Investment Q&A

Q: There is growing concern by well-respected economists and investment analysts about what appears to be out-of-control government debt - especially in the Western World. Like the 2008-09 mortgage crisis, a time when "nobody saw it coming" (fortunately the online investment program I listen to weekly had me prepared 18 months ahead) most people have their collective heads in the sand once again.

I have no idea what the end game is, but while I was prepared for what was eventually to become known as the Great Recession, I don't know how to prepare myself this time.

I am 70% in dividend growth stocks, 30% cash. I don't plan to sell any stocks but am not putting anymore money in the market at this time. Recessions historically occur about every 8-10 years, and this bull is arguably getting extended.

I've added some gold bullion and a bit of CEF.

I believe you had mentioned, if I'm not mistaken, about keeping under $100K at any given institution to avoid any potential future bank "bail-ins".

What other ways can one diversify?

I realize there are enough "chicken littles" out there that we have to listen to, and am aware of the potential missed opportunities of timing the market. I just want to make sure I protect enough of my assets, as I am only 20 months away from retirement. This kind of prudence has served me well in the past just ahead of the 2000-2001 Tech Wreck and the mentioned housing crisis.

Thanks.

Q: I'm underweight in materials, energy, and utilities. My only exposure to these sectors comes through some total market ETFs I hold. With the current market conditions, would you view adding to these sectors as imperative or would it be more prudent to add to my tech and consumer holdings? If so, could you rank the value of the sectors to my portfolio (where should I stick my next investment first)? Please note, that I do plan to fill out these sector positions eventually and that I'm a young, growth investor with a long-term horizon.

Q: Just curious what you think of the last three days of market activity.

Q: Over the last few years, I've become familiar with the likes of David Stockman, Marc Faber, Jim Rickards, Peter Schiff, Jim Rogers, and other well-known perma-bears. They spend a lot of time warning about sky high stock valuations, extreme asset inflation generally, the banning of cash, the importance of precious metals, impending market crashes, runs on banks, the freezing of stock exchanges, and other light fare. I try to balance their dire outlook with more sanguine perspectives, but I'm always wondering if some of the extreme scenarios they envision will ever materialize.

For instance, Marc Faber appeared on BNN a few days ago, warning that the share prices of some of the most successful companies are headed to zero in the coming years. He didn't specify which ones.

Are you familiar with any of these pundits, and should any of their warnings be taken seriously? Thanks for your thoughts. I'm due back at the bunker now...

Q: My question is on over diversification - or indexing. My personal portfolio is over 8 figures. I currently hold 44 stocks spread accross the various sectors as shown below.

Technology 17%, Consumer Cyclical (Discretionary) 15%, Financial Services 15%, Industrials 11%, Consumer Defensive (Staples) 10%, Basic Materials, Metals, Mining 8%, Healthcare 8%, Communications / Telecom 5%, Energy 5%, Real Estate 3%, Utilities 3%.

The stock choices within are the BE portflio plus some top picks. With a portfolio of this size, my mind is having a hard time dropping the portfolio down to 20 stocks. I guess it is all relative. In your experience as a fund manager how many stocks are about right? I have adopted your style of buying a stock and holding it until the story has changed.

Thank you

Q: Peter; In your experience are there any comparable times , I.e. Nixon, as to what the market does during an impeachment? Thanks. Rod

Q: Could you please state your latest sector allocations? Thanks to your recommendations,my tech.allocation has grown to 28% of my portfolio.

Q: Hello team, I am fully invested (stock/etf's leaning toward growth) but am getting somewhat concerned about where the market is at. It seems (in my layman's eyes) that valuations across the board are getting stretched relative to fundamentals. I can take some profit and am wondering about some "insurance" in sectors such as gold; either cdn stock or etf's. For context, this is a registered account, 5 to 7 year horizon, mid 3 figures. Any suggestions

Q: Good afternoon 5i. I am currently sitting with 25% cash on the side lines. I know that's much too high. I have avoided gold/silver sector as well as oil sector(I do have enb, trp, fts)I've also avoided consumer goods sector. I'm light in industrials (dow & cbi) and property sectors (tcn). All other sectors are represented fully and equally ie health/financials/tech. I have a 65/35% split between US/CDN market respectively. With the stock market correction today and yesterday would it be a good buying opportunity and what sectors should I focus on going forward and if you can offer some stock suggestions in each sector. Much appreciated.

Robert

Q: If I wanted to hedge my U.S. currency going forward, would buying DLR.TO be a good way to do it?

Q: Hi there,

1) I have already greatly benefited from your service during the two months that I have been a subscriber. Previously, I had subscribed to ShareOwner, but sadly the founder Dr. Bart passed away. From ShareOwner I learned about ROE, debt/equity ratio, earning retention ratio, asset turnover etc. However, I presume there are some differences between the analysis for small to mid-sized stocks. For small to mid-sized stocks, should I focus on cash flow growth ratio, revenue growth ratio or any other specific ratios? What reading material would you recommend for learning about analyzing small to mid-sized stocks?

2) What is the relationship between the price of crude oil to the stock performance of oil-related consumer stock (eg. ATD.B, PKI)?

3) Having recently seen in the news that Puerto Rico has filed for bankruptcy, how do you think this will impact the financial market as many financial institutions hold Puerto Rico's bonds. Do you think this will impact Canada's mortgage rates and how so?

Thank you,
Lai

Q: My portfolio is a combination of the Balanced and Growth model portfolios. I'm torn between your advice to "let winners run" and your advice on keeping sectors reasonably balanced. Tech is up and energy is down....so in theory, I should be selling some Shopify and Kinaxis and buying more Whitecap and Raging River. SHOP and KXS are not yet over 5% of my portfolio so I don't need to sell them to reduce risk. My instincts tell me to let the winners keep running until I see some life in the energy stocks, even if that means being very light in that sector. Your advice, please. Thanks!

Alan

Q: Do you think HFD is a good way to play the housing bubble or any problems with mortgage lenders?
My thinking is that there is more to come as incomes have substantially lacked the stratospheric rise in housing prices.
Any other ideas you would have to bet against this scenario.
Thanks as always

Q: The recent decline in CAD/US exchange rates has me somewhat concerned for my US investments. If you believe,as I do, that the CAD has reached its low point and may move up slowly from here, should you buy US shares in CAD funds? Or is it best to convert now and hold these in US dollars? In general do you believe it is best to have a mix of US shares in an even split of US and CAD currency? What should the factors be to determine how this is handled individually? Or does it even matter?

Q: Hello, I would like to "park" some money in a safe dividend paying stock. Your service provides lots of choices/recommendations. However, can you say with any degree of comfort which sector or particular dividend paying stocks therein would be less sensitive to an interest rate hike, and less of a bond proxy. Or, are all stocks paying a reasonable dividend subject to this risk. I was thinking of Enbridge. Thanks very much. Bill.

Q: There is a link to an article in today's Globe by Meb Farber that calls into question the generally accepted wisdom that companies that grow their dividends are superior investments. (at least I think it is a generally accepted theory) Is this a theory that you have come across before or do you think that his argument has merit?

http://mebfaber.com/2017/04/26/dividend-growth-myth/

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: Currently I have around 20 percent of my portfolio in US holdings. Given the nervousness of the Canadian markets re NAFTA etc., and the narrow range of Canadian sectors, would it be wise to increase the percentage of my US holdings? Secondly, should I keep the US shares in a sheltered or non-sheltered investment account? Thank you!

Q: Team,
My full service brokerage account currently has a cash position of 16% and my broker's position on this is that the account will be positioned for an anticipated market pullback and her thought is then to enter with the cash.
I am retired and live off the income provided by the account. The account is entirely Canadian dividend payers ( total of 23 equity positions) which range from 3% to 7% yields. The portfolio is largely banks/insurance ,pipelines/processors and some telecoms. My thought is to reduce the cash to around 5% and add to existing positions or else add a few defensive positions.
Appreciate your comments on the current position and thoughts as to best way to proceed.
Thx

Q: We have 2 RRSP portfolios 2 TFSA portfolios 1 locked in pension plan portfolio which I manage. I have recognized that there are different tax implications for the investments in each type of account and have invested accordingly to suit.I'm now drawing income from our investments and work with my accountant to withdraw as tax efficiently as possible.The question I have is would you manage these accounts as a separate portfolio in each account or as one overall portfolio when looking at percentage allocation of a Stock,ETF,or Fixed Income.

Q: Hi 5i team,

I want to sell into the market now to raise the level of cash in my portfolio. I need advice as to what stocks to sell first, given the current market conditions. Should I sell growth stocks first? Or income stocks first? Should I sell certain sectors first? Should I first sell stocks that are in a loss? Or stocks that have the highest % of gain over book value (ignoring tax)? Should I sell stocks that are close to 52 weeks high first? Please explain your strategies if you were to reduce the equity holdings to raise cash for your portfolio. Thanks for your guidance.