Investment Q&A

Q: In answering Rob question about rate of return, I found the easiest way is to use the function XIRR in excel spread sheet, perhaps accurate enough for my purpose.

Q: I'm wondering what an A+ company would look like. Would it look something like Disney DIS.US?

Q: Hi 5i team,

All my GICs mature in July and August. They make up <5% of my overall portfolio. Rates are very low (typically 1 year: 1.3%, 5 year 2.0%). There is even talk of a further interest rate cut in Canada.

Should I just split the cash 20% for each of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 year terms, or do you have a better strategy in the current interest rate environment?


Paul J.

Q: 8:38 AM 7/4/2015

Hi Peter :
Can you please explain the strange trading pattern for BIP.UN Brookfield Infrastructure Partners all day Friday. The whole day there was a ceiling price of exactly $56.00 with volume over 41,000 shares. It is almost as though someone had an unlimited supply of shares on offer at that price.
Could it have anything to do with the bid for Asciano in Australia? What is your opinion of BIP now?
Regards....... Paul K

Q: Hi Peter and 5i Team, I'm 49 yrs old, retired with a defined benefit pension (Fed Gov) which meets our basic needs (food, shelter & utilities). Do you think it's ok for me to think of my pension as the fixed income portion of my portfolio? Right now all of my investments are diversified in about 50-60 individual stocks with 0 in bonds or other fixed income. Your thoughts on this approach would be appreciated. Also looking for a brief update on the possibility of creating an ETF with your portfolios. This was mentioned a while back. Thanks.

Q: Hi 5i,

I owned some Growlife shares in 2015. And did pretty good with a short term investment.

The company vanished (after my exit) and I have now received a request to particiate in a class action suit. I guess they did not tell the truth all the time, or something like that.

I did not hold many shares, so the likely result would be a small amount of money.

My question is, is there danger that there would not be sufficient funds to support the claim process, and I might be called upon to contribute ?

I am OK if this question is public, but I doubt if anybody would be intersted.

Q: Hello Peter
I am not sure i should be asking you this question or i should ask the Mawer Funds Company ?
I would like to purchase the Maw150 fund in the future but not sure if they would be closing this fund to new investor .What are some reason they close funds or cap them ?Do you think they would consider closing this Maw150 in the future say in two years what would be your opinion ? I currently have many of the stocks in your Balance and Growth portfolio and i am doing very well .Thank you so much !!
Thanks
Claudio

Q: A question on BNN. Can you tell me if guests on BNN segments such as Market call are paid for their service? How about regular commentators such as Berman and McCreath? Just wondering. Thanks.

Q: 5i often notes the % of equity held by insiders. What service do you use to obtain this information? If the answer is Bloomberg, can you suggest another solution, perhaps more accessible to your subscriber base, many of whom probably don't have access to its subscription service? Please provide options for Canadian, and US-listed equities, if you're able. Thanks for your continued fantastic work. Perhaps use Dorel Industries as an example?

Q: Can you decipher for me. I own some shares of MCCAN and I got this offer

"Each holder of MCAN's common shares ("Common Shares") as of the close of business on June 16, 2015 (the "Record Date") will be issued one right (a "Right") for each Common Share held. The combination of fifteen Rights and $10.90 (the "Exercise Price") will entitle a Rightsholder to subscribe for one Common Share at or before 4:00 pm (Toronto time) on July 10, 2015 (the "Expiry Time"). Rights not exercised at or before the Expiry Time will be void and will have no value".

Much appreciated

Q: Hi Peter,

I am asking a general question. Does it matter if a company graduates from the venture to the tsx or add nasdaq listing.

Thanks
Paul

Q: Could you please specify what you consider the market cap to be for large cap, mid cap, small cap and micro cap. Also, what percentage in each of these categories, would you consider reasonable for a balanced equity portfolio.

Thank you

Q: Cud you advise if there is a site that would have a calendar of Canadian stock splits for 2015 updated quite regularly.

Tnx for your great work.

Q: "We’re increasingly of the view that quarterly earnings are mostly noise,” she (Eileen Mercier, director at IFC) said. “I tend to think of the income statement in most industries as a work of fiction. It has become so complicated that most people can’t understand them or read them anyway.”

If we de-emphasize the importance of the quarterly report, in part because it is unaudited and therefore open to manipulation, should we therefore pay far more attention to the audited annual report, especially the MD&A section?

I know that 5i looks at the quarterly numbers partly because so many questions come from subscribers on assessing reported and expected numbers. What I'm curious about in the 5i process is what percentage of the company research process is put into analyzing the annual reports of say the last 5 years of an average company?

The whole article on quarterly reporting is here: http://business.financialpost.com/legal-post/the-case-for-ditching-the-quarterly-financial-report-mostly-noise

Q: Goodmorning Peter &all;
I sold 2 covered(Oct.)call with a strike price of 300$.Collected 3200$ of premium.I also sold 2(OCT)PUT,strike price of 280$.Collected 4,000$ of prem.
I would appreciate your comments.Thanks.

Q: I'd be interested in your thoughts on the moderate use of leverage. To be invested in something like the Model Income Portfolio with a timeline of at least five years.
Thanks for the great service!

Q: I understand what P/E and EPS mean but I do NOT understand what "trailing" means when this term precedes either of these acronyms. Further on the G&M Watch List, these terms also, at times, include an * (asterisk). What is the significance of the asterisk?

Thanks

Q: Much discussion lately on BNN re divergence of the Transports
and the Dow. It is believed to foretell a correction.
However, one guest said that Dow Theory is outdated.

Your opinion please.

Q: Hi,

You've mentioned on BNN you invest in hedge funds in Canada run by friends and former colleagues. Any of them you would recommend as part of a diversified portfolio?

Thanks.

Q: how long is the lineup for a portfolio review and the cost. tkx pat