Investment Q&A

Q: I am interested in finding out more about structured notes. On the surface, it appears a good instrument for regular income. However, do not understand several aspects of it and also there seem to be several types of structured note, e.g. principal protected, exchange traded notes. Not sure what types are suitable for my goals. Can you please provide your views and brief description, or link for more information, or contact who could provide more information. Thanks

Q: Me, scratching my noggin to explain this......Today, the market is down but in my portfolio, the US stocks broke even but the Lonnie ones are way down. Maybe it's to do with the mix of the stocks in the portfolio, eh?!.....or the timing, which Canada just catching up the down ongoing down drift in the US market?
The Canadian ones relate well to the 5iR portfolios and my total portfolio is 45% balanced, 22% income, 11% growth, all Canadian, and the remaining 22% is composed of US stocks. Coming back to today, I wondering if you agree that the Canadian stocks seem to be hit harder or fell more than the US ones? Any specific reasons for that? Thanks for attempting to put a finger on it, or two.....Tom

Q: Hello Peter,
My margin account is dominated with US stocks and a corresponding borrowing of US dollars. The Canadian dollar has been exceptionally strong probably at the top of the trading range. I generally prefer not to speculate on the dollar and keep the borrowings in the same currency as the assets. However, I am tempted to convert about 50% of the US borrowings to Canadian.
In your experience, would you endorse this, or just stay the course?
Regards
Rajiv

Q: Hi,

Under your analytics tool, it's clear that I am too heavily weighted to Canadian stocks. To solve that problem, I'd like to get some US cash to purchase more US stocks. To do that, I'd like to use Norbert's Gambit.

I'm also overweight Canadian financial stocks so my thought is to sell my, for example, TD stock on the US dollar side of my RRSP account to get the US cash.
I would then buy GOOG or some other strong tech stocks as I'm currently underweight tech.

Based on what I've read about Norbert's Gambit, it's often suggested to buy DLR on the Canadian side and then sell DLR.U on the US side to get your US cash.

My question is - as I already have some stocks that are dual listed, such as TD, can I simply sell them on the US side of my account rather than buying the DLR and going that route. Does that make sense?

Thanks so much. Great service for the average Canadian.

Q: Hello 5i,
I have just completed three very detailed posts about performing Norbert's Gambit using RBC Direct Investing. (For Peter who had asked the Question sometime in the past week or so). I have tried to be as diligent as possible but there is always the chance that I have made an error or omission - which I also noted in the post.
I know you do not normally monitor the Forums, but in this instance I was wondering if you would like to review the post for accuracy if you have someone on staff who is knowledgeable about the process? If not, that is fine, but I just wanted to give you a "head's up" about this in case any further questions arise from my Forum posts.
Thanks for providing the members with the Forums - they are an awesome, albeit underused, resource!!!
Cheers,
Mike

Q: Lately, I've been researching companies that sell their products or services directly to consumers such as Angi, Pinterest, Fiverr and Pelaton to name a few. I dig up at least a dozen articles and opinion pieces from various investment-related websites, including yours truly, 5i Research. In the case of the above-mentioned companies, there hasn't been much in the way of negative facts that would lead me to take a pass on any of the above companies,. But, when I go to review websites such as TrustPilot, etc., the percentage of negative comments from consumers of these products or services is extremely high, anywhere from 20% to 70% with ratings of 0 or 1 star. More worrisome is the fact that the number of reviews is in the hundreds which leads me to think that the negative comments do not originate solely from competitors. How much importance would you give these reviews when weighing the pros and cons of an investment in a consumer-facing company?
Robert

Q: For long term investors, which is better ; monthly dividends or quarterly dividends. Or is it like stock splits where it makes no difference. Tnx.

Q: When attempting to diversify the sectors in a portfolio does it make sense to hold individual stocks as well as ETF's in the same sector or is it one strategy or the other?

Thanks

Q: Is it safe to assume that it takes ~ a week to update the new information from the company? Latest earnring report from CNQ is not posted yet.

Q: As investors doing our do diligence we are looking at many
balance sheet ratios as of course you are as well
Common ones being P/E--P/B--P/S--P/CF--ROA-ROE-ROI
And then --asset turnover--PEG ratio--debt to capital etc. etc.
I am sure many others that you use.
All very helpful if you completely understand them.
There are also rules of thumb when looking at these ratios.
It would be very helpful if you gave us more insight into what
these rules/guidelines are.
I realize these rules of thumb vary by sector but I think many of a them are common to all sectors.

Thank you
Peter

Q: You mentioned there was insider buying.Where can I go to see insider buying and selling.

Q: The IPO market is getting very active. Is there a good website where I can get details, like financials, price, underwriters etc. Thanks

Q: Hello 5i,
Peter asked a question about Norbert's Gambit for RBC specifically. I have just completed two Norbert's today, one each way, using D.I. and will post to the Forums. If Peter is interested, he can check the forums for my post and then ask any questions he may have.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Mike

Q: I don't fully understand Crypto Currency/Coins. I have asked many people I can't understand why it valued the way it is and it seems like the new Tulipmania.

I somewhat understand blockchain, but I don't how value of that technology will be in the end, but some explained to me that the coins somewhat get/pay to be on the blockchain which might be good for certain things and companies.

This craze looks speculative and not really an investment, but does it make any sense to put a small amount of mad money into a few crypto's or is it just a matter of time before the house of cards comes crumbling down.

Signed by: FOMO and Confused;)

Q: Would you consider Auto Call Notes issued by the Canadian banks a suitable investment for someone in their 80’s? Would your answer be influenced by the type of underlying index?
Thank you for considering my question

Q: I know you have answered a lot of questions about Norbert's Gambit. I've read some of the answers but not been certain of exactly how to proceed. I searched for a description that would apply specifically to RBC and found this video (there is also a PDF).
https://www.pwlcapital.com/norberts-gambit-rbc-direct-investing/

It doesn't mention the need to call the brokerage’s customer service desk and ask them to journal the shares over to the U.S. dollar side of the account.

I haven't tried this yet. Would you add comments?

Thanks,

Q: Can I hold the same stock in a registered account and in a non-registered account, US or Canada, and trade the non-registered shares as the price fluctuates?
E.G. Hold NEM in my non-registered US account and hold NGT in my registered RIF. I would trade NGT based on the current market.

Q: struck out on IPO for Magnetic Forensic Magt/t @ $17 with Scotia...but took 1/2 position at $23.12....will fill out the other half pretty soon.....More a comment on what a great heads up to members...and subsequent great report on the IPO of Magnetic..& why U at 5i like it....long time member and couldn't be happier..or more satisfied..with the Services provided by 5i Research...a great team starts with leadership (Peter & Ryan)...but the other members on the team are top notch....merci beaucoup....jb Piedmont, QC

Q: Buffet rekindled a concern in his recent annual meeting which I have had for a long time. He seems to think that it would be better for the average investor to be invested in index funds. This year he started out by asking which were the 20 largest capitalization companies in the world today. Then he showed the 20 largest in 1989. He asked how many remain among the largest today. The answer was zero. I would have gone to index funds before but I have large capital gains in my largely Canadian taxable accounts. I did try to adjust this by buying only US index funds in my registered accounts. But, then I thought that I already have so many individual stocks that a few more won't matter that much. So, I also bought individual stocks in my registered accounts. I know that you cannot offer individual portfolio advice. But, it would be useful to have your perspecitve on Buffet's advice and the dangers of indivual stock picking for most people. If you could fix my personal dilemma that would be a bonus!
thanks

Q: If I purchase BP on the US exchange, these are designated at ADR shares. Due to the intermediary US institution, are are extra costs deducted by the FI relating to holding & transacting these? Also, are there additional tax deductions as BP is a foreign entity even in US