Investment Q&A

Q: Further to a member's question concerning the high cost of board-lot purchases of (for example) GOOG: I have never had any problems buying (or selling) as little as a few shares of GOOG, CSU, etc. The only oddity I've noticed is that my bid (or ask) doesn't show up on the exchange's order book, which might have the effect of providing no reference price for the other side of the trade. But others' brokers may handle these differently (I'm using TDW.)

Q: Can I get your ETF website address please.

Craig

Q: Could you please give your view on the SHORT Position Report on the TSX. From time to time I refer to it before making a purchase. I wonder how much I should let it influence my buy moves. The whole Shorting concept confuses me. As a retail investor looking today at the "20 Largest Consolidated Short Position Report" I would seemingly avoid banks, pipelines and lifeco's TD, BNS, BCE,TRP, GWO etc etc. Do you think this metric forshadows a market downturn in bluechip div holders? Thanks for you service as always.

Q: Hi 5I, when you mention a stock is a growth one, what criteria are you based upon: past performance, future estimate by who ? Is it important to differentiate various rates of growth ? Thanks.

Q: Hi, I am new to the 5i community and also investing, I've been buying stocks for over a year now but am unsure of what exactly I am doing asides from following previous trends. I would like to follow one of your portfolios but am curious as to how I keep it balanced while adding cash bi-weekly and if trying to keep up with your positions recommended in the portfolio. Without paying tons on commission. Any tips?

Thanks

Q: I’d like to buy GOOG, but the individual stock price is expensive. Am I better off investing in a technology ETF that includes GOOG as a holding?

Q: I must be naive.I thought conference calls would be a grilling of the ceo. I have been reading the transcripts and they are usually love ins with analysts asking softball questions. Nothing has changed. I presume at the end of call the analyst hangs a strong buy on the stock and the other side of the bank calls the ceo preparing the placement to sell more shares. I think this would good info for followers of 5i since every other question on Bnn
Market call asks what the analysts rate the stock which drives me crazy.


Could you email the list of great canadian ceos I missed it?

Q: I currently have 8% of my portfolio in VFV and VUN to achieve direct US exposure. Would you agree that I should aim at 30% US equities? Is VFV and VUN a good way to achieve this goal?

Q: Just a clarifying question on the ex-dividend date. I understand as the seller I am entitled to the dividend if I sell on the ex-dividend date. Can you clarify what the sell date is - the day I enter the trade or the day the trade settles. So if stocks settle in 2 days do I need to sell 2 days prior to the ex-dividend date to ensure I still get the dividend.

Q: You mentioned a few weeks ago the names of great Canadian Corporate leaders. I would include in your list Gerry Swartz of Onex and Prem Watsa of Fairfax. Bob

Q: Hi,

When holding various ETF's in your portfolio, should you account for the sector weighting within the ETF towards your sector allocation of your total portfolio? For example, VDY, sector weighting is tilted mostly 62% financials and 21% energy. So lets say VDY is 10% of your portfolio, would you add 6.2% of this towards financials, 2.1% energy, etc..?? I see that RY, TD, and BNS make up the top three holdings, so would you still even consider buying individual financial stocks if this allocation made up your full financial sector weight in your portfolio?

I understand that for specific sector ETF's, like ZUH that focus on healthcare or ZBK that focus on financials, you can count 100% towards that sector allocation in your portfolio. I'm just wondering if I should be doing this with those ETF's that hold more unequal sector weights within the ETF and how to account for those so I'm not too overweight in a specific sector in my portfolio. And how about those ETF's like VCN, where you have four sectors that make up 80% of the weight. Am I overthinking this?

Thanks!

Q: Over the years I have tried to compare myself to indices to determine if my portfolio performance compares favourably. Basically if it does not I always consider 'firing' myself. Your service has allowed me to increase my overall performance I believe and stay 'employed'. Came across a service (from article in National Post) regarding a free service called ARC Private Client Indices. It would appear to provide a real nice comparison indices based on my portfolio makeup. Are you aware of this and do you have any comments on it?

Q: Dividend Reinvestment Calculator ..can you tell me where I might find one... I could not see one on the internet.. Thanks.

Q: Hello 5I
Could you please rank the following aspects of an equity in order of importance to yourselves. I know that these lists are a personal biased ranking but it gives me insight into how you perceive a stock when you need to buy or sell. Can you assume for the list that you are adding to a balanced portfolio and if you need to use an example, could it be from the Balanced Equity Portfolio. Would the list change between buying and selling?
Growth
Valuation
Cash flow as part of the valuation
Debt as part of the valuation
Management
Momentum
Sector Momentum
Recent Events
Past Performance/Execution
Dividends
Dividend Increases(History of)
Currency
Politics
Anything else
When I look at a marijuana stock I think this is impossible for me to purchase due to valuation. Am I wrong? I thought the same thing about Teck Resources when it was $6/share. I know that these stocks are not in your portfolios but I am hoping to apply your thoughts to stocks within your portfolios.
Thank You
Jeremy

Q: Liquidity. As general rule regarding liquidity, I've tried to ensure that the number of shares held do not exceed 10% of the average daily trading volume. For a sizeable 20-30 stock portfolio this eliminates many thinly traded stocks including some in the Model portfolios.
I would appreciate your comments on liquidity considerations when buying/selling a security?
And, is it different for ETF's. Thank you.

Q: You stated recently: (the investment strategy of DFN) "and the strategy could be quite easily duplicated." Holding the banks in a self-constructed portfolio would indeed be easy, but it would produce a 4% yield, similar to ZEB. How would you construct the portfolio, as you suggested.

Thank you for your services, esp of stocks not usually covered by analysts.

Q: Hello 5i
In response to a question regarding CDIC insurance you answered:
"Deposits must be Canadian currency, and less than five years duration."
Would you please explain the 5 year duration part.
Many thanks
Les

Q: I understand this may be a question you're not comfortable dealing with, so I'm prepared. However if you are OK with it: do you think Scotia Itrade's sustainable investing tools actually work? It's something I'm interested in, and would consider switching brokers for, but not if this is just a sales gimmick. Thank you.

Q: Good morning,
I realize you don't like stop losses. What is your opinion of using trailing stops to continue to take advantage of upside and protect against a significant downside? What percentage to you recommend on a trailing stop for large cap, mid cap? and small cap?
Thank you,
Kerri

Q: I see another member has asked about holding cash. I found this website helpful, please post if you deem appropriate:

https://www.highinterestsavings.ca/chart/