Investment Q&A

Q: Hi,

Despite my doing quite well on stocks in the last couple of years, I've discovered I'm still trailing the s&p500 which is up 17% annually in last five years. This is what couch potato etf investing theory warms us about - statistically very unlikely to beat the market. Two questions.
1) given that we can't expect those kinds of broad gains in next two years, and that everyone is chiming 'its a stock pickers market", would you still recommend a s&p etf for a 20% position for the next few years?
2) can you recommend a couple CDn and US S&P etfs for me?

Q: Trimac price dropped today, Nov 24, with 32,000 shares traded. Could this be related to news of Mullen Group trucking purchase of Gardewine, as reported in today's Globe & Mail. Thank you for the great service you provide.

Q: When I assumed control of my RRSP from the broker , I found OCV-UN in overly large amounts. Broker piled in at IPO price of $12. (Broker was dealer-advisor). I left the holding as was for the wrong reason, namely : OCV.UN has dropped significantly from cost such that monthly distribution is now around 9 to 10% p.a. I am uncomfortable with O’Leary. Are you able to suggest one or more ETFs that could take the place of OCV.UN? In the alternate, if you feel it’s OK to leave it alone for now, I would be thankful for knowing that.
Thank you and all the best
Adam

Q: Hi, Further to my question on 20 Nov., would you pls. clarify this: "TriQuint shareholders will receive 1.675 shares of Qorvo and RFMD shareholders will receive 1 share of Qorvo for each TriQuint or RFMD share held. At the closing of the transaction, the Company will execute a one-for-four reverse stock split."
RFMD holders will receive i share of QRVO, right? Will holders of TQNT receive 1.675 shares of QRVO or only 1 share of QRVO? Also, what's the implication of the reverse split?
Thank you!

Q: In your report, it recommends to tender the Burger King offer. How would that work for capital gains. For example if 100 shares were bought at $50/share. You would receive $6550 in cash and 80.25 Burger King shares.

Q: Hello Peter & Co,
What is the effect of the major slowdown in the Ridley BC coal terminal on Westshore Terminals,
Thanks,
Tony

Q: Hello Peter & Co,
In the fall of 2008 (I was then 65) I converted my RRSP portfolio to cash with the intention of taking over the responsibility of managing the investments; the objective was to generate a 7% compound annual return with the assumption of a 3% annual inflation rate on the income for the next 25 years. My retirement would have been 60% from the RRSP (now RRIF) portfolio and 40% from fixed/guaranteed sources such as CPP, OAS and a very small private pension.
Since the portfolio's inception date of June 30, 2009 (I am now 71) I have managed to get a much higher compound annual return of 17% (all in equity at a low beta volatility of 0.4), which has allowed me to double the RRIF income (vs the original plan) and assuming a reversion to the original 7% compound return for the next 20 years.
As a consequence, the original income split of 60/40 will now be 70/30; in light of that, I a wondering if I should reduce the equity portion of the portfolio to arrive at 60/40.
Would it be wise to do so?
Thanks,
Tony

Q: Could you please give me your views on crtx. Would you buy at this level or do you like constallation software better?

Q: Hello everyone,
I have a bit of cash hanging around and debating on either of the two above-mentioned stocks...I'm aware it's foolish to try and time the market; however, both stocks have an impending deadline for me:
1) ATD.b will drop, rise or flatline tomorrow based upon earnins report, hence the time factor;
2) SGy ex div is the 26th, once more the time factor...

Would like to know your input on both options.

cheers

Stu

Q: While on the topic of the role that analysts play, while I do not make a purchase based on the usual analyst's comments (that is where 5i comes in!) I do find it useful to know what they think as it prepares me for stock movements and does sometimes provide food for thought.

I am often confused, however, by how they phrase their recommendations. For example, the following was taken from today's Globe: "Raymond James downgraded Chevron to "outperform" from "strong buy" with a price target of $140 (U.S.)" Given the current price of Chevron ($117 US) and its 3.7% dividend, that represents close to a 25% gain they are expecting! Does this mean they expect most oil companies to grown more than 25% this year, since this would not represent out-performance? What should we take from this type of comment - anything?

Your opinion is greatly valued.

Thanks.

Paul F.

Q: Hi. I sold a full position in new gold at $6.80. I would like to reinvest in presious metals.
What is your oppinion on the risk reward of new gold and centeral fund of Canada at these levels? Or do you think there is a better choice?
Ken

Q: In the event that the Trans Canada Pipeline gets approved, which company names do you believe would best appreciate? Trp?

Q: I welcome thoughts on PPL after this pullback from $52.Is PPL indirectly pulling back with the rest of the energy space? How tied to commodity price is PPL?

Q: would appreciate a comment on the co. and last quarters less-than-stellar earnings. Thanks

Q: Okay, of the two American Express and Discovery- your preference and why and is there a third I have not considered- that perhaps I should. looking at a 5 yr hold all things being equal.

Q: I see CHW dropped another 4.5% today to a 52-week low. Is there any apparent reason for this decline? Is there an imminent risk that it will not be able to maintain its 6.5% dividend?

Your thoughts would be appreciated

Jim

Q: As you know there have been concerns regarding Baytex debt level in the face of falling oil prices and the falloff in stock price is blamed on the risk of a cut in the dividend. Information on the company website shows that their heavy oil is 51% hedged at $96.45 for Q4 2014 and 45% hedged at $96.45 for Q1 2015. They do have $1.38 billion in long term debt but almost none matures until 2021, and they have a very low payout ratio. It seems to me that the concerns are overblown, what is your opinion?
Many thanks.

Q: I've been looking at AHF as a buy with the recent stock weakness and the dividend now at 6%.
One thing I noticed in the stock quote summary was the large discrepency between the share float vs outstanding shares - 55M vs 89.9M.
Is this due to insider ownership?
I also noticed they have some convertible debt.
Are any of these factors something to be concerned about?

Q: I currently hold 10% of my portfolio in four energy companies.... CPG, FRU, SGY, and WCP. This morning the Globe is running an article that states oil could drop to $60 a barrel if the Saudi's don't cut their production. How will these four companies fare at $60 oil? I bought all four near the bottom and am up on all of them, with FRU being up over 10%. Thanks for your input.

Q: Hi - your comments on the acquisition in Korea today. It looks like an accretive buy, and could provide some nice synergies. thoughts on the issuance of more shares to help finance?