Investment Q&A

Q: Hi Peter and Team,
I hold US stocks and US ETF in a US trading account with TD Waterhouse (100k). Could you clarify to me if I will be liable to pay US estate taxes to the IRS or if I have any special reporting requirement.
IF so is it better to buy only ETFs issued in Canada of US indexes.
Any other alternatives?
Regards.

Q: This is a comment in response to Claude.

I have been using Qtrade for the last five years and have found them to be excellent in all respects. They have been given the top rating out of all the online brokers by the Globe and Mail for all but the most recent year, when they came second. Their real-time price quotes and ask-offer spread details are fine. I recommend them.

Q: This is a call for information about something going on with my BMO Investorline account.
I have seen over the course of the past year and some.. a complete abandonment of a true report of real prices on the bid and ask of my level 2 listings. Prices are all over the place and there is no more price discovery.
To make things even more challenging, the real time quotes are very often showing absolutely different bid and ask prices than the one from the level 2. A multitude of call to BMO has gone nowhere and I am planning an exit from my account, but no idea where to go!
So my question to the community is: Do anybody has a significant difficulty with the bid/ask from their broker, and who has not seen any discrepancy on their bid/ask, it will help any further move out of BMO.
Thanks

Q: Hi Peter, From the sale of our house, we have quite a chunk of money that we need to put somewhere while we decide what to do. Where would you suggest parking this money for 2-3 months, keeping it relatively accessible, while we scout for longterm investments? Thanks!

Q: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/inside-the-market/the-man-who-foresaw-the-2008-crash-now-says-stocks-are-in-a-highly-advanced-bubble/article19812168/#dashboard/follows/

Hi Peter,
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this article. Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Judith

Q: I am considering moving my portfolio from RBC Dominion- to a money management firm- what are some of the pitfalls I should be aware of and maybe a couple or three questions I really should be asking- before making a decision.

Q: hi Peter and team, I want to make a move from TD Waterhouse to the RBC trading platform and I wondered if i should plan to pay for all 'sell' transactions as i move out, and all 'buys' as i move in. Do you know? Thanks -- your service is so appreciated!

Q: Hi Wonder Team
Please give me your advice or guidelines on "Averaging Down"! For example I bought a junior company recently that was going through a rough patch. It had declined 35% in the past year so I thought it was a good time to buy. However I was early and it continues to drift down. So here are the questions...If you still believe in the company and nothing has changed since the purchase at what discount would it be worthwhile to buy more...in other words does a stock have to be down at least 15% or 20% before it makes sense? Also, if your original purchase is 4% of your portfolio where is the upper limit? Lastly is it wise to only average down once...in other words do not fall in love with a stock! Ha!Ha! Thanks!
Dr.Ernest Rivait

Q: Dear Gentlemen,
Can I say that all stocks I5 follows are in the I5 Summary spread sheet ?
Thanks and Best Regards

Q: Is there a free website where I can see all the previous days closing prices of TSE stocks? Thanks for your time.

Q: September is near and the market is near all time high. I would like to hear your ideas regarding protection for Canadian stock portfolio.

What do you think of ETF HUT. Would you recommend using it and if so, what amount one needs to buy for protection of $100K portfolio. Thanks Peter.

Q: Recently you replied to a question about tourmaline that you would hold it in a tfsa account or, taxable account because of favourable tax treatment on capital gains. I thought an rrsp would be a better place if you didn't have roon in tfsa. In an rrsp you won't pay any taxes at all. Obviously, you know more than me in this area and so i am wondering if i have overlooked something
Thanks as always for the great , informative and interesting service

Q: Have you ever thought of putting your model portfolios in an ETF?
This would make it alot easier for subscribers to buy into your portfolios as opposed to buying the individual stocks.

Q: re: TD, MFC Interest rates plus Amazon & VISA missing forcast

the market in general after the Amazon/VISA reports became public have fallen yet both financials TD & MFC saw nice gains.

What is your take on this and does this in any way indicate what might happen with interest rates?

Thanks for all you do

Gord

Q: I am of the belief that interest rates are set to rise in the near term (although I have held this belief for the last Year). To play this thesis, I am looking at PROSHARES SHORT 20+ YEAR TREASURY ETF (TBF;NY). At today's price, this ETF is at a 52-week low so I feel that there will be greater upside potential than downside risk. I am looking at a 5% position as a hedge to my positions in interest rate sensitive stocks in the telecomm and enegy infrastructure space that will decline if interest rates do rise. Does this thesis make sense?

Also, in the event that the 10 Year Yield moves higher (say 3.0%), what impact will there be on Canadian and US Financials?

Thank You.

Q: Hi Peter and team, this question is regarding the article you wrote on concentration. I have a high concentration of XTC (bought at 3.30) and FSV (bought at 33.60), respectively about 15 and 20 percent of the portfolio. I am quite happy with the results, and am of two minds on whether to continue holding or take profits.

I don't feel that either company has a dominant market position even though they are both growing nicely. Is it reasonable to hold XTC looking for a 5 bagger and FSV looking for a 2-3 bagger? I have already taken some profits on both, but am wishing I had let my winners run further. I have probably a 25 year time horizon minimum before I draw down on my portfolio. You have mentioned some other high growth names that are appealing, and I am considering allocating profits to those names. Any thoughts?

Q: Trade Fill question asked by Robert on July 23/14:

Also, I believe market orders go before limit orders, and the case where a broker is executing both sides of the order (crosses). Publish at your discretion.

Q: Hi
I own BA and I heard on BNN that they are being bought out by BCE at $31.00. I've never experienced a takeover, but do my shares automatically sell out at $31.00 or do they provide an opportunity to secure shares in BCE?

Your help is appreciated.

Q: Can you please provide insight into how trades get filled based on the bids. As an example, yesterday I had a sell order in on a stock at .92. The stock hit a high of .92 but my order didn't get filled. Obviously another sell order at .92 was filled but not mine. What is the basis for determining who gets filled? Thanks for valuable advice.

Q: As a comment regarding becoming a portfolio analyzing service for subscribers in the future I fear that if/when that happens you will not have the time to address the multitude of questions on this site. And as a result the great service and value here will diminish some.

I often wish people would simply read the questions and answers here and then manage their own ports but human nature for most people is to want someone else to do it for them.