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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 have two stocks- in my portfolio that are to my mind dogs. Bombardier and Canadian Oilsands- like most investors I am slow to get out of the losers- but there does come a time. Neither position is that large- not after the recent debacles, now I'm thinking I should put these two behind me and move on. Your thoughts.
Read Answer Asked by Warren on March 23, 2015
Q: Previous question on REBALANCING still pending?
My RRSP is heavily overweight in Financials (35 %) and Tech (25 %) and I would ask your advice on the three positions that are considerably down AVO,SYZ,SGY.
Would you consider trimming all of the banks and adding to healthcare or consumer products ? Should I hold these three or add to them with the depressed prices and the Energy sector as a whole
Thanks for your input
Peter
Read Answer Asked by Linda on March 23, 2015
Q: Can you give me your opinion on NYX Gaming Group? Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Theresa on March 23, 2015
Q: Pli volume yesterday was 22,463,456 compared with a 2,500,000 average(Aprox.)with kind of volume one would expect the price to go up ( no bad news), but it went down. Does this seem strange? How would explain the relation ship between volume and price with no bad news in this case. Is this pure manipulation by the 'big boys'?
this service is great
as usual thanks
Yossi
Read Answer Asked by JOSEPH on March 23, 2015
Q: Greetings 5i and thank you for your great service. I read your recent and excellent article in the Financial post.I currently hold 39 stocks in my portfolio.
I am holding all of your model and income and portfolio stocks except:
FLOT, AYA, CSU, and Magna.
In addition I am holding:
BYD-UN, ECI, TMA, DHX-B, GC and GWO
I understand the point and concept of only holding 20-30 stocks for diversification purposes and beyond that number it won't make any difference.
Each stock represents 2-3 % of my portfolio and I have done very well since joining 5i in 2012 (THANK YOU)
My current losers are FM, BDI, SGY, TMA (flat) and SYZ
My question is two part related to the Financial Post article: Do I need to pare down my portfolio to 30 stocks, will it hurt me to keep all and do I sell my losers to achieve the 30 stock level?
I am retired but I am not worried. I survived the 2008-2009 meltdown.
Many thanks!
Martin
Read Answer Asked by Martin on March 23, 2015
Q: Hello Peter & Co,
Does it make sense to invest in US$ when one does not have any US$?
It would have been OK if I had converted a portion of my RRSP/RRIF in US$ when the CAD$ was at par. If I do so now, I would lose 25% or so right off the bat; mind you, I would regain my F/X loss when I sell the security +/- the exchange rate at that time.
But...Would I get a better return from US investments?
The 5i Model Portfolio had a return of 80 to 90% since its inception; ditto for Jason Donville’s Capital Ideas Trust, adjusted to the same start date. These 100% Canadian portfolios have inspired me a great deal and, consequently, my RRIF Portfolio of 40 diversified holdings generated around 60% over the same time period, which I believe is quite respectable.
Is any additional return from US investments worth the additional F/X risk?
Thanks,
Antoine
Read Answer Asked by Antoine on March 23, 2015
Q: I'd like to know your philosophy regarding taking gains. Recently I've heard from "knowledgeable" (I think it's true) people who believe in selling half of your stock when it doubles, as a rule. What are your thoughts on that?
Also, that leaves me pondering what to do with my losers... I've heard not to hang on, hoping for a turnabout... just take your losses like a big girl and move on. Your thoughts generally?
And in particular, I'm holding onto AHF, CHW, AVO BAD, SGY, BXE, MCR, ACQ with this hope... which ones should I dump???

Always grateful,
Brenda
Read Answer Asked by Brenda on March 23, 2015
Q: Dear Peter and team.

I am switching a $25,000 family plan RESP (for 2 kids ages 6 and 4) to a self-directed account and would like to create a diversified and safe portfolio. I plan on maximizing annual contributions and expect the government top up as well, so will add $6,000 per year. The funds will not be needed for 12 years and I am willing to weather some volatility. Do you think an 8-10 stock portfolio is a good starting point, with the annual lump sum contributions used to add 1 or 2 new positions each year? If so, could you recommend 8-10 stocks to be acquired over the next month or so?

Many thanks for an amazing service!
Read Answer Asked by Arvind on March 23, 2015
Q: Hi Peter,

Thank you for your great subscription service. I have a pretty balanced portfolio and want to add some good dividend yield stocks. What do you think of CTY, Calian Technologies, Russel Metals, Wajax, Precision Drilling and Chemtrade Logistics. Some of these have stock prices that have gone down due to their exposure to oil and gas, but it might be a good time to buy low cost companies that pay good dividends.

thank you
Anne
Read Answer Asked by Anne on March 23, 2015
Q: I am down $4.00 on 1000 shares of Corus since the CRTC announcement. The dividend is 5 per cent. Since Shaw owns most of Corus woukd it not make sense for Shaw to buy out the rest of the shareholders? Consolidation makes sense to me only one dividend from Shaw after a takeover and possible synergies. Or would you sell and move on maybe to lions gate in the US which has momentum.
Read Answer Asked by Helen on March 23, 2015
Q: From a technical point of view, Lumenpulse seems to have reversed it's slide at major support with high volume. Without knowing what may have prompted it would it be a good entry point?
As always, your insight is greatly appreciated, Peter
Read Answer Asked by Peter on March 23, 2015
Q: Keeping in mind the often-heard advice to sell your losers, what is a good way to define a loser; is it just being underwater on your position, or are industry and macro developments important considerations as well? The reason I ask is that I am currently under water on Corus, but I'm not sure if that alone makes it a loser given it's position and relative strength in the industry. However, when considering the challenges that the broadcasting industry will continue to face going forward, maybe I should categorize it as a loser and move on. How would you approach a decision like this? Thanks for any insight you can provide.
Read Answer Asked by Alan on March 23, 2015
Q: Hello gents, a good entry point now? It kind of looks like an avo scenario don t you think- Investor over reaction driving price down
Read Answer Asked by ron on March 23, 2015
Q: Hi team:
I have asked this ? of you before but I am even more concerned now. What is going on? Cipher has dropped from $18.39 on Jan 27 to todays close @ $12.62. I can't help it but I am suspicious that something is going on because that is a big drop even tho you & others say there isn't any significant news. I have been down this road before & something or someone is causing this. Sorry to be so cynical but like I say I have been down this road before & it doesn't end well for us "little
guys on the outside"
Regards: Jerry

Read Answer Asked by Jerry on March 22, 2015
Q: I hold a small position in this stock.
Will dividend be safe? Can I buy more for income?
Read Answer Asked by S on March 20, 2015
Q: Hello,

I am working at cleaning up my portfolio. I sold my losers (SGY and ACQ) at big losses and am now trying to reduce my Canadian portion of my portfolio to 20 stocks. Currently 5 of the 20 are in the tech sector which is 25%. Do you think this is too high? I own the following 5 tech stocks:CSU, ESL, OTC, GIB.A and AVO.

I don't mind being a bit overweight in the sector as I think it will do well over the next few years. How many should I keep? If I were to drop one or two which would you suggest? CSU, ESL and GIB.A have been my best perfromers so I hate to sell them because I find the stocks that do well are generally the stocks that continue to do well. But I also think OTC and AVO have good prospects.

I look forward to your advice.

Carla
Read Answer Asked by Carla on March 20, 2015
Q: Is pcl construction a listed company and are they in the same business as wsp,stn and snc

Thanks
Paul
Read Answer Asked by PAUL on March 19, 2015
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