask this b/c of my experience with Knight therapeutics, Payfare and a few others. Do you look at "opportunity costs" in your portfolio construction?

I value your words of wisdom, always!

Q: I like to purchase some US traded companies but I have no American cash. If a person wants to buy $10 to $15,000 (CAD) of a US traded stock, is it better to purchase a CDR or convert to US dollars at the current exchange rate? Does the exchange rate, or size of purchase make any difference when deciding which is the best course of action?
Thanks

Q: Everyone, to be a successful DIY investor, what are three or five key factors for that success? Clayton

Q: Hello, I won’t be able to attend Ryan’s presentation, “2026 Outlook: Does Sci-Fi Become a Reality or a Nightmare!” Could you let me know if it will be available later in the Podcast section of the 5i website? Thank you

Q: Yesterday (Dec 10) I submitted the following question:

“I had an order in today to buy 3 CSU shares at $3251.00. I noticed that at least 4 times today the stock fell below that price. The low for the day was $3250.00. My order was not filled despite being above the low for the day on at least 4 occasions. Can you explain why my order was not filled? If the reason is because I am buying only 3 shares, then how do I buy such a small amount if my order is being ignored? I am reluctant to place a market order when the trading volume is relatively low.”

You asked what time the order was placed. It was Dec 10th at 10:24:43 am ET using RBC Direct Investing.

After the market closed yesterday I did call RBC DI to get an explanation. The person gave a few answers that just didn’t make sense, and said it was the first time he had a call with a question like mine. He tried to deny that there were any trades below $3252.00 and that’s why my order was not filled, then finally admitted he saw a trade for 4 shares below my bid price, and would have to investigate further.

Today (Dec 11), I placed another day order to buy 3 CSU shares at $3250.50. The same thing was happening this morning. The price was trading below my buy price and still my order was not getting filled. I called RBC DI and spoke to a licensed trader who gave me this explanation. An order for 3 shares is an odd lot, and odd lots go to a different exchange, and it depends on the shares available for sale on that exchange. She also said a lot (100 shares) gets priority (which I thought was not an issue anymore).

Does that explanation make sense to you?

Maybe others who have placed odd lot orders have experienced this problem.

p.s. By the way, while I was on hold at RBC DI, my order got filled at a lower price than my bid price. She told me my order went to the CBOE exchange.

Q: TD is now offering a "Stock Lending Income Program". They lend out the stock to short sellers and split the interest between us and themselves. Seems like a good source of income though you're encouraging betting against your own holdings. What's the downside?

Q: My question is regarding earning reports. How are estimates calculated/determined? Who is responsible for determining this?

Thanks

Q: Can you guys direct me to the link 'how to ' use Norberts Gambit please?

Sheldon

Q: Good morning 5i.

I would appreciate 5i's comments on Forward P/E ratios published in major reporting entities like Globe Investor.

Are these based on consensus analyst projections of forward earnings? Do the forward earnings forecasts exclude large non-recurring transactions (that could flip a 'real' 22 Forward P/E projection into a more attractive looking 11?

In summary, what advice would 5i have on the above, and how much should one take an "attractive looking" forward P/E into consideration when thinking about a stock?

Thank you.

Q: Hi 5i team,

I would like to hear your take on these three points:

1. AI is a low margin business like energy/manufacturing

The idea is that, unlike software, AI has high marginal costs per query. Serving 100M queries costs roughly 2x as much as 50M. So as models get more complex, computing costs (electricity and water)scale up linearly. Doesn't this trap AI companies in a CAPEX-heavy, OPEX-intensive, and low-margin game instead of the high-margin SaaS story everyone's betting on?

2. Anthropic has a better business model than OpenAI

OpenAI relies heavily on consumer subscriptions (ChatGPT Plus), which are volatile. Anthropic gets 80+% revenue from enterprise/API deals much stickier. So Anthropic's actually in a stronger position long term?

3. $1 trillion OpenAI IPO doesn't make sense

Above reasons plus they're burning $14B+ annually by 2027, mostly going to Microsoft for cloud credits. Plus, the circular logic of their investors funding startups that buy OpenAI credits. Sounds like WeWork all over again?

Best,
Matt

Q: Everyone, in today’s environment of instant information and volume of information how far back in time should you use information for decision making (with the exception of financial data)? 3 months, 6 months? Clayton

Q: I thought I would ask for your thoughts. TD Webroker today just introduced stock lending to Taxable accounts. Customers who opt-in earn taxable interest income for lending any stock of their choosing. The lending interest is split 50/50 with TD. If you lend a dividend paying stock you get the dividend but it is paid as taxable interest. Can I get your pros and cons for enrolling in this program. Thanks

Q: TD Webbroker is now offering stock lending from self directed investing accounts. They say the value of the loaned stocks are protected with funds equal to market value.

Any other risks or considerations?

Q: Super article in the blog Is this the end of the market party or just a regular correction? Thank you for for sharing your knowledge. Much appreciated.

Q: I have 300 NFLX.TO CDRs, but I don't see any SPLIT for them. How/When will the SPLIT be reflected? Thanks Kindly!

Q: Regarding articles by Peter in the Financial Post, the answer to David on Nov 26 suggested "Note to Members without a subscription, we do also publish these articles in our blog section." I have looked at the Blog page today (and look at it fairly regularly) but don't see the article then referred to or any others. Can you pls point me to where I should be looking? Thanks

Q: In response to David regarding your articles you said...

"https://financialpost.com/investing/end-of-market-party-or-regular-correction

Note to Members without a subscription, we do also publish these articles in our blog section. "

I have searched your Blog area and cannot find this at all. Pls advise.

Q: My account at the Financial Post got screwed up a couple weeks ago. They tell me all is resolved now.
I've looked for Peter's column and have not seen it recently. Is he still writing a by-weekly piece?
Regards
David