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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: Hi,
What are your thoughts on Merck as an investment, the company’s potential growth and risk? My interest started in Merck because of their immunotherapy drug... Keytruda. Keytruda has eliminated some of my mom’s melanoma tumors and shrinking cancer in two other areas of her body. Other melanoma patients are seeing positive results. Melanoma cannot be treated with chemo. This drug is now being tried on some liver cancers and was initially developed for some types of lung cancer. I really don’t know a lot about this company and would like your opinion.
Thanks,
Kerri
Read Answer Asked by KERRI on July 24, 2018
Q: Greetings 5i,

My question is twofold, so please deduct two credits if you see fit.

Given its obvious importance, I am looking to gain exposure to the theme of sustainable water management. My research has led me to XYL as a potential single position, or to PHO as an ETF option. This addition would be weighted as a full position (5%), and would be held long-term (likely 10-20 years).

I am 36 years old, debt-free, and relatively conservative. My investment portfolio is solely for the purpose of expediting my retirement, and I will have no need of its funds for the foreseeable future.

Given my situation, would you favour a single position such as XLY, or would an ETF seem more appropriate at this time? Furthermore, do you feel as if XLY and PHO are indeed strong representations of the water theme, or is there another option you might suggest?

Thank you.

Read Answer Asked by Lucas on July 23, 2018
Q: I've been waiting for a significant market correction for awhile. I blew it with a 3x U.S. bear ETF at the beginning of 2017. I'm getting itchy again. What U.S. market strategy would you suggest if you felt that a downturn is overdue? I'm not as liquid with my Canadian holdings so I'm only focusing on the U.S. for the time being.
Read Answer Asked by DAVE on July 23, 2018
Q: Hi, AMZN and NFLX have always been hard to buy due to expensive valuations. I managed to accumulate AMZN shares, a few months ago when stock dipped due to Mr Trump's rhetoric. NFLX price has dropped after its recent results due to lower subscriber growth and softer guidance. How do you see the thereat of competition from Hulu, Disney and Amazon etc ? Do you think, it's an opportunity to buy/accumulate for a 5 years or longer hold ? Thanks
Read Answer Asked by rajeev on July 23, 2018
Q: Hi 5i, thank you for your service , the Q&A alone is worth every dollar.

I have big gains in (NFLX – 8%, NVDA – 8%, FB – 8%, GOOGL – 8%, AMZN – 7%) and I have already sold some of these companies previously but they keep rising! Some may say I have let these ride for too long already BUT… based on the Q&A I get a sense you think all of these “tech” stocks are market leaders and have lots of room for earnings growth, so part of me wants to keep them going as I can see them continuing to rise and rise until of course there is eventually a recession or market crash, but again I think a few years after that event they will still be dominant companies, but please give me a good reason to sell these stocks, because I am struggling to justify selling some of them again. I do not need this money for a min 20 years and do not shy from risk.

Also, I have cash available even if I don't sell anything, any recommendations for 2-3 stocks to finish the portfolio ? TD or BNS or both would be adequate? I don’t have an appetite for an energy/oil company, or mining at this time..
Here are the rest of my stocks (SHOP – 5%, BRK – 5%, XYL – 5%, GSY – 5%,TOY – 5%, SIS – 5%, PBH – 5%, PHO – 4%, KXS – 3%, TSGI – 2.5%, GC – 2.5%, SPOT – 2.5%, RHT – 3%, COV – 3%).

Thank you!
Mike
Read Answer Asked by Michael on July 23, 2018
Q: What is the most tax effective way to hold US stocks? I’m 32 with a good income, and have a full balanced tfsa holding Canadian stocks and etfs. I’m interested in building an account to hold US dividend aristocrats/Kings set up on auto deposit/drips as a set it and forget it style account. From everything I’ve read the dividend aristocrats generally have returned better than market average with good security and fairly stable growth, would you agree? I own my own companies so my income is structured to be very low tax, so I don’t need the break offered by the rrsps but I do have quite a bit of contribution room there. Would you recommend rrsp for US holdings for tax reduction, or is there a more efficient way?

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by david on July 23, 2018
Q: Hi 5iR Team, I have been trying to compile a list of the top performing US ETF's. However, many people put various criteria in attempting to rank ETF's and in general others just disagree with one list vs another. So, could you give me the top 10 US ETF's based solely on 52 week change. What was the fund worth July 23/17 and what is it worth today. Thanks. Chris
Read Answer Asked by Chris on July 23, 2018
Q: In the near future I will be making some TFSA investments. My understanding, from commentary I have heard, is that it is wise to not invest in US stocks as the US government withholds dividend payments inside such an investment vehicle.
However, my thinking is that this does not necessarily mean that buying US stocks inside a TFSA is an absolute no no as this negative should be balanced against the positives with a given US stock. If the company is a fast growing US tech stock, for example, that doesn't pay a dividend then the withholding of dividend income is a moot point. Please comment. Thanks very much.
Read Answer Asked by Murray on July 23, 2018
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