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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: I am very impressed with your ability to limit your balanced portfolio to 25 stocks. Currently I hold the above six stocks in the financial sector whereas you hold three. The only one with large imbedded gains is REF.UN which I have held for over twenty years. one third of our total portfolio follows your balanced portfolio. The other 2/3s is managed for us and includes a large allocation to canadian banks. I am willing to sacrifice some stability for more growth. Would you consolidate any of the above stocks to simplify the portfolio? Below is my current allocations. My bias is to keeping REF, GSY and ECN.
2.23% aif
3.16% ref
2.36% ecn
1.90% fsz
2.54% gsy
1.86% slf
Read Answer Asked by Paul on June 08, 2017
Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team,

I understand the rationale for different weighting of sectors among the three portfolios. You've stated in the past that we should look at our entire portfolio to "determine where we stand", and I've done this for my RRIF, my wife's RRSP, both of our TFSA's and our joint Margin Account. I use Google Sheets to track this entire portfolio. My question is this: In a 'composite" portfolio, how can one determine the appropriate sector weighting, or is it purely a personal choice? For example, Technology is 21.38% of the Balanced Equity Portfolio, 32.05% of the Growth Portfolio, and 7.26% of the Income Portfolio. In our 'composite' portfolio, Technology has a weighting of 10.83% of the portfolio's equity portion. So I suppose my question would be "How do I know that my weightings are appropriate, and once weightings are chosen, do I stick with them? Or should they vary for different points in the economic cycle?"

I have another question that I'm hoping can be answered by one of our computer-savvy members: As mentioned, I use Google Sheets to track our portfolio which can "capture" the stock price for popular indexes like the TSX. However, there's a "new kid on the block", namely the Aequitas Neo index, and I haven't been able to "capture" prices to be inserted into Google Sheets automatically. As an example, a Canadian Money Saver top-rated ETF, (CLU) is no longer listed on the TSX, but is now listed on the Aequitas Neo index. Do any 5i members know how to accomplish this "price capturing"?

Given that there are several questions in this long-winded question, please deduct as many question credits as you deem necessary. Thanks for all your help! Now I'm going to watch Peter on BNN which I PVR'd earlier!
Read Answer Asked by Jerry on June 08, 2017
Q: Foreign asset and currency exposure.

As a retiree, I am concerned about the non-Canadian content of my portfolio. While all my holdings are listed in Canada, an increasing portion of the issuers' assets and/or revenue is in other countries, primarily US.

Are there any meaningful fx predictions for the next 5 years?

Is it fair to assume that issuers which report in US dollars will hedge, if at all, foreign revenue to US dollars and disregard
the fx risk of US revenue to its Canadian shareholders, even in cases (eg Brookfield) which are managed in Canada? On the other hand, I suppose that issuers which report in CAD would be motivated to hedge their USD revenue.
Read Answer Asked by Carl on May 31, 2017
Q: Good afternoon,

I'm thinking of replacing individual stocks that I've held for a long time in my RRSP with either XAW or VXC for the foreign portion of the RRSP portfolio and adding XIC or XIU for the Cdn portion of the portfolio. Is this a good idea and if so which would be your preference and recommendation. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Francesco on May 30, 2017
Q: i have a bit of a high allocation to banks and i was thinking of trimming Bns. I am also doing this because i have some fear of a housing bust and the proximity of the banks to such an event. And also because there may be a good chance that capital gains tax will be increased next year. I will re invest this money and my question has to do with what sector do you think would be the safest if a housing crash should result. For instance i had thought of buying Canadian Tire. But, i imagine a drop in the housing market will have a big affect on their sales as well. Appreciate your thoughts as usual
Read Answer Asked by joseph on May 30, 2017
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.
Read Answer Asked by James on May 26, 2017
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.
Read Answer Asked by Ryan on May 24, 2017