Investment Q&A

Q: Being mostly a "dividend long term" investor ,I did not invest in tech stocks up to now, except for some specific etfs . Considering this kind of "switch" from tech to energy stocks in the markets,and new valuations of major US tech stock ,I just started to invest in this sector.What is your view versus the opportunities and timing for investing in major tech stocks actually ?

Q: While the VIX is high, what companies and sectors would you be buying?
Many thanks

Q: 6 weeks ago you said this: "While a correction could happen anytime, we aren't really expecting giant problems. There is cash on the sidelines, rates may move lower, and investors have shown excellent resiliency in the face of all sorts of global issues."

Have you adjusted your opinion given the state of the world?

Q: Can you please provide a brief commentary on how you think AI will evolve in the next 5 years (economy, labor market, possible deflation and change in economic model projected by some). I know its a hot topics that can fill books. I am just wondering about your insights. Thank you!

Q: Everyone, What are the three most important things investors should be doing right now in the stock market? Clayton

Q: Can you help me understand why one would hold a company like Amazon with a 10% return in the last 12 months and 40% increase in the last 5 years compared to an ETF like VOO with a 20% return in the last 12 months and 73% increase in the last 5 years?

Where I struggle is, why take on the added risk of holding an individual stock compared to a diversified ETF? Clearly it’s shown to out perform the individual stock.

I understand holding both are likely ideal, but can you provide a reason to not sell Amazon and add to VOO? Thank you

Q: time to move from energy producers into financials?

Q: In the last five days, the S&P is down 1.58% while the TSX is down 3.29% (as per G&M). I'm curious about why Canada's stock market, heavy with oil companies, would fare worse than the US, which is actually the one at war. Any ideas?

Q: Hello,
When does it make sense to borrow from a line of credit for non-reg assets vs contributing after-tax cash to an RRSP?

I don’t want my taxable income in retirement to be any higher than it is projected to be.
I also have access to a line of credit right now.

You mentioned recently:
“ Typically investors look for more stable and reliable dividend-payers in a non-registered account….. …we like BNS, TD, ENB, FTS, CNR, SLF, BAM, CSU, AEM.

So, if I want to minimize my taxable income in retirement, when does it make sense to borrow to invest in those dividend-paying tax-favoured stocks?

I believe the short answer is “when the after-tax cost of capital is less than the expected after-tax return”. Correct?
If so, why doesn’t anyone with some borrowing capacity borrow to invest in my situation? (Risk-aversion?)
Thank you.

Q: Hi Peter and 5i Team,

Peter, a great article in today's Financial Post.

So far today, there's a sell-off in just about everything. Where is all this money going? Are there any free sites that can give some insight?

Thanks as always.

Q: Can you explain why the precious metals and those stocks are being hit so hard. I would have thought that the war would be causing a flight-to-safety which would have resulted in the opposite. How much more negativity can we expect?
Thanks for your thoughts.
Ian

Q: If United States walks away from CUSMA how would you position your portfolio to shield it
Thanks for the help

Q: Dear Peter et al:

Thanks to your words of wisdom, I have done well with these.
The question is if one should control the greed and take some profits or stay the course and let the winners run. I don't need to sell to harvest the profits to live. The position sizes are still reasonable. I can hold them for a few years even.

One faces another dilemma. If I do sell, what should I buy. You have been suggesting that one should wait till the sentiment improves for PRL or GSY or CSU and it's offsprings! I have your favourites in energy! CNQ/TOU/ENB/CVE and such.

Which sector appeals to you going forward?

Should one move to larger players like FNV/WPM/AEM?

Q: Morning Troops. With the recent run up is now a good time to take profits in long held oil and gas stocks? Cheers.

Q: I have a question about alternatives to the 60/40 equity fixed income portfolio. Many years it seems that the fixed income portion is a large drag on the portfolio. What are other options that can provide balance to returns when equity markets tank? Does crypto currency and precious metal exposure provide some offset? What would be a reasonable portfolio exposure? Do you recommend any long short or alternative asset funds to replace fixed income exposure? Or, in your opinion is a well diversified portfolio with exposure to several industries enough diversification. I know everyone's situation is different, but I would like some suggestions for alternatives to fixed income exposure.
Thanks

Q: With the war in Iran, what is your best advice to long-term investors? Stay calm and do nothing, I suppose. Thank you!

Q: After recent news/earnings and along the thinking that AI will not completely replace SAAS but work along side it and even provide positive tailwinds, do you think its time to rotate a bit more from hardware to software or proceed with caution still? I hold CLS, NVDA, NBIS, VRT in hardware and CSU,LMN,TOI,SPOT, SHOP,CRWD,BKNG,TRI in software. Also own GOOG. I'm trying to find the right balance. If we look at SOXX/IGV, are we going to see mean reversion back to the mean?

Also what part of the market or credit cycle do you think we are in? Mid to late cycle? Should we be more defensive or still slowly adding to growth names? Thanks!

Q: Thoughts on the latest sell off to financials and private equity. Now the AI fear is hitting credit card companies and people are saying two machines can transfer funds without needing credit cards. This is getting crazy as it seems no industry is immune to AI. Are we overreacting, or is the world as we know it going to dramatically change, in which case, what kinds of stocks do we need to keep? What sectors should we lighten up on? What sectors do the screaming buys lie?

Q: I enjoyed reading what you had recently written about HALO stocks. I always appreciate these insights - thank you! what percentage of one's total equity portfolio would you suggest one have in HALO stocks?

Q: Thank you for your answer to the question (copied below) that I asked a few days ago.

I wasn't so much asking about my own strategy, but whether you think such a strategy (moving some money out of tech and into the broader market) is a good move in the current climate.

NVDA and GOOG are part of the same theme. Do you think these are winners to be held on to, or whether trimming a bit to put in the broader market would be wise?


Question: Given that the market is broadening out and that I would like my portfolio to follow suit, I am thinking of switching half of my money in XUU, a market-cap weighted fund which makes up about 10% of my portfolio, to EQL, an S&P equal-weighted fund.

What would your opinion be on that?

Also, along the same line of thought, I'm considering trimming NVDIA and GOOG although the mere mention of it has my investing friends screaming "NO!". They understand the sentiment but think it's not the right time.

Answer: We think XUU is a solid fund, but if diversiifcation is a goal then we think EQL makes good sense. For example, XUU currently is about 42% tech. EQL is barely at 10%.