Investment Q&A

Q: I am looking to increase my fixed income percentage but this current market has me bamboozled. Major markets are basically even YTD despite Trump's tariffs still being on the books. There was a significant rally the other day because the US is “only” going to levy 30% tariffs and China will drop theirs to “only”20%! But while the markets go up, long term bonds continue to drop which I thought was a negative market indicator. So are things as mixed up and incoherent as I think? And with this background is now a good time to buy long bonds, short bonds or equal amounts of both?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: Everyone, three months have passed since I asked this same question, so what are the three issues that you are worrying about today? Clayton

Q: Can you tell me about ownership of the currently bought bitcoin? To whom it belongs in rough proportion? Institutions, individual investors ,foreign and domestic banks?
Thank you
Miroslaw

Q: Hi there, often times the 4% rule is used as a foundation for retirement planning. I believe the original study used US equities and US bonds as the funds to develop the 4% withdrawal rule. Obviously no one has a crystal ball, but what would be your opinion on using as international equity ETF with the 4% rule rather than a US fund such as VFV? If you were make an educated guess, do you believe using funds such as XEQT/VEXT and VAB/XBB instead of US funds would yield similar results as the 4% study over the longterm going forward?

Q: Can you please list your 5 highest conviction large cap and med cap stocks for a 5+ year hold? All US holdings please.

Also, is it fair to say the market has fully rebounded? Or is the worse still to come? I understand it’s impossible to predict, but your thoughts are much appreciated.

Thank you for everything

Q: I have above stocks in my RRSP I like to drop FFH and trim CSU LMN (i'm up 150% on both), like to add AD.UN DIR.UN or T, trying to increase my income as I'm retired, the idea is to preserve capital, is it a good time to add this new stocks ? thanks

Q: Folks with all the talk about the money system reset , tarif war, extreme national debt in North Amercia. threats to canadian economy, and gold becoming a tier 1 asset; how would suggest a DIY investor protect their assets going forward?

Q: I noticed that in one of your replies you said that most 5i staff have been buying during this downturn. I have bought through other downturns. But, Trump has me spooked. You never know what he might do. You feel that this time it may be different. If you feel free to share it, I would be interested to know what gives you this confidence, what your buying strategy is and finally, wha stocks do you see as particularly interesting at this time
Thanks

Q: I am a 64 year old IT professional, planning to retire next year and live off investment income. What do you think about my current sector allocation: Energy 7.00%, Health 7.00%, Finance 22.50%, Industrials 10.00%, Tech 22.50%, Telco 4.00%, Utility 5.00%, Materials 5.50%, Cons.Def 7.50%, Cons.Cycl. 8.00%, Real Estate 1.00%? I have moderate risk tolerance, the portfolio size is over 5mln, most of it is US and Canadian ETFs, and the low real estate allocation is due to the fact that I own some investment real estate. No crypto, gold, or bonds - I don't want any. I have paid out house, no liabilities, and no dependents. I am wondering if my sector allocation is too aggressive..? If yes, what are your suggestions for the perfect allocation specific for my case? Thanks!

Q: Considering present worldwide market uncertainties ,tariffs, volatility : would you agree with my observation that canadian REIT ETFs actually seem to be at a quite low price + less risky for a dividend investor ? If not ,would you suggest another category of investment ?

Q: Shouldn't investors be proceeding cautiously given the S&P P/E is close to 28 and a couple of red flags were announced this morning (jobless claims above expectations; McDonalds largest US sales decline since 2020)? Or am I being too much of a Nervous Nellie?

Q: A dark 2025/6 scenario would be mild recession in Canada, more serious recession in the U.S., both deepened at some point by a U.S. dollar crisis due to massive deficits and chaotic Trump. How should a TFSA be positioned to weather this? Dividend stocks versus bonds? How much of portfolio in gold stocks? How big a cash allocation? What else? Please deduct points as needed for this speculative question.

Q: I recently read an article saying Goldman Sachs reports their base case for US tariff negotiations to include long-standing percents to be remain in place. As in, the rates may or may not change from their present 10%. I am trying to make informed decisions about expected uncertainty and whether strategic portfolio balancing needs to be done. Appreciating we don’t have a crystal ball, don’t see the sustained tariffs as a likely outcome and would you recommend any responses to higher probability outcomes to this? For example- avoiding high-multiple US stocks emerging markets or others.

Q: Good afternoon,

One of the services I like to check in on for fun does technical analysis video updates for the overall happenings in the markets that can be found on YouTube (and obviously should be met a fair share of skepticism), well today one of the things they’re talking about is a rare Zweig Breadth Thrust signal.

I realize that your wheelhouse is focusing on good companies and in the long run that's what matters most, however I was wondering if you’ve noticed the same signal (ie, did it actually happen)?

Thank you


PS. I submitted the question as private, but please free to make it a public question if you feel it is a good learning question for other members.

Q: I think I just heard that bell that no-one rings at the bottom. I realize that the Tasmanian Devil, Elmer Fudd and the rest of the white house crew will continue to revel in their own incompetence, but still there seems to be some sort of reasonableness (I know, I know) coming out of recent statements about not firing Powel and about China even.

My idea then is to ease back into a somewhat more aggressive, or at least less defensive, posture over the next several weeks, all the while still closely monitoring everything, In general terms does this make sense to you? Thank-you.

Q: I'm considering shareholder yield as a factor for investing. Can I have your opinion of such a strategy and is there a favourable/preferred % when looking at companies? Finally, would you have 5 US and 5 TSX companies that you would choose when considering this approach? Dock me as many questions as you like and thanks!

Q: I am slowly working on reducing my exposure to the US$ given the recent commentary and negative sentiment. I am also questioning bond exposures given the Trump administrations decisions recently and hiccups it has been causing in the bond market. I have ensured the downside risk on long bonds and would like your take on the following:

1) If Trump causes crisis in the bond market which bond market and ETF would be least likely to be disrupted?

2) What is your take on the short and medium term risks to the bond market with Trumps economic non-strategy?

3) Is it a more reasoned decision to reduce bond exposures in favour of investing in shares of stable Canadian or European companies?

Thanks very much,

Dave

Q: Would be interested in your take on The search question. Many are saying Goog has lost its leadership position due to AI - I believe search is still the overwhelming cash cow for the company. It’s Gemini doesn’t appear to be getting much traction?

Q: Trying to decide whether to sell stocks in my TFSA now as they are in US dollars and I might want to purchase a condo in next 4 years. I am worried now that if dollar continues to rise and if stocks go nowhere or even up a little I'll take a big hit. All great, blue chip companies that have done well in past ten fifteen years.. American Express, Chubb, Bank of America, Eli Lily, Nvidia, etc.... Any predictions on how high the CAD could go and how does one figure out a strategy when dealing with currency and declining stock prices. Thank you for your wisdom!

Q: To what degree do you agree with the logic that the USD and US t-bills are being debased as reserve currency, and to what degree to you advise making portfolio changes?
I have assets in short and long term positions-it would be helpful to have input about both.