Investment Q&A

Q: There is currently a plethora of ways to invest in the US Market without touching sector funds. Would you use any of the above ETFs and if so in what proportion or would you suggest using any other US ETFs as well. High conviction US Mutual funds are also an option; but the fees are somewhat higher. I currently have no US coverage and am looking at establishing a 15-20% position. I know timing is a bit of a quess; but with the recent run up would you please suggest a strategy?

Thanks and
A very Merry Christmas to all

Q: Hi, I have roughly about 120k in a resp for my two children who are 14 and 12. I went to cash before election unfortunately in hindsight as it was 75% index funds and 25 percent bond funds. Going forward, as there are 4 years remaining before university I want to remain somewhat defensive but still have growth as I believe the markets will continue higher over the next couple years as The big Fed day is over, and markets remain resilient. I was thinking about zwb,Zwu for defence and income...7% yield, at 30 k each. Zsp for us market and currency exposure at 30k. mg and gud at 15 k each for some growth. Am I being to aggressive at 5 years away from university? Do you recommend any changes to this approach? Thanks for your opinion and advice and Merry Christmas!

Q: I keep reading that there has been a great rotation away from income/dividend stocks into growth though I dont see much evidence of it. My TD, RB and Telus are not down at all.

Can you explain this belief and if there are examples of beaten up dividend stocks, CDN or US, can you recommend a few for long term holds?

Q: I assume hedging is a two way street - you get protection back to Can$ if the US $ falls but lose the gain associated with a US$ rise, and there is a cost to provide this?? So if the US$ looks strong going forward relative to the Looney is this the best strategy and are there other US banking sector ETF choices. What do you think?

Q: Do you think its time to sell VCIT and buy iwo and xlf or other financial etf. Thanks

Q: How will CDZ do in a sell off? I have about 10% in my portfolio but would like to move it to 15% - Also is there an America ETF equivalent ?

Q: I am very overweight banks (short term strategy)with significant gains.Do you feel a rate hike Wed. is most likely? Would it be prudent to buy short term hedging?

Q: In a recent blog, Ryan indicated "Subscribers can login to see our thoughts on the FED model and what it may mean for the markets. " Please help me locate these thoughts. Thank you.

Q: This is how the Globe portfolio analyzer breaks down my LIF portfolio. Objective is capita preservation and income. Is this reasonable diversification or should I be making changes to the allocation?

Sector % of Stocks
Financials 33.95
Consumer Discretionary 18.10
Energy 13.69
Information Technology 9.20
Industrials 6.66
Materials 5.84
Telecom Services 5.09
No Data 7.47

Q: For someone looking at a retirement in 2 - 3 years that will be funded by personal investments, I am having trouble formulating an investment strategy that would currently include fixed income investments. Fixed income securities seemed destined to only go down in value in the foreseeable future as interest rates rise so why would I want to invest in them? Pipelines, utilities and telecoms may also drop but their yield is currently quite good and secure and capital appreciation is always a possibility, if not a probability, in the longer run.

It seems to me that much of the argument for holding fixed income assets is to ensure the preservation of one's capital. But if I am ultimately going to invest largely in quality dividend paying stocks eventually anyway to fund my retirement is capital preservation the main concern? Isn't dividend "preservation" more the issue?

I feel like I am missing something because it seems that all advisors, planners and analysts strongly suggest there be some fixed income in a portfolio, especially as retirement nears. What are your thoughts?

Appreciate the insight.

Paul F.

Q: I have a fairly large sum of money to invest from an estate and I am primarily interested in just taking the dividends and keeping the principal reasonably safe. I was thinking of the Brookfield companies and Canadian Banks however just wondering if you would have some suggestions for a couple of other companies in different sectors. I would like to try and get close to 5% on the dividend.

Q: I have always struggled to categorize into sectors the companies I own. What guideline would you suggest to use to make this exercise accurate and hence more meaningful.

Q: Most financial types keep predicting a much weaker Canadian dollar (relative to USD) in the near future. What's your "take".
Len

Q: I am looking to buy 3 growth and 3 value stock your advice is very important to me.

Q: One third of my non sheltered account consists of shares in ATD.B, CCL.B, CSU, and SJ. In the last month the TSX is up about 3+%. In the same period these stocks are all down (13%, 5%, 6% and 8%). The only common thread I can see is that I own them. Do you have any insights that explains the not inconsiderable under performance of the share prices of these stocks in the last month?

Q: IS THERE ANY JUSTIFICATION TO HAVE ANY BOND IN ANY PORTFOLIO IN VIEW OF SUCH A LOW RETURN AND PAY TAX ON(50/50)- KEEP THE MONEY IN MONEY MARKET FUND DOES THE JOB AND YOU ARE NOT LOOSING ANY EXCEPT INFLATION EFFECT ?.MOST BOND FUND HAVE LOST MONEY.THANKSEBRAHIM

Q: Hello 5i
I have been reading a great deal of your responses that include comments implying a short term top developing in many 2016 good stocks.
Rotation out of the winners.
Year end Selling
Manger Positioning
Easy to sell winners for cash

And on the other side, 5i continues to recommend many of these names as investable today.

How is an investor to reconcile buy recommendations(at what feels like short term high) with declining stock prices and the scepter of a January pull back after the 2016 tax year passes.....and when the typical selling period begins for previous year winners?

If one is not a trader, what investor action is to be taken to ensure long term success with volatile names that appear to be in decline today?

(as a note: I may not be in some of these names without 5i.....good(a few nice gain positions-thanks) and bad(dealing with volatility)

Thanks
Dave

Q: I was listening to David Burrows on BN last night, he believes the next 2 years could be quite good in some investment areas and not in others. Because of what he was suggetsing, that utilities, REIT's and Telco may be in the not so good area, I was thinking of selling my Telus, Artis and Dream Industrial.
I would like to rotate those funds into, financials, materials, technology and industrials in Canada in midsize companies. I was wondering if you might be able to suggest some companies with good growth potential that pay dividends in those areas.
If I make the change my core would start with Scotiabank, Royal bank, IPL and PPL, and a little bit of ECN.

Q: When you stated that people are moving out of dividend paying and into growth stocks do you think this is short term investments?I am a long term dividend investor.Should I follow the crowd?

Q: There seems to be renewed enthusiasm for mining stocks, with the likes of Teck, Quantum and Hudbay going up like rockets. What do you think of the mining sector (excluding gold)? My impression is you've been fairly lukewarm over this in the recent past. My portfolio has a very small bit of Teck (about 1%) and am wondering if I should be putting more money into this sector.