Investment Q&A

Q: Hi 5i - I'm retired now and am wondering what your percentage recco would be for Stocks, ETF's, Index Funds and Bonds in the overall portfolio. Hope you can give me your insight! Thx!

Q: Hello 5i Research...I have a very elderly family member who needs to re-structure her TFSA . Investment horizon may be under 3 years. GIC's are used in other accounts. We are looking for an ETF solution that will provide a decent level of capital safety and some monthly income (above GIC levels).
We were thinking a combo of XTR , CVD, CPD . XCB and CBO. Is there a one fund solution solution that you might endorse? What percentage split of funds might be appropriate in the current environment?

thanks/art

Q: #1. Are there any key indicators that would suggest a recession ?
#2. Would it be a good idea for an investor to get out of the market and buy back in later, thinking there will be a recession soon and a downward stock market.

Q: Considering TFSA, which of these two would be your preference? Thankyou.

Q: I have been rebalancing my portfolio over the past six months, reducing financials and energy and increasing utilities, telecoms, and US technologies ( all in companies you have been positive towards). I remain overweight financials, with Canadian Banks and insurers. I do have a very long term horizon, say 25 years, so if history and my nerve holds, my wife and I should have the desired dividend stream and a decent shot a capital gains over time. However, after reading yet another “we’re all gonna die” column from Dave Rosenberg, it made me wonder if I shouldn’t continue my shift and sell down more financials and increase in sectors with strong dividends that might better weather the storms that may or may not be imminent. What are your thoughts?
As always, I value your opinions. Thank. You.

Q: I read with great concern in this weekend's National Post, David Rosenberg's article entitled "10 Reasons to take risk off the table right now". He makes ten legitimate reasons to do so. I would appreciate 5I's opinion of the article and his supporting logic. My high risk equities are WEF, NFI, TSGI, MX, COV and VET.
Carl.

Q: In reference to my last question you made a couple of suggestions. I parted ways with CHR and NFI. You also suggested that I lacked diversification in some areas. I have accumulated cash since my last question to be deployed at an appropriate time. I have listed again the stocks in which I am currently invested in. Percentage allocation in each was listed in my last question. I have wonder if you maintain an investment profile of your clients. Doing so would enable you to provide more appropriate advice and/or suggestions. It would negate the need for clients to keep repeating investment objectives. Thanks

Q: In your recent market analysis you noted the $13trillion in negative interest bonds as a positive. Presumably the assumption is this money would move to equities for better returns. The most recent report shows the $13 trillion is now over $15 trilllion. Also central banks are cutting interest rates. Does this change your outlook at all?
Many thanks.
Mike

Q: What is your opinion on shorting the tsx

Q: Hi Peter

You recently wrote an article about investing versus gambling which neatly explained why investing was not gambling. I had no issue with your explanation, but must admit that lately I am concerned that investing is starting to feel more and more like gambling. You just do not know what Trump is going to Tweet or do next. China’s reactions are another issue. I am not confident that Trump fully understands what he is doing. Case in point , his remarks that China is adding all kings of money into the US Treasury due to the tariffs he is imposing. Look at the reactions to his plan to impose further tariffs on China and subsequent devaluation of the Chinese currency. You just do not know what he will do next. But it does look like China is digging in for along term battle. Your comments please. Uncertainty is extremely high now. So why not sell most equity investments and move to the sidelines?

Q: I know diversification helps but am looking for some recommended investments and strategies that might weather a correction better than others.

Q: Would you buy the S&P 500 on this dip? Seems like a buying opportunity to me just curious what your thoughts are. Cheers

Q: I read comments that go like this..... Trump wants a rate cut so he can play hardball on trade wars......but how do Federal rate interest cuts do this? I'm like walking in the woods on this.......Tom

Q: Can you tell me what to think after the US rate cut? Dow is down about 450 points as I write this which is a bit surprising since I figured a quarter point cut was already baked in.

Should a typical investor change anything?

Q: What sectors/industry do you see as the most promising over the short, medium and long term?

Q: Over the weekend I was reading about the potential for mean reversion producing a rebound in value stocks in the US. Do you think this makes sense overall, or is it just about as likely as any of the ten thousand other 'this is what is going to happen' stock market ideas? And, do you have any CAD US based ETFs that would fit this profile and that you would recommend? Thank-you, again.

Q: What are the various sector weights to use at the moment?

Q: Hi All at 5i! Any advantage to holding one ETF over the other. Which one do you favour? Cheers, Tamara

Q: Hello, With the news of Deutshe Bank in disarray and the high potential for a new 2008 Lehman Brothers scenario, are we going to see the tidal wave coming or is it already too late to run to higher grounds (higher % cash). Please advise.

Q: I used to think of bonds and stocks as generally moving in opposite directions so that bonds could be a safety factor in my account for when stocks go down. Stocks used to go down for economic reasons and then bonds would go up since the central bank would reduce interest rates to try to stimulate the economy. This worked marvelously for me in 2008-9. However, it is far more common now for them both to move in the same direction since stocks are dependent these days more on lower interest rates than economic news so they go up when there is a hint of interest rates going down and so do bonds as they always did. In reverse, when interest rates even hint of going up, stocks decline and so do bonds. Good economic news means the stock market is likely to decline since interest rates might go up. It seems that the market believes that it cannot survive any interest rate increases. So what do you suggest these days to balance against this unified stock and bond reaction?