Investment Q&A

Q: Last week, on BNN, David Cockfield was asked about West Fraser. Part of his answer, he said that he is looking at some forest stocks, and then quickly mentioned that he wouldn't say which ones because he doesn't want competition. What does that mean? Is it that portfolio managers need time to accumulate a stock they like, and so, don't want to attract buyers during this accumulation phase? If that's the case, do you think it may often be that guests on TV pretend to like a company less than they really do? I'd love it if one day you wrote a blog about techniques/tricks people on Baystreet sometimes use (stock recommendations, price targets, motivations behind BNN appearances, articles, newsletters). I feel it could help us small investors stay the course and hold stocks longer.

Q: Good morning to all at 5i team!

I'm a novice trader and I hope my question is not too obvious.
I like to watch the "analyst estimates" on the Wall Street Journal website and I wonder how realible those estimates are and who provides them ?
Fo example, the average target price for BIN (Progressive Waste Solutions) according to the Wall Street Journal (aka their data provider) is set to 31.38 (see http://on.wsj.com/1gH1FaE).
This is lower than the current price at 35.6.
What's your though on such estimates ?

Thanks !
François

Q: I use a discount broker and if I buy an interlisted stock, say BlackBerry, on the TSX why can I not sell that same stock on the NASDAQ?

Q: Appears to be a considerable amount of back handers are going with this company. You seem to always look at it from the latest financials and make a recommendation from that perspective. I guess my question is: when does one stop going by financials and make a decision on gut feel? Let's not forget guys like Bernie Madoff!! Do you guys always got by reported numbers or do you sometimes read between the lines and go by instinct? Just curious.

Q: Just a comment.... I'm so grateful for this service you offer. I've learned so much from reading Q&As and have made decent money (double the TSE) since I joined a few years ago. You are innovators to an amazingly helpful product and you are the BEST (IMHO).
Simply, YOU ROCK!!!

Q: Hi 5.Regarding that Beacon buy rating, anyone relying on it should also know that Beacon participated in PHM's last financing and it is in their interest that the stock goes up. All part of the game.

Q: Is there any site where I can get moving averages for individual stocks clearly displayed.

Thanks

Q: My question has to do with portfolio rebalancing and how that differs from timing the market. I regularly trim my winners (although they are getting harder to find!) so that no one equity gets too large within the context of the portfolio. With the proceeds, I either buy an interesting looking new idea (which usally means also selling a loser to retain portfolio concentration) or to increase a position in a currently owned equity. But I notice that from time to time, when asked about portfolio weightings, you do change the weightings to reflect your latest assessments of the market - for example you recently suggested that it might be best to hold off on material sector companies (I trust I am not misquoting). So is portfolio review an ongoing activity or more of a a structured event which usually is done quartely semi-annually or annually? If structured, how often should one do it and is that when I should sell or trim winners?

Appreciate you insight.

Paul F.

Q: Hi Peter: A while ago you commented on huge trading activity of funds at the end of a quarter. Would the end of the quarters be end of March, June, Sept. and December or some other end points?

Derek

Q: This is perhaps the most naive question you've ever answered in your life, but I just have to ask anyway. How do ETFs actually work, in respect to dividends? That is, where do all the dividends go, from the respective companies within one ETF?

For example, I note that VGG has a dividend yield of 1.5%, while any of the single companies within the ETF outperform its yield -- Microsoft, as an example, has a present yield of 2.6% and JNJ is at 3.0%. If one were looking for a decent income stream, wouldn't it be better to simply put your money into the individual stocks and then reap the better reward?

I understand the diversity that is provided by holding an entire basket, but I have found that ETFs very rarely outperform good equities, if they went toe to toe -- and there is always the risk of the under performing equities held within that basket.

In any case, I am still wondering where all the dividends go, from the individual companies, and whether the end consumer ever really profits much from it.

Does the fund manager rake it all in, from the equities? Who wins, who loses on this type of trade.

My apologies if this question should be in the Stupid Queue, but I've just never understood why ETF yields are so much lower, for the most part, than the equities they hold.

Thank you.

Q: Curiosity has just got the best of me...how did 5i Research get the name 5i Research?

Q: I sometimes see inside selling of small or micro-cap shares, often in conjunction with an exercise of options to purchase at a much lower price. The insider often is only selling a small % of their holding. Are these sales sometimes done in order to get a block of shares in the hands of larger buyers, like institutions or funds?

Q: I've been a member for over a year now and appreciate all the help you have given regarding individual equity choices. My wife and I are both 70 years of age. Our pensions provide enough money to meet all of our monthly needs so we are able to take on some risk. I am having some difficulty determining what percentage of our portfolio should be in each sector. I would appreciate it if you would suggest how much we should relegate to each of the following categories and one or two etfs (I like the Vanguard family for their low fees) that you think would provide the exposure we need.
1. Fixed income
2. Canadian equities
3. American equities - I'm leaning towards VUN
4. Global equities.
Thanks once again for your guidance.

Q: Peter; When a company does a buy back program what reporting criteria are they obligated to follow, i.e. are they " insiders" and have to report that way or just quarterly or ? Thanks.Rod

Q: Can you please tell me when the following three companies report:

DRT
PHM
CRH Medical

And where can I find this information?

Best,

Carla

Q: Between 5I, CMS and Derick Foster one does not have to look any further for investment advice. Thank You. Do know if the interest paid in a margin account negotiable. Maybe you or someone in the 5I community might know. I am with TD and love the service there. I read all questions daily and find it to be very informative. Your the best.

Q: If we see a material reduction in short interest is that an indication that share price may have found a bottom? Just wondering if it is worth paying attention to the short interest in Home Capital.

Q: I'm planning to use your three model portfolios as a guide for my own investments. While your models show percentage holdings for each stock within a portfolio, I haven't noticed a theoretical total dollar amount or relative percentage for each of the three portfolios as a whole.
My question is what percentage of each of the three portfolios would you recommend to someone with a 5-7 year horizon?

Thanks as always for your great website

Q: hello 5i:
just noticed some of the trading that's been going on in CSH.UN. The following is copied from the TMX website. Can you explain how someone can be both a buyer and a seller (79)?
07/14/2015 4:00 PM EDT Q 11.57 100 0.15 TSX 079 079
07/14/2015 4:00 PM EDT Q 11.57 100 0.15 TSX 079 079
07/14/2015 4:00 PM EDT Q 11.57 100 0.15 TSX 079 079
07/14/2015 4:00 PM EDT Q 11.57 100 0.15 TSX 079 079
07/14/2015 4:00 PM EDT Q 11.57 100 0.15 TSX 079 079
07/14/2015 4:00 PM EDT Q 11.57 100 0.15 TSX 079 079
07/14/2015 4:00 PM EDT Q 11.57 100 0.15 TSX 079 079
07/14/2015 4:00 PM EDT Q 11.57 100 0.15 TSX 079 079
07/14/2015 4:00 PM EDT Q 11.57 3,100 0.15 TSX 039 002
07/14/2015 4:00 PM EDT Q 11.57 1,400 0.15 TSX 039 002
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Q: How can a company have a negative debt to cash flow ratio?
What debt ratios do you use when evaluating a company? I use debt/equity, debt to cash flow, and debt to ebitda. For different industries do you use different standards for debt and where would a person find what ratios to use on what industries? Thanks