Investment Q&A

Q: I am hoping you can shed some light on the best way to receive dividends from Brookfield. I have used BAM in my example but I think all their companies work the same way.

The dividends are paid in US dollars. As a Canadian resident but holding the shares on a US exchange, it seems that I will be paid first in Canadian dollars and then the dividends will be converted to $US. That is unless I write my broker and ask for the dividends in US dollars directly. However, if I hold the shares on the TSX, the dividend will still be paid in US dollars and then converted unless I ask the company to pay me in Canadian dollars!

What is not clear is if there are any conversion fees attached to any of these options. What is the best/cheapest /easiest way to receive Brookfield dividends? Can it be done without having to contact either my brokerage or the company?

I tried to ask the company but their response was quite unclear.

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: A further question on AI. Has your firm investigated using it to aid investment decisions? I recently had a discussion with a university professor using AI to write papers for instance and it sounds like the possibilities are endless.

Q: When purchasing a CDR of a US company in a non tax sheltered account if the company pays a dividend what happens regarding withholding taxes.
Keith

Q: Dear 5i,
I came upon old (1945) stock certificate for Annamaque Mines, Limited when looking at old family papers. How can I check if shares have any value. Much Thanks for your advice.

Q: Good morning 5i
Just a clarification on your covered call strategy that you mentioned today. You said that if called away, say, at $45 you would immediately sell a put for $45 for about a month out. One of the reasons for this i imagine is that you think the stock has the wind in its sails. Right? Also, how would this strategy affect the superficial loss rule. I don’t imagine you would be seen as buying the stock within 30 days?
Thanks

Q: Could very briefly outline your covered call strategy? Thanks Jim

Q: After the Fed decision and Powell’s commentary on Thursday, a number of pundits declared that real rates will be higher for two or three years. What do you make of that assessment, and how would that affect the outlook for gold bullion and precious metals stocks?

Q: Hi, I want to buy Sonova Holding AG. It is a swiss company - how do i buy that as a canadian? Can I?

Q: I am seeking to understand geographic diversification as I confine my equity exposure to those listed in Canada or USA. However, many of these equities have international operations outside of North America. I think of this as my international diversification, although I believe this is not how geographic diversification is generally viewed. Appreciate any brief comments or insight you can give. This may be too general a topic to reply to in brief, so perhaps you could advise one or 2 references on the topic.
Much thanks, as always.
Cyril

Q: This is in response to Jim’s question regarding selling covered calls on Microsoft. I understand the fear of it easily rising above the strike price. Just a suggestion from an amateur, if you feel it would likely go up, you could instead sell a put. This is, of course, an opinion on the direction the stock is headed and 5i may not suggest that. But, it is maybe possibility

Q: Hi,
Is there an easy method to unsubscribe to all the printed documents I receive from Computershare for Annual General Meetings. Unless being a large shareholder, the voting material is usually of no interest (auditors, compensation plan). I still receive this material by email from many companies, which is fine. I like the letter to the shareholders, but too often absent. I prefer a better use of my recycle bin.
Thanks

Q: When 5i subscribers have done there homework and have made a decision to buy a stock for as you suggest a 2 to 5 year hold, why do so many of the daily questions concern a one day drop in price. Do you think that these daily watchers are just day traders and wondering why they cannot sleep at night?

Q: Question for the 5i team. I took over our investment accounts about 8 years ago and since then bonds were not particularly attractive. As bonds my be about to have their day in the sun I feel it may be time to consider adding them to our portfolio. I however lack the knowledge and experience to make informed decisions at this time. The first part of the question is, can you recommend any informative reading or sites that would be of benefit to a novice bond investor. The second part would be a quick summary of your outlook for bonds, longterm, short term, etc and opinion as to which bonds, ie treasuries, to junk, would offer high yield without excessive risk for young retirees. Thanks for all your helpful and sage advice.

Q: Chaikin Power Gauge
The infomercial on his tool to essentially time the market is puzzling on many levels.
- Is the performance valid to your knowledge?
- If a system can accuratly predict industries or stocks that will fall or rise in the next several months, what if everybody use it. What would be the impact on the market. Something like a self fullfiling prophecy? So people in on the system would sell or buy at the same time rendering the system useless because it could not predict the timing anymore.
- Why selling it when you can make money of it and maybe jeopardize it?

I know 5i would not comment on specific analysts but in general what would be your caveats on these kind of stock picking tools sold on the market?

Thanks as always for your excellent support and advices

Q: Hi,

I read the piece by Salmaan Farooqui in The Globe and Mail on Saturday, 3rd June , about AI assisted Portfolio mgmt called Portfolio Pilot by Global Predictions. What do you think of it. Do you see folks like you and similar services that offer features that include portfolio analysis will either buy into services offered by such AI driven companies or adopt AI by some other means? I am still in the early stages of exploring it. Afterall it is free!

Are there competitors to Portfolio Pilot?

In what way this is different from your algo driven Portfolio Analytics?

Q: I would like to 'park' some money in a product like HSAV which generates capital gains instead of interest. I would thus be able to offset the gains with losses YTD. I understand this ETF can no longer be purchased through major bank brokerages as they would rather have you purchase their own money market fund. Is there a workaround ?

Q: Just a comment, not a question. To Hal's question about sites that report ROIC. Morningstar provides 10 year historical ROIC metrics for companies, and its free.

Q: Peter; Re the SHORT question. I learned the hard way that “ stop loss sells” do not function in after hours trading ! I assume stop loss buys would be similar. It’s very frustrating to see a stop loss blow through your prices in after hours and nothing happens.
Rod

Q: Your response to my question on ROIC would be very difficult for me to calculate. You mention that very few paid sites would provide this which would imply that some do. Can you give me some paid sites? Thanks

Q: Good morning, At times you guys talk about a good company that has a long runway in the future but for now the investor will have to be patient. Wouldn't it make more sense to sell these stocks for the time being and invest in something that should have more short term potential? Typical of an Opportunity cost. A couple examples would be Aritzia and Brookfield, BN