Investment Q&A

Q: Hi,
Is there way to save transaction fee on dollar cost averaging? I want to buy several stocks/ETFs every week. E.g. ARKK, VEEV, etc. However the transaction fee will be 520 dollars every year for each stock/ETF. If I do it on 10 stock/ETFs the it will be 5200 dollars.
Thanks!

Q: If you have a $50,000 portfolio and you own one stock with $25,000 in it and the other $25,000 is in cash, would you consider that diversification?

Q: Hi Peter, what is your opinion on the 5 for 1 stock split for Tesla and 4 for 1 for Apple? Are past stock splits in your experiences generally sound investments (for profitable companies that is) for special situations? Thanks!

Q: Hi,
Both of these companies have recently announced stock splits. AAPL for the umpteenth time, TSLA I think for the first time. While I understand the logic behind a stock split, I am curious as to the usual market reaction. With our current electronic trading, does a split still have weight in attracting new buyers because the price point has decreased? I you were to initiate a new position on either of these companies would you do so in advance of the split, or wait until after? Is there a 'usual' response that occurs - such as just before a split prices rise, or they fall just after a split, etc. Any thoughts on this would be most welcome! If you were to start a new position how would you rank these two companies against adding to a current position in MSFT? Thanks, as always, for your hard work and insight.
Dawn

Q: In my question Aug. 10, you responded by saying that you provide analysts' consensus estimates and generally, these are a main factor in stock movements, but 'good' or 'not good' will depend on the actual results. You said you can provide info on whether earnings estimates have been trending higher or lower, or whether earnings expectations are higher or lower than the prior year. Could you provide this trending higher or lower information or whether earnings expectations are higher or lower than the prior year to any questions members submit pertaining to earnings numbers? Most of what I buy is 5i recommended, and so what other people inquire about, I probably own most. Thanks again, Dennis

Q: Hi Team,

I've used Norbett's Gambit a couple of times to buy regular American Companies like Visa or Starbucks.

Now I'm interested in a fund with a '.u' designation. Is it better to convert to USD funds and then buy, or just buy it through Questrade in Canadian dollars?

Just for readers' information, Questrade now prefers an e-mail rather than a chat or phone call to journal the funds.

Thanks as always.

Kevin

Q: Good day!

I have in the past bought an interlisted Canadian stock on a major US exchange within my TFSA. I've done this when I've seen an opportunity but don't have enough cash in my CAD account. I don't want to exchange USD to CAD as I'm trying to grow my USD account.

I've been looking into Quarterhill, but notice that it trades on the OTCQX in the U.S. The only immediately noticeable difference is that the volumes are much lower. I understand that as far as OTC exchanges go, OCTQX has higher standards.

Are there any other risks I should be aware of? Appreciate your insights, as always.

Marc.

Are there any risks

Q: As Tech stocks have gone much higher do you think that new money should go to different sectors such as REIT,ENERGY AND FINANCE or more towards tech,
What sector you see has more potential now?

Q: Hi,

If one is looking to adopt one of your model portfolios, how do we go about doing that? That is, is there a best time to buy, is there a certain amount of money that you recommend we start with, etc.

Q: With either Globe Investor and iTrade, I rarely get information about the date when companies will be reporting earnings. In questions when clients ask what the earnings numbers will be for the quarter coming up, 5i gives the numbers but could you elaborate by saying the numbers "look good" or "not good"? Thanks, Dennis

Q: Hello Peter, many individual investors (certainly I) have terrible timing on their transactions. For example, if one has been following Becton Dickinson, looking to buy, one might be happy to see this morning's 8% drop and immediately place their order. How do you handle this type of situation? Wait and see where the dust settles? Jump on the 'new lower price'? Or wait some days or weeks to see a base and an upturn? Would you be comfortable buying BDX today, for the long term?

Q: I'm in the process of looking at my total portfolio and I would like confirmation on my reasoning. My four stock portfolios comprise 67%; my commercial and residential real estate holdings comprise 27% and my private equity investment in an Industrial corporation comprises 6% of my total investments. I don't consider my personal home or my cottage an investment but their estimated values are included in the above. I do not own any publicly owned stocks in the Industrial or Real Estate sector in my Stock Portfolio. Should I be considering my total portfolio for sector weightings? For example my IT sector is 26% of my stock portfolio but it would only be 17% of my total portfolio. I am retired and the investment income from my commercial real estate holdings and private equity investment provides sufficient income. I currently own some dividend paying income stocks and wondering if I should continue to own these? I know you don't provide personal advice but looking more for guidance. I know my Real Estate holdings are high at 27% but I will not be disposing of any of those properties.

Q: I often see/read commentary ahead of earnings for a stock that it misses/beats a certain % of the time. This is often followed by a percentage of sensitivity or average strength of a move after earnings. My question is if you know of a source for both US listed and TSX stocks that shows each of these figures? As an example, Livongo and Guardant Health both report next week. Is there a source that can tell me how often GH beats or misses and what a typical % price move would be? The % move post earnings is the more important part of this question. It would seem to be helpful in setting a price point to buy on a post earnings dip or to sell into good news.
Thanks as always!

Q: Adjusted earnings is a scam! (in my opinion). It blows my mind how much attention people pay to adjusted earnings vs GAAP earnings. Management of any company is probably in the most biased position and has the most incentive to paint a rosy picture. This is why GAAP and IFRS exist...to stop management from being able to go into this fantasy land where they can pretend any expenses/cash outflows they don't like never happened.

One of the adjustments I understand the least is the elimination of stock based compensation from expenses when calculating adjusted earnings. Lets pretend there are 2 identical companies. The only difference is company A pays its CEO in stock, and company B pays its CEO in salary for an equivalent amount. Company A will finish the year with higher earnings, however there will be more shares outstanding. As a result, earnings per share (which is what actually matters to an investor) between both companies will be the same (excluded tax impact). This is why it makes no sense in my view for company A to adjust its earnings higher and show higher adjusted earnings vs the identical company B.

The other point I find comical is that companies claim to adjust earnings for 1 time items...yet there are 1 time items every single quarter.... perhaps these 1 time items are part of running the business then?

The worst example might be excluding the write down of Goodwill. News flash manager...that means you made a mistake and over paid for a business...and now you want to pretend it never happened by excluding the write down from earnings?...

My question is surrounding the history of adjusted earnings. How long has this been around for, and is it possible that these (always higher) adjusted earnings are giving the illusion that companies are less over values then they actually might be?

Thanks,
A concerned CPA....

Q: Hi 5iTeam,
When evaluating a stock for a possible position, among other factors, how much weight would you put on "short interest as % of flow" and reasons for your answer.
Cheers

Q: Further to Art's question; what other "limited supply" assets are there besides precious metals and real estate ? Besides gold, gold co's and real estate, what other plays would you recommend ? Thank you.

Q: Can you tell me the difference between net income and adjust net income? What are companies adjusting for? Also, when there is a street estimate, and analysts estimating for net income or an adjusted figure?

Q: In researching key ratios for a particular company, one metric is cash flow.
Could you please explain the difference between price to cash flow vs. price to free cash flow and what might be a reasonable target in each case.
Thanks, Brian

Q: What percentage of the stocks purchased is by pension funds, private equity etc. vs small investors like myself?
Clayton

Q: further to your answer on USD vs Gold price. Thanks for your clarification. Does printing money increase the Money supply?
With more money available BoC buys government bonds increasing Govt to spend more, is that responsible for Asset prices to rise, ie real estate which is limited and of course Gold which is also limited.
I most appreciate your expansive replies on this subject.
Art