Investment Q&A

Q: 5i rates are increasing 18%. Do you not think this is a bit excessive? This is your opportunity to sell me on the service.

Q: Effective December 1, what are your new service subscription rates?

Q: BITCOIN, NAFTA and North Korea are currently the greatest market worries. How do individual investors protect themselves or take advantage of each of these factors? I know it is a strange question. But any thoughts on these would be appreciated. Thanks. Shyam

Q: I have more of an overall financial question, that you may be able to answer.

I own my own business and have been thinking about buying a building in the near future, but I have a few concerns.

Many business people I talk with state that buying the building they were operating in as the best investment they made, or I talk with others that have regrets that they didn't.

What is a better investment: Stocks or Real Estate?

To buy a building I may have to liquidate my portfolio as it would be a major purchase. I would then have a My House, My Business, and a Building in Calgary. That seems like a lot of eggs in one basket if the Economy Slows or if Oil is no longer needed. ( I know this is a long ways down the road, but is a possibility)

Can I assume if the Lease Rate matches the Interest Rate Payments on a Commercial Mortgage that you should look into commercial real estate as you aren't losing anything? If this was the case less money would be put into a portfolio as some would have to go towards paying down the mortgage?

I know this isn't a regular stock specific question, but I figure with your knowledge you may have a good advice. I also am leaving this public as I believe many others on your site may have similar thoughts.

Thanks.

Q: Regarding capital gains on US stocks,is the tax paid to the US government? Can capital losses on Canadian stocks be applied against capital gains on US stocks?

Q: Swing Trading. I would appreciate your advice on how to go about swing trading. For instance, I have noticed a couple of companies, Torstar and Reitman's, which make very large swings down and up. And this seems fairly constant. Is it worth it to try something like this on these companies. Or, are there better types of companies to use for that?
thanks

Q: Where can I find the historical price/earning multiple for a sector like food retailers or a specific company?

Q: With respect to the "Amazon Effect" on some Computer Staples names such as Loblaws, can you provide your opinion on the impact on: Empire (EMP.A) or Alimentation Couch Tard (ATD.B) for the long term.

Q: Hello, One of kids just turned 18 and I would like to start a TFSA. What would you recommend to invest in as a long term goal so that they can also learn about investing. The money will not be required for next 5 years at least
Thanks
Ravi

Q: It appears to me that you favor diversification outside of Canada and the U.S., even though your primary recommendations cover the Canadian market. What would be your top recommendations for the emerging markets, India, China, Japan, Europe, etc ?

Q: I'm wondering if your service will keep members posted on the yield curve trends in the US?
I'm no economist. But many pundits are saying big trouble lies ahead: Short term rates increase, long term rates don't, curve flattens, recession hits, corporate bonds default massively, blood in the streets etc etc. I think I am a typical member, in that I have some confidence that I am building a portfolio that works for me ( with help from you). But I am lacking knowledge about the macro risks that could wipe me (us? ) out. Will 5i monitor and comment occasionally on this risk?

Q: I am retired and my income needs are covered by pension and RRSP. My question is about my non sheltered investment account and the dividends. Since I don't require the income from that account, would it make sense to enroll the dividend securities in the DRIP/DPP plans available? Would this reduce my income for tax purposes because I would just be "buying" more of the security instead of gaining cash dividends?
Thanks for your help.

Q: Hi
Just read the question from another member regarding long term returns and longrundata with the response including a link to a Canadian Dividend Aristocrats site.
Are you aware of this site that has a monthly update of Canadian companies that increase their dividend ranked by the period of time the company has annually increased its dividend to shareholders? (CU is #1 at 45 years).

http://www.dividendgrowthinvestingandretirement.com/canadian-dividend-all-star-list/

Q: I would appreciate your comments on the use of DRIPs in margin, RRIF, RRSP and TFSA portfolios. I am a conservative investor (age 75 with company pension plan) and favour banks, utilities and telecoms.

Q: BCI trades with very low volume I like bci but if I take a larger position in it and I want to sell I would have issues in getting out of BCI I bought PBL on your great advice but it also has low volumes this is the case with many small cap companies you are a great source of stock information

Q: Sorry this is going to be a long question and I suspect your response will be market timing never works and stick to your guns. Everyone seems to be singing off the same playbook indicating that the majority of economies are enjoying synchronized growth and it’s full steam ahead. That may be the case but have to believe that on the balance of probabilities markets are due for a fall. The question is how do you minimize risk for taxable accounts, which enjoy sizeable gains? I am reluctant to utilize derivatives given the cost and complexity and no assurance of success. If you had to sell certain stocks in a taxable account, what would be the nature of those stocks? Any particular sector? What securities would you view as core holdings? What do u think of structuring a taxable portfolio with a mix of Cdn dividend paying stocks and high growth technology stocks? This would provide flexibility in controlling tax, given that a drop in the former class of securities would not matter as the dividend income would continue and you could control the gains generated by the latter class. Thx

Q: In your answer to Joe this morning about analyst ratings, you are less than positive on the process. This does not surprise me, but it raises the question about analyst predictions for a company's quarterly reports. The market seems to place great stock in the consensus estimates (and this seems to be getting worse in the last couple years), instantly slamming a company that misses on EPS or whatever metric. Are the analysts that make up "the consensus" the same analysts you were talking about? Why does the market think they should correct, particularly when (I assume) they don't have all the information available to the Board members; and, as you mention there are usually some ulterior motives? Just curious.

Thank-you

Q: Is it good for the shareholder to have institutional ownership in a stock? if so up to what percentage is good and at what point may it be risky for the retail investor?

Q: It is always interesting how numerous analysts will give a stock a "buy" rating or , in the worst case, a "hold " rating. Seldom do you see one step up to the plate with a "sell" rating. As you have stated repeatedly, for every buy there must be a sale on a stock. Is there a behavioral bias with these analysts in favour of buying vs selling? Are they afraid
to recommend a sell in case a stock suddenly rises in their clients' accounts? Do they
feel their credibilty will be on the line? Joe

Q: You recently answered another question in the following words.
you may be best served by a well-diversified conservative (or even balanced) portfolio. For your equity component (what ever allocation you decide) stay focused on large-cap dividend payers and weight defensive sectors generously.

If I want to stay with Canadian stocks only, please name your top 10 stocks that would fit this bill.

Thanks.