Investment Q&A

Q: I am considering purchasing a preferred ETF. Perhaps, one of CPD, ZPR, PPS or HPR. I notice that HPR has the lowest yield and highest MER but over the past 5 years it has done appreciable better; i.e., lost quite a bit less, than the other three. Is this attributable to its 'active' management or is there something different about its diversity of preferred shares?

Q: HiPeter & CO.
I'm down 25% on this Fairfax Financial Holding Ltd.Cum PFD Series C Pref rate 4.578%. Is there a chance that the share price will recover in the next year or two, or should I sell and move on.
Thanks Ken

Q: Thank you for providing a great service. Your recent comments on the Canadian Preferred Share Market and iShares CPD are greatly appreciated.
Please comment on
1) Please comment on iShares US Pfd Stock ETF (PFF) which trades in US$.
2) Is there any merit in holding a portion of a fixed income portfolio. PFF is about 5% of my total portfolio. Considering the recent upswing I have done well with PFF and have enjoyed the distributions within a registered RRSP. Should I consider holding it?

Thanks

Stephen

Q: I recently added CPD for fixed income, how do you think it will perform going forward given a Sept/Dec US rate increase? Thanks.

Q: Preferred shares and fixed income

Hi 5i team : I own only common stocks in my portfolio and since I am a mature person that is near retirement, I have the feeling that my exposure to common stocks is very high. So far, to mitigate my risk, I keep daily of the market changes, so I do not get caught in a drastic downturn.
To get more protection, I have thought in buying some preferred shares , but I know nothing about them to start a position.
Are the P.S. a good way to go ?, if so, what should I learn about them and how (references, books, etc), also what would be a reasonable percentage of my portfolio to have in P.S.?
thanks for your help
Alex

Q: Hallo I5, can you tell me why has AD been selling off, the Q report didn't look so bad, is this a good time to add to my 300 shares(cost $28.00). Also please tell me if the above preferreds BCE.pr.k and BPO.pr.r are god time/price to buy and how would their price be effected if interest rates are increased.
many thanks, J.A.P, Burlington

Q: Greetings Peter and team:

I hold the BCE, Brookfield and Fairfax preferred shares referenced. Obviously they have not fared well over the last few years. I am wondering if there is any reason to hold them at this point? I did notice on Monday when the market was broadly down that they were among the few holdings that were up. Do you think holding them as insurance against a market decline has any merit, or should I just book the loss and move on? As always, your insight is appreciated. Thank-you,

Q: BNS.PR.G stock was issued at 25.00. Today it traded about 26.88. Computer says the dividend is 6.63%. This seems to be too good to be true. What am I missing here? I am retired and invest for income. What is your opinion of BNS.PR.G for income & What is you opinion of the reset. Many thanks.

Q: BCE.PR.K
Assuming AK is the same as A, this does not seem to be a reset according to the BCE website. Please confirm details and your opinion for income (fixed).
Thanks

Q: I asked a question on ry.pr.q and received a response to ry.pr.bm. RBC Direct Investing has no record of ry.pr.bm. Could I have your opinion of ry.pr.q. Thanks

Q: Please comment on this preferred share issued by RBC. It is one of the new nvcc preferreds. It is currently trading at a premium to its par value at a current yield of 5.18%. Is this preferred a better choice to deal with changing interest rates as compared to previous types of preferred shares? Other than the fact that the bank can convert the preferred to common shares if the bank has financial problems, what are the risks? Thank you

Q: Hello Peter, I have some money to invest and looking for earnings in a relatively safe investment. Have been looking for some preferred and/or convertibles. Like to have your opinion of BCE.Pr.k perhaps you can recommend others in the area. Also, have your view of the idea.
Best wishes, keep up the great service, J.A. P. Burlington

Q: The BMO cl B were bought Dec 2014 and have dropped significantly. In the mail we received the option to convert shares into non-cumulative floating rate... Is this a good thing to do? What is the advantage to convert? They are held in a registered account. Are there any other options to recoup our loss. Thanks

Q: BMO US Put Write(ZPW)
BMO Europe High Dividend Covered Call Hedged to CAD(ZWE)
PowerShares Preferred Portfolio(PGX:US)
BMO Laddered Preferred Share Index(ZPR)
BMO US High Dividend Covered Call(ZWH)
BMO Equal Weight REITs Index(ZRE)
iShares S&P/TSX Canadian Preferred Share Index(CPD)
iShares S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index(XRE)
BMO Covered Call Dow Jones Industrial Average Hedged CAD(ZWA)
iShares Convertible Bond Index(CVD)
BMO Canadian Dividend(ZDV)
Above are ranked as to yield - high to low. Can you rank as to risk - high to low?
Thank you for considering my question
G. Reynolds

Q: The new version of rate re-set Preferreds with a re-set floor seems to have found favour with investors. A quick survey of such recent issues finds them all trading in excess of $25.00 par issue price.
What are your general thoughts?
Can we expect all future issues to include this floor feature?
Might future isssuances not be quite as generous given the apparent demand?
While not true fixed income - they now seem closer(?) ; and yields are attractive.
Considerations / Thoughts?

Thank-you

Q: Peter

I am working with a friend to restructure her portfolio It is criminal that the broker of a large bank investment division put all her accounts in high fee mutual funds The TFSA had 89 % in one mutual fund

My question is what is your opinion on holding short term ETF bond funds as opposed to holding interest sensitive stocks I do not see any reason to be in a bond fund

Could you recommend half a dozen Canadian stocks that would serve aws bond proxies

Could you also recommend some of the new rate reset preferreds with a floor on the rate reset

Thanks for your response and great service

Paul

Q: I AM RE-SENDING. SOMEHOW MY QUESTIONS WAS NOT SENT. IF YOU DID RECEIVE THE ORIGINAL MY APOLOGIES.

Hello Peter and team,

I am considering adding to non-reg. acct. these preferred issues: BEP.PR.I; PPL.PR.M; TRP.PR.J; NA.PR.X for a steady predictable income for 5+ years. It is my understanding that these all have a minimum rate reset except NA which GOC yield + 4.90%. First could you rate these in terms of credit risk with the understanding that they all face the same interest rate risks going forward). Second, BEP.PR.I is a limited partnership issue and its distributions will be a mix of ordinary income, Canadian dividends and return of capital so would this be better held in a RRSP or are there any other complications here? Third, can you advise if these preferred stocks qualify as low credit risk overall, or are there others you would choose that would qualify as better credit risk while providing similar yields with a fixed rate reset feature and downward protection. If so could you suggest 4 or 5 better alternatives and advise why you feel they would be viewed as superior. Finally, am I correct in assuming that the minimum rate reset feature provides more downward protection should interest rates in fact rise 4 to 5 years from now.

Thanks for your great advice.

Joseph

Q: Good Morning: I have been reading some of the recent questions related to bond etfs. I have been avoiding bonds and using preferred shares instead for fixed income in my portfolio, slightly better yield although also struggling through 2015. I notice that the yield for the two bond etfs mentioned is roughly 3.2 (CBO) and 3.1 (XCB). (Taken from BMO Investorline trailing 12 months average payout.) In your opinion, what can I expect in terms of yield from these instruments going forward -- roughly the same, a little more, or a little less? Also, I notice (not surprisingly) that the share price for CBO is near its 5 year low, whereas for XCB it is slightly up over the same period. What would your opinion be in terms of share price direction for each over the next 2 to 3 years as well. Many thanks. Don

Q: Alqonquin, Capial Power, and Altagas have rate reset preferred shares selling at a significant discount with reset dates in 2018. With a 5 year Government rate of .55 to .7 they have issues that will still offer a very attractive rate of return. For a conservative investor would you rate these issuing companies as an acceptable TFSA investment?. How would you rank them?

Thanks Team

Q: My question regarding BCE.PR.S. After a number of years of owing this preferred, is it worth holding any longer. It has lost a lot of value since my purchase, I believe it has a floating rate dividend.
Thanks for your opinion. I was thinking of switching to BCE common share.

Shirley