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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Great article: The Other Side - April 19, 2017 by Michael Batnick
http://theirrelevantinvestor.com/2017/04/19/the-other-side/

See/Insert graph:
http://theirrelevantinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/12.jpg

Excerpt:
...
If I were in the business of picking stocks, I would do two things: I would try to exclude the worst stocks rather than attempt to pick the best, and I would focus on value, which are really two sides of the same coin.

While the best performing stocks from year-to-year are all over the map, from deep value to high beta and everything in between, the worst performing stocks over time share similar characteristics. So maybe it’s not such a bad idea to be a closet indexer after all, except you should try to be in the closet that screens out stocks that are highly levered, have growing accruals, inventory build, or whatever metrics you prefer.

Investors are drawn to glamour stocks because the payoffs can be huge. But while they have great possibilities, they also have bad probabilities, as Patrick has shown. The best performing glamour stocks outperform by 112% on average, but the median result is underperformance of 11%. The best performing value stocks on the other hand, saw a 78% average excess return, while the median saw a 5% average excess return.
...

Comments? As usual, thank you for sound advise.
Read Answer Asked by J Carl on April 26, 2017
Q: Dear 5i
I am two years away from retirement and currently switching over my portfolio to a self directed acct at Questrade .
I want to be fairly conservative in my portfolio and feel that a 30% Equity 70% Fixed income would be appropriate .
I will be using 5i for stock selection . I`m just uncertain if 70% Fixed income is too much or not considering possible interest rate hikes down the road . Are there other fixed income investments other than Bond ETF`s , GIC`s cash etc . Also with bond etf`s are both interest and yield paid or is it one or the other only ?
Thanks
Bill C.
Read Answer Asked by Bill on April 25, 2017
Q: Hello,

In the real estate sector, I have a position of 7% in D.UN, and 2.5% in CUF.UN. Both positions are respectively held in my TFSA and RRSP. I would book a 15% profit over the past year if I were to sell. How important is it to be exposed directly to real estate?

What's your thought on selling to buy more growth oriented stocks since I am a young investor and don't really need the income. What would be your company suggestions? I am currently underweight in consumer defensive (3% ATD.B), industrials (3% SNC, 3% WJA) or/and could also add another position in technology (2%BB, 2%PHO, 5% OTEX, 6% KXS).

Thank you,
Read Answer Asked by Julien on April 24, 2017
Q: Hello,

I assume that VFV and ZSP are identical EFTs provided by Vanguard and BMO respectively. Their MER, asset allocations, sector breakdown are close to identical.

However I notice the following anomalies (VFV vs ZSP):
1) Dividends of $0.238 CAD vs $0.145 with yields of 1.565% and 1.789% respectively. Why the difference in dividends?

2) Portfolio turnover rate of 13.18% vs 31.90%. Why would there be a difference in turnover rate?

3) Benchmark: S&P 500 CAD vs S&P 500 TR CAD. What does the "TR" mean?

3) Market price (NAV?) of $56.33 vs $34.94: Is this due to dividend reinvestment and inception date?

If one were to buy one of these, which would you prefer and why?

Thank you for your excellent and unbiased opinion and service

Read Answer Asked by Vee on April 24, 2017
Q: How can I find out what sector a stock is in?
Thank you
Read Answer Asked by Margaret on April 21, 2017
Q: Hi,
I remain somewhat confused about which account it's best to hold Dividend paying stocks in. I've noticed some responses where you indicate it's best to hold the dividend payers in non registered accounts and higher growth stocks (capital gainers) in a registered TFSA or RRSP account.
For whatever reason, I assumed the opposite as I thought receiving dividends was more along the lines of receiving income (i.e.- cash) so it would be best to put these into your registered accounts to lower the tax bill.
So, in my situation, as I receive approx 60k in annual pension income- am I better to put the dividend payers into the registered or non registered accounts to keep the tax bill as low as possible.
Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Alan on April 21, 2017
Q: Hi, folks
I'm very new to 5i Research, and trying to get myself orientated around.
I have some questions on the balanced portfolio
1) with less capital like $50k, what your recommendations on how to follow this portfolio?
2) when there is a add/remove in the portfolio, how quickly I will be notified?
3) in the report, when you add or trim a position, do you provide at what price to buy or sell?
4) for how long I need to hold the stocks in your portfolio? Do I need to have a stop loss/trailing stop to max my gain and minimize my loss?
5) what is the average holding period for a stock in this portfolio roughly? You can give me a range the longest to the shortest...
6) to initiate to build this portfolio for my own, is it better to wait for the market to pull back? or Do you have a recommendation about when to buy?

By the way, is it ok for me to ask questions about stocks/ETF's outside Canada or large cap's inside/outside Canada (I know you guys are focus on mid to small caps)

Thanks a lot!
Jane
Read Answer Asked by Jane on April 21, 2017
Q: I am trying to understand how you do things and can only re-visit this topic when my time permits.

I understand there are 11 sectors:
1. Technology
2. Basic Materials
3. Industrials
4. Financials
5. Consumer Cyclicals
6. Consumer Non-cyclicals
7. Utilities
8. Telecommunications
9. Healthcare
10. Energy
11. Real Estate

Would you agree with above?

Keeping this in mind, you have a representative of each sector in the Balanced Portfolio?

Do you feel that a person should have all sectors represented in their portfolio at all times?

Thank you in advance for your help with this.
Read Answer Asked by Margaret on April 21, 2017
Q: I would just like to echo Rod L's response to "complaint re KWH.UN etc". I have been a very happy member since May of 2013. Not everything has gone well, but by roughly following a 5i model (I think diversification, self risk assessment, and time) I have much more than exceeded my investment expectations. I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a better investment service anywhere - and the price is a bargain!!
Read Answer Asked by Jim on April 21, 2017
Q: Hi guys,

After many years of successful investing, I've finally opted for a 'margin' account. While I don't plan on using the margin excess for further long exposure, I would like to try shorting a name or two (I'll keep the positions small, maybe 2% each for now). Are there any good short candidates that come to mind? I want to avoid the battleground stocks (VRX, HCG), but would love to find something that is just a real dog.

Thanks,
Mike
Read Answer Asked by Michael on April 19, 2017
Q: I am always leery of a company where the insiders do not have any or perhaps very few common shares--Instead they have--options--multiple voting shs--performance share units--subordinate voting shs etc.Common shs mean to me you got some skin in the game--I dont understand all these other classes of shs---TOY is a good example of this.I dont like options thats no commitment at all and hurts the share price.Should I be concerned about these other classes of shares? What do they all mean?
Thanks--I have just had your portfolio review and find it very helpful--would reccommend it to any body.

Peter
Read Answer Asked by peter on April 19, 2017
Q: Hello 5i
I plan on shifting a large sum of RRSP monies from my financial planner over to Questrade so i can manage it myself with the guidance of 5i Research of course .
Should i be concerned with the safety of these investments with Questrade in terms of account hacking etc via computer . Do brokerage companies generally have insurances for this type of thing ? I really don't want to be putting myself in a position of high risk unknowingly .
Thanks
Bill
Read Answer Asked by Bill on April 17, 2017
Q: Would it be possible to include whether the dividend of companies that you cover qualify for the dividend tax credit or contain foreign income or return of capital? This information is a lot harder to find on company websites than I thought it would be since I think is quite important information. I appreciate it might be hard to include provide this info for every question asked (thought it would be nice when the question does pertain specifically to the dividend) but the Reports should include it, I think. It may also help to cut down on the number of questions as to which account stocks should be held.

Thank you.

Paul F.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on April 16, 2017
Q: Recently a member suggested The Cerbat Gem as a free investment news and recommendations site. May I advise caution as concerns this site.

Yes, they aggregate press releases, broker reports, and trading monitors in an impersonal (robotic?) style, and perhaps this provides a useful service. But there is little to distinguish The Cerbat Gem from (for example) The Stock Rover, Buckeye Business Review, Chaffey Breeze, Rockville Register, The Markets Daily, Community Financial News, Key Gazette, etc., etc., etc. - all of whom print variations on essentially the same information.

Still not put-off? Consider, then, that the site's Omaha, Nebraska street address can't be located via Google maps, and that it shares a Florida phone number with Sports Perspectives (another address-unfindable investment-news site.) Indeed, we might wonder whether its real purpose were to generate webpages which, subsequently, show-up on news-based search results, thereby creating click-bait for the site's endless pop-up ads.
Read Answer Asked by John on April 16, 2017