Investment Q&A

Q: Hello Peter
I an quite concerned that Ebola will sweep around much of the world eventually no matter how hard we fight it and that being the case Ebola may be a disaster for life insurance companies having to prematurely pay out on life policies. Should we sell our Sun Life SLF and Great West GWO [currently almost a break-even for us if we do]?
Thanks....... Paul K

Q: I am overweighted in the Canadian energy sector and have been caught in the current downtrend. Should I sell some stocks;
BTE,CPG,ENB,VET,WCP and re purchase them at a later date if you think this correction could last several months longer.
Is it better to take a 10-18 % loss now and re-buy the same stocks at a cheaper price. I should have been more diversified!
Thanks for your help.

Q: With the acquisition of Westar Oilfield Rentals Inc. ("Westar").
how will this affect not only the stock price through dilution and the forward momentum of Enterprise?
"The final purchase price for the acquisition will be $13.5 million, which represents approximately a 3.3 multiple of Westar's EBITDA for the twelve-month period ended August 31, 2014. The purchase price will be satisfied through a combination of $10.0 million in cash, $2.0 million in Enterprise shares (2.5 million shares at a price of $.80 per share), and $1.5 million in vendor take-back financing, which will be paid over the next two years"
Quote from news release.
Thank you for the great work you provide
Henry

Q: You mentioned Suncor's dividend is "fairly" safe in a previous answer. In general, are oil and gas dividends likely to be lowered in this market and do companies with DRIPs have a better chance of sustaining the payments.
I am ready to dip into some energy names with rising yields *by the hour!) but their reliability is obviously very important.
Thanks.
Steven

Q: Hi Team. This is a follow up to Carl's question and your answer. "Is it time to start picking away at good stocks?" and you answer "the smart money should start picking at good stocks". I have had TD for at least 10 years. My Financials weighting with BNS and others from your PFs was about 17% 2 months ago. By good stocks do you mean even the ones "in the red" in my PFs or "in the green" because with your guidance I know they are ALL good stocks. I have BNS in 2 PFs and one of them has really gone down due to when I bought. The other down (in the red) but not as much. Thankyou for your on going "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON" guidance

Q: Hi Peter and team,

Are Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Abbvie (ABBV) attractive companies at their current stock price? Which one would you prefer for growth?

Many thanks for your answer!
!

Michel

Q: Good day
My daughter(45 years old and married with 2 young children) has recently received an unexpected gift equating to about 1/3 of her current investments in mutual funds.She plans to invest these new funds in equities/fixed income in a registered plan. Considering the current market situation, what would you suggest for a balanced investment at this time or should she wait for some stability to return to the market?

Q: After riding 500 shares of Suncor all the way to $47 and then back down again to my break even point ( very frustrating) it must be getting close to buy again? Do they have huge problems in the oil sands or is it all market related? Should I switch to gold stocks. I have often heard that when oil goes down gold starts to move ie that oil and gold move in opposite directions.

Q: Is there a point at which you advise against putting new Cdn money into a US$ investment? Given the strength of the greenback, a US investment would have to earn 12% or more just to break even with a comparable Canadian investment. I remember one advisor suggesting that they stop putting new money into the US when the Cdn $ drops below 85 cents so we are long past that point. I do have about 15 - 20% of my portfolio in US$ already, if that matters.

Thanks for the sage advice.

Paul F.

Q: Hello,
I have small position in High Arctic and it is down 35% from it's June high. At current price the company pays 4.8% dividend and trades at very low P/E. I am considering increasing my position, what is your opinion of the company in 2-3 year term? How safe is the dividend? Do you consider HWO a sell, hold, or buy?
Thanks!

Q: Just a comment, feel free to publish.
During this massive market correction, instead of answering members questions is this a good entry point on this stock or that stock,why not just advise them to wait until this correction blows over.it is far better to buy a stock on the way up rather than the way down,and far better to miss a few points on the upside than trying to catch the proverbial falling knife. Personally i am up to 45 per cent cash and i am concentrating on just a few stocks that are working such as easyhome, intertape polymer, patient home monitoring etc. the amayas and surges are long gone at much higher prices.the key point is there is always another bus, always. Dave

Q: I have noticed that cfn has held its price during this latest correction. What you think is going to happen to the stock once the deal gets done? Is there a chance the stock price will crater?

Q: In the context of geographic diversification of a portfolio, would holdings in a Canadian company with significant operations in and revenues from foreign countries be a reasonable proxy for direct holdings in foreign countries' equities? e.g. Ag Growth International / AFN or WSP Global?

Q: Just in case it hasn't been asked. What do you think of the BAR report and business update coming out of Amaya this morning?

TIA

Q: Hi Peter,

Is it time to start picking away at BNS/TD or is there more pain to come. Thanks for all you and your team do for us less experienced investors.

Carl

Q: Peter and Company.... General Question
With great restraint I have resisted from buying at some very attractive prices during this down market.
Waiting to see a bottom.
I'm totally aware that anything sold there had to be a buyer.

My Question is... Who are these buyers right now?

Thank you
Dennis Mc

Q: Follow up to my previous slf question .... Since I am way underwater having followed the buy and hold mantra Should I be adding to Manila and sun life ... Seems to be falling on low volume

Q: Why are insurance companies getting hit hArd

Q: Hi Peter, After the recent market weakness I am looking to deploy some funds in some non-energy sector small caps.
I noticed from your report on TMA the following "Trimac transports products for many industries including forest products, food processing, mining, oil and gas, manufacturing, automotive and chemicals. Trimac has enjoyed a long-term relationship with the majority of its major customers. In 2013, its 20 largest custom- ers accounted for 67% of revenue. One customer accounts for 9.7% of revenue".
You also state that lower fuel costs should be a positive for TMA.
With the recent downdraft in oil I am considering TMA. My question is,approximately how much of their revenue is from the oil/gas sector and who is their largest customer and is that customer from the oil/gas segment.
Thanks for your valuable advice.
Rob

Q: Hello- Lyondell has been really hammered in the last day or two-
apparently their margins may be compressed and their CEO is leaving- is the stock reaction overdone? Would you buy here?
Thanks