Investment Q&A

Q: Dear 5i team.

Is there any time in financial history when we had rising inflation combined with a recession? What would one do in this scenario to protect a portfolio?

Many thanks for your insights.

Q: The general technical pattern of the US markets and other markets to a lesser degree appears to be aggressively trending down, with the recent positive earnings now in the rear view and corrected, unfortunately. I’m reading your language from past comments that the year is expected to be rough for tech but I think it is worth noting that the trend line underway for major indices and even successful companies appears to be headed down and possibly with much bigger drops ahead.
Could you please comment on where you see this from your perspective? Do you expect a sizeable drop ahead and do you advise any mitigation at this point either to rebalance or to sell any current holdings, such as small caps, tech, high debt or other potentially at-risk assets that may be staring down a large drop.
Almost nothing looks to be at a ‘bottom’. To echo a lot of headlines, it looks like there could be a slide ahead.

Q: Generally, for a long-term investor, in this type of market would you be adding to growth stocks (out of favor but prices are down) or value ("good" for this environment but prices are not down or less so)? Thanks.

Q:




Every morning i think of Warren & Charley dipping there cookies into there tea and having a good chuckle on these HIGH GROWTH companies getting a good spanking. A lot of these of these stocks are never going to come back as the field is just too crowded that they are competing in. I was in the market in 2000 and you never heard again of the high growth companies with no earnings again, you lost 100 % of your investment. Warren & Charlie might be turtles but who wins the race

Q: Good day. A little over 1 year ago I allocated about 5% of my portfolio to the high growth/risk stocks. Needles to stay it hasn't worked out as expected. At this stage I am hoping that you can give me insight what the future holds for these companies as an investment. Which should be sold and subsequently move the funds moved into the keepers.
Deduct as many credits as you feel appropriate.
Much appreciated

Q: Hi 5i Team - Could you provide the names of some beaten down stocks that have a decent chance of recovery over the next year or two. This is a relatively short timeline but I'm looking for companies that still have a good balance sheet, are well managed, have good prospects, and yet have still been caught in the downdraft along with the negative market sentiment. Any sector and any market cap but with a focus on small to mid-cap. Thank you.

Q: Like many people. I'm currently down quite a bit on a lot of growth stocks even though I bought them well below their all-time highs. For example, I'm down 50% on PYPL, 45% on Roku, 35% on Shop.

I have decades before retirement (and I do have a pretty balanced portfolio) so I'm not worried about my investments over the long-term, but it still hurts to see quite a bit of my positions so deep in the red.

I know it's impossible to predict (and it's always possible that some of these growth stocks will never recover), but in your experience how long do you think we could reasonably expect it to take before some of these growth stocks recover?

For example do you think it's reasonable for us to expect it to take 3 years, 5 years, 10 years for the above mentioned stocks (like PYPL, ROKU, SHOP) to recover?

Q: Hi team,
Given the tensions around Russia and Ukraine and the increased likelihood that we may see a war in Ukraine, what sectors do you think would be less likely to see a negative impact from this conflict? Are there sectors that may benefit if we do see war in Ukraine?

Appreciate your insight on this.
Paula

Q: Hi

Based on what is happening, that is not going to end anytime soon.

Is it time to reduce our Canadian investments and move the lions share to the US and
Europe?

Thank you

Q: With your expertise are you able to articulate the de coupling of Small/Mid caps in comparison to the Nasdaq/TSX/Dow. Small/ Mid caps are down near early 2020 lows and yet the broader index's do not reflect this. Historically does this happen often? The underlying sentiment has been quite deflating.

Q: Dear 5i
When the pandemic first started and the market dropped substantially , some days even7-10% in a single day i think it was because it was such a new and scary scenario that none of us had experienced before and thus created a lot more fear in the markets . Pandemics fortunately are not that common and creates a situation with a lot of unknowns when they do occur .
Wars though serious and scary as well have occured more often in history and though terrible, do not represent the same degree up unknown as a pandemic does . That being said , what would be your best GUESS as to what the market reaction would be with regards to a Russian invasion in the Ukraine .I suspect there would be a sharp reaction by the markets to the tune of a 2-3% downturn but certainly not the 7-10% downturn in a single day when the pandemic first hit .
I`m trying to remain level headed with regards the the Russian situation and would welcome your input . I know it is a guessing game but i feel your guess might be a more accurate guess than most of the rest of us .
Thanks
Bill

Q: I'm considering getting some HXQ after its fall related to incipient interest rate hakes. In your view is it too early for bottom fishing the NASDAQ?
Thanks

Q: Can you tell me what day the feds in the U S and Canada meet to decide interest rate decision in March and looking into your crystal ball how many hikes do you think there could be this year
Thanks

Q: Dear Peter and Ryan.

I did not sell any stocks yet and my portfolio incurred significant loss lately. I was going to ride through the drop. Now I started to doubt my decision. How do you think about the tension/war between Russian and Ukraine, in addition to rising interest rates? If you don't recommend selling now, do you think it is an opportunity to buy more?

Thank you

Yiwen in panic mode :-)

Q: We know uncertainty helps the markets drop. With Russia saying they are drawing back troops and NATO and USA say they are building up, one could anticipate uncertainty ahead. With this in mind, is there any advice for which type of stock might be the best to buy on a future dip?

Q: What conditions do you think are required for confidence to return for growth stocks with good fundamentals? Thanks!

Q: If or when war in Eastern Europe erupts, which sectors of North American markets would be affected the worst/the least?

Q: Hi 5i, In these times of increasing interest rates, what are types of companies to avoid buying stocks in Regards, Ron

Q: Hi,
Inflation came in hot again today in the U.S. Do you guys have a view of the dot plot? Some economists see the Fed hiking rates 5-6 times this year with a 50 BPS thrown in for good measure. Others see a less aggressive FED with 3-4 rate hikes.

Also, the renewable energy names all seem to be making a nice bottom in the past month or so. Could they be signaling that the rate hikes may now be baked into these names?
Thanks again.

Q: I expected a blood bath this am with CPI at 7.5% and 10 year hitting 2%. The reaction is surprisingly mild. Even ARKK is up! Your thoughts please.
In spite of your 'do nothing headline' I checked out in January. Thinking of averaging back in or waiting for the Fed in March. What would you suggest?
Thanks Peter.