Investment Q&A

Q: With all signs pointing to a long US/China trade spat, what sectors do you see holding their own. I would expect that Tech and Consumer Products will be hurt the most. Your comments would be appreciated.

Q: I was expecting Armageddon/ volatility in the markets with no China deal and more tariffs and China retaliation. What gives? At some point this is going to impact earnings, jobs, etc. In fact the market has risen, what do you make of it?

Q: Hello,
What are the US and Canadian stocks which are looking more attractive due to the tarrif war. I bought TTD and SQ..on the drop. Can you suggest any others. Also can you give your assessment do you think this increased volatility is a temporary phenomenon.Thanks.

Shyam

Q: Peter and those surrounding - as someone with 25% cash due to recent trimming I'm wondering 1. whether you believe the downside is close to bottom or not 2. whether you would wait for further clarity before redeploying 3. whether you would redeploy the growth names on my buy list first (down more) or stay conservative with more stable lower valuation equities being re-purchased first and 4. any general remarks you might offer at this rather confusing moment in the markets. Thanks as always - Ken

Q: Are there ETF's out there that employ both Active and Passive investing under one roof, or do I have to buy one active and one passive to create my allocation to both strategies ?

Q: I have significant USD in my RRSP in cash. Do you have any recommendation for a balanced USD ETF even if it’s trading in the USA that is “low” risk conservative and might expect 4 to 5% annual gains? Thanks. Peter

Q: I am interested in what your general guidelines for sector percentage allocations would be at this time and looking forward in 2019. We are retired with pensions ,investments in registered accounts and a balanced approach investor. Second question-your recommendation re percentage allocation Canada/US investment. Thank you for your assistance.

Q: I almost only read questions related to my specific companies. So may be I have not look in the right place. My question is at this time in the Market cycle, would you recommend allocation changes and also increase cash somewhat?

Q: I have 30% of my money in diversified CDN equities and don't need the money for 20 years.
I am not interested in bonds or REITs. I was considering putting the other 70% in the following ETF's.
45% VFV
18% VUN
18% XQQ
11% XEF
8% VEE
This would put around 57% of the total money in the USA. I am fine with that.
The MER would be around 0.18% based on the blend. I know this breaks your rule of keeping less than 25% in one fund. It also places a lot of money in Vanguard - which has been around since 1975, but nothing is for sure. Wondering what you think of this set up and also maybe I could sub out VUN for XUU. This would make 53% Vanguard and 47% iShares. Trading VUN for XUU would lower the MER a little as VUN is 0.16% and XUU is 0.07%

Q: My Canadian Margin account is up 29% accoding to TDW. I would like to lock in some of the gains but I already sold some stocks this year (ATD.B with ACB of $2.97 and GIL with ACB of $2.77). I sold these stocks for diversification purposes but they are still my two biggest holdings in my portfolio. I cannot afford to sell any more stocks as all my holdings are in the black and I would incur capital gains. I would have to take out a loan to pay the capital gains tax if I sold some more stocks. Would there be any way to lock in gains with options for 2019?

Q: I would like to get your opinion in Agilith and Sparton MMCAP (SPA260) hedge funds and what percentage of a moderately aggressive portfolio should be in hedge fund,

Thanks

Q: We have about $150k in a Family RESP invested in the Fidelity Clearpath 2025 Portfolio Series B ISC target date fund. On the Fidelity fact sheet it says "Series B has the highest combined management and administration fees among the series in the Program". We were put into the fund by our previous financial advisor. Funny how that worked. The current MER is 2.17%. Could you recommend two or three alternative ETF's or funds with more reasonable MER's or even possibly a handful of suitable stocks? The funds won't be needed for another five years. Thanks.

Q: The coming US elections are approaching (2020)
The democrats are NOT pro big business and some candidates are voicing their opinions about breaking up and placing regulation on big tech. This could be considered to be just noise however I am old enough to remember the industry break ups of the past. Question: Is it time to exercise a little caution here and await the election outcome or go along with the apparent belief that Google, Amazon etc. are the way of the future with unlimited potential growth?

Q: Hi, a follow up to my last question, were there any periods where the yield curve inverted in the last 20 years, but didn't lead to a recession? Do you by chance have the dates or chart on that?

Q: Many of the analysts appearing on BNN seem cautionary about the market and suggest investors hold some cash in their portfolios.
In my opinion at the present time of the three 5I portfolios, the Finance portfolio is the most attractive and offers some very decent dividends. Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, Bill

Q: Let's assume a recession is in the near future (so-called indicated by the inverted yield curve ..well maybe..)...which one of these two portfolios would fair better in your opinion and why. It's been awhile since we've been in one and I cant remember how these sectors acted back then .Not worried about concentration as either group would only make of a small portion of the overall equity/fixed income holdings..
#1 holds utilities ,industrials ,financials and energy stocks.
#2 holds consumer cyclicals , healthcare , tech , basic materials stocks.
Preservation of capital and income are main concerns.
thank as always..

Q: Inverted yield curve(US 3mo higher than 10yr interest rate).2 great views by Ryan on BNN on 3/29 & Peter in The Van Sun,3/30. My observations.1)As at 8pm pst 3/31 10yr is higher than 3m (2.439 vs 2.408) 2)A popular yield curve is 2yr & 10yr(2.294 is lower than 2.439).3)This will help the big 6 can banks as pointed out by 5I as they borrow short & lend long(better interest margins.Ryannyou were great on BNN Thanks for u usual great services & views

Q: My question relates to asset balance. I have recently retired and am in the process of de-risking my portfolio. That said, I'm also mindful of the dangers of investing too conservatively and outliving my investments. Given I am 60 with a good defined benefit pension, roughly what percentage of my portfolio would you suggest be skewed toward blue chip growth stocks (eg. GOOG, AMZN) vs. income stocks with limited growth potential (eg. AQN, PPL, FSZ)? Thank you.

Q: Hi gang, If my portfolio is set up 50/50 with 50% in equities and 25% in bonds and 25% in cash, and if I take the 25% cash and invest in a inverse mutual fund or short the index would my split go to 25/75? Looking at ways to ease the pain during the next bear which we can start to see in the rearview mirror, whether its this year or next. Just don't like giving money back.

Thanks
Anthony

Q: Hi, you mention that from when the yield curve first inverts, and when a recession begins, can be hard to time. Do you have dates, or a chart showing the correlation of these two. I'd like to be able to articulate this with more understanding. Thanks.