Investment Q&A

Q: Hello
Are you aware of a weblink to reference the above ? Historical prices and P/Es for North American indices

Q: Once read "stock prices take the stairs up, elevator on the way down", and have seen more than a few cases of this over many years watching the market closely. I'm about to leave on a trip where I will at times be off grid and am considering some stop losses for some stocks that have seemed to take the elevator up, not sure what mode they will use to come down, perhaps nuclear, ha. Looking for some advice in how to use stop losses for super high flyers that I have doubles, triples and better. How would you protect your "loved ones" if you were going off grid?

Q: Peter and gang,I just checked out my rate of return since inception on the acct. that holds your balanced portfolio and it is an amazing 500%.I do use margin to some extent and I have DOL and FFH in the acct,but don't have TRI and IFC,I also swapped CM for BN and PHY for AEM.I have been a member 5I pretty well since inception because I was a big fan of Peter's on Market Call.Also,in my other accts.,before I buy a stock I always check what 5I has to say about it!!!So thanks again,I couldn't be happier!!!

Q: Over the past number of years, I’ve dramatically altered my investment portfolio from mutual funds through an advisor to buying individual stocks in a diversified manner on my own. I’ve religiously followed the advice of 5i by reading up on your suggestions and learning from reports etc. I’ve gleaned much information from other readers like minded questions and appreciated the astute 5i answers. I can’t say enough about how this has been appreciated. I’m very happy with the performance of my portfolio and could not have been so successful without your input and sound advice. I was wondering if 5i might consider supporting a charity that perhaps some of your readers could contribute to in honour of your tremendous efforts. Thanks for considering it. Dennis

Q: How significant is the number of stars assigned to analysts employed by the banks and other brokers ? For instance, should an investor ignore an analyst with one star and concentrate only on the advice of 4 or 5 star analysts ?

In addition, can you please provide a link where all the analysts are listed with their respective stars ?
Thank you as always for your insight.

Q: Is there a 2023 or later update of Cdn owned firms paying dividends in USD? Thanks a lot.

Q: Hi,

As individual DIY growth investor, what are some of the top things we can we do to maximize up-market capture vs minimizing down-market capture? I have a longer timeframe and am comfortable with volatility in the markets. With the strength in tech, the sector has run to ~26% (SHOP, KXS, CSU, NVEI, CRWD, TOI, NVDA, LMN, INTU), followed by financials 18%, cons disc 15%, industrials 12% and the others all below 6%.

Is it time to trim across the board and re-balance? How do you balance this while allowing strong compounders to continue performing over time? What are the key things to do focus on to beat the market going up while protecting those gains and minimizing downside?

Thank you!

Q: Hi 5i Team - I am familiar with the following terms/metrics but not completely sure of what they mean in context. Could you explain the difference between earnings, net earnings and profitability.. Also how does cash flow differ from free cash flow. Does a company with free cash flow mean that it's profitable. Along these lines what is a good way of measuring profitability.
Thank you.

Q: This is just a curiosity, and please don't feel obliged to answer if this isn't public information or you'd rather not divulge. But I'm curious what is the current size of the 5i subscriber base - I often wonder how many in the 5i community are reading the same Q&A as me? It's a lot of effort on your part!

Q: I m wondering if 5iii could moderate these wordy & "extremely wasteful reads" of the above ! Perhaps a cap of 250 characters, a triple credit 5iii redemption OR the member could simply just attach a weblink of these useless institutional essays....... complete waste of memory cache, screen space and the moderators time to review !

Q: My only 2 TFSA holdings, held in equal amounts are WELL ( down) and EIF ( up ). I like EIF and hold it in greater amounts in my non registered account where I intend to keep it but expect it will be dead money for at least 6 months while Northern Mat recovers.
Am looking at selling EIF and along with my $7,000 contribution buying CALF , GLXY, and LMN in equal amounts, leaving WELL the largest holding at approximately 40% weighting ; the others at 20 % each. My TFSA is approximately 4 % of my total non registered and RRIF accounts and is not considered material so I wish to rebalance it towards stocks with more growth ( and risk ) potential.

I tend to go crazy with market timing : any advice on how to proceed on the sale and purchase of these? Any potential “ flashing red lights “ with this move ? Thanks. Derek

Q: Hi, do you have a good site or reference where one can go to "compare current values to historical averages". I agree that is great info to see!

Q: Aaron Rodgers (star Green Bay Packer) called out Nancy Pelosi for buying millions of NVDA in curious stock trades before a government announcement as Aaron's friend used his X account to become more informed on the Pelosi trades. I imagine there is quite a bit of this going on and I would ask if that benefits or hinders the ordinary trader like us who rely a lot on your knowledge.

Q: I need clarification on Norbert's Gambit which my brokerage appears to dislike.

I would like to convert a quantity of $US in my $US Account to my $C Brokerage Account without paying the brokerage spread. Would you please correct any errors in my thinking and answer my questions as I try to use Norbert’s Gambit. I asked the brokerage for assistance and I was told that the agent was not permitted to provide assistance for the Gambit. All he could do was to follow my instructions.
Do I:
1. Buy Horizon’s DLR.U in the Canadian side. How do I do this when my $US are located on the US side? Can I journal the $US into my $C Account and retain them as US currency?
2. Sell DLR, not DLR.U in $C on the Canadian side. What do I have to do, if anything, to change DLR.U to DLR?
With great appreciation,
Ed

Q: Re: Retirement decumulation strategies.
Fredrick Vettese has several good books on the subject, including "Retirement income for life".
Selling shares in a total return portfolio to create income is an option seldom talked about.
Cheers

Q: Hi.
I have a stock that I am wanting to sell that’s underwater. In order to make some income on the sale. Was thinking Sell call option. Can you explain the steps to execute this type of option strategy?

Also interested in steps to “Selling Puts” to buy equities.

Have been reading and watching videos on the strategies found them confusing (all the alternative strategies available) just want basic steps.
Thank you
H

Q: This is a reply to George's question about how to achieve an effective retirement withdrawal plan for your retirement portfolio. The "secret" is to invest in high quality dividend-paying stocks, resist the temptation to make trades, and aim to retire based on the age-based RRIF minimum withdrawal rates published by the CRA. I have been retired for 13 years and followed this strategy with success. My portfolio income in 2024 will be more than double what it was when I retired in 2010 because the % portfolio growth has outstripped the minimum % withdrawal rates. I always intended to write a book about my retirement planning experience, but never got around to it. Maybe I should reconsider, based on George's experience in finding few "how to" guides out there!

Q: Since I cannot find debt level info in your companies database, I am assuming you are getting this info from your Bloomberg terminal. Correct?

Q: Dear 5i team.
What are some of the questions you would ask before making an investent in a startup that is private at this stage. (consumer products co)
The goal of the startup is to go public ASAP, assuming this means 1 yr or so.
Appreciate your input.

Q: Everyone, Richard asked a question about advisors, I don’t use one and never will. They only care about your money so they can have more assets under management- which is a status symbol for THEM. I used four advisors for two years fifteen and sixteen years ago and during our six month conversations I realized I knew more than them! So I started doing research and buying / selling on my own. I only buy the best of the best. Best decision I made and I am making more than twice the average rate of return most people are earning by buying and holding only good quality stocks. Staff at 5iresearch helps me every day with honest responses to questions. My thoughts Clayton.