Investment Q&A

Q: Not a question, but a comment: regarding YAK, it is a company run by Harris Kupperman and Jordan Calonego, who have experience running a hedge fund (Praetorian) and several small businesses (self storage, construction, etc.), respectively. As far as I know, they take no salary, have no stock options, and instead simply hold ownership of the shares to align their interests with shareholders. There was a strange lockup period with the shares for quite some time, and selling was extremely restricted.

The Mongolia Growth Group website has all their monthly reports and updates, and Harris runs a website adventuresincapitalism.com, which has some pretty interesting commentary from time to time. I believe there was a presentation on YAK at the Las Vegas Value Investors Conference.

I don't own any shares, but have been keeping an eye on the company for a while. I like the Mongolia thesis, but view an investment as being at the top end of the risk spectrum since frontier market governments can nationalize assets at any time.
Feel free to post this if you feel it adds value to other subscribers.

Q: Hello all ... Interest rates are such a big factor in my retirement forecast. With the lowering of interest rates in Australia and comments by Mark Carney from the UK of rates not to go up till '15, are these countries indicators of when interest rates may increase here in Canada.

Thanks for your comments.

Q: I have a question about your rating system and apologize if the same question has been asked and answered recently (I'm a new member). If a company is rated A for example and has gone up substantially since you gave it this rating will the rating be downgraded eventually reflecting the higher valuation or does the rating only reflect your views on the quality of the company, it's management etc? Does the "A" rating mean that you feel it's not only a good company but is also trading at a good price? Thanks.

Q: Preferred share etf's such as CPD are dropping rapidly over the last few days. Are they more likely than not to continue to fall? Is it time to bail, take a loss, and invest in dividend paying common stocks instead? I have about 10% of my non-registered portfolio in Prefs. Thanks for any thoughts you may have.

Q: Hi Peter,

Your latest reports on FCR (B+) and H&R (A-) were positive but since then, the shares of each of the two companies have decreased significantly (in the past few months). Can we expect further volatility given the "threat" of tapering and interest rate hikes? Good entry points at these levels or wait and see?

Regards,

François

Q: Hi 5i, my question is regarding Terago (TGO). TD has a one year target of $14.but i was thinking of selling and getting in technology. i have ESL already , any other suggestions.do you think TD's target is reasonable ?
if possible can you comment on zinc sector.for the past year or so i have read various sources that stated a shortage will very likely occur in about a year or two.thanx

Q: Solium Capital (SUM) released quarterly results today. They look strong but I would appreciate your comments? Thanks!

Q: what are your thoughts on AlarmForce(AF) it appears that Mr Matlin has been given the boot,is it time to exit this company?

Q: I have read your previous comments on SUM. What is your opinion on Solium's latest quarter? Are you planning on covering this company? At current prices would you prefer this or Sylogist?

Q: HLF

What is the consensus estimate for Q2 revenue and eps?

Q: Peter; It would seem ATH received the OK they were waiting for late today. Does this actually add materially to the stocks value? Thanks. Rod

Q: How do you feel about Difference Capital (dcf). They seem to seed small tech stocks prior to them going public for big gains. Thanks again for the great service.

Q: Hi Peter and Team:

I have been following Avigilon AVO for some time and the forward looking earnings are growing quite fast. Can i get your overall opinion on the stock and mgmt!

thx

Q: iShares ETF CUD-T is comprised of the "highest dividend-yielding securities of the S&P Composite 1500 Index that have increased dividends every year for at least 20 consecutive years". It is CA$ hedged. Is there a US$ ETF covering the same on the NY market?
Thanks

Q: WCP - Whitecap Resources is shown as being"delisted" on the TSX today.
Whatare the ramifications for an investor if you held shares in this stock?

Q: Hello Gentlemen, please tell me what "5i Alpha" represents on your model portfolio summary.
Thanks
Dave

Q: Hi,
Your thoughts on WCP vs TOU? I know that WCP pays a dividend while TOU does not, but looking for the best potential for someone with good risk tolerance
THanks

Q: Good morning,

Looking for any insights on the current weakness of Transalta fixed resets preferred shares?

Many thanks

Q: Hi Peter & 5i: When I asked (July 18) my last question about Just Energy’s (JE) run up from $6.15, I was not aware that Jim Pattison had just filed (July 10) an SEC disclosure that, between him and Jim Pattison Ltd, he had beneficial ownership of approximately 10.8% of the common shares in the company. I am wondering about the potential significance of this development. I imagine there would have been significant due diligence prior to the share acquisitions. Is JE something he could look at taking private? It is still trading with a yield over 11.5%. That is quite a lot of cash flow that could be directed toward paying down debt in a private ownership scenario. Also, for a fixed income holding, its 2018 5.75% convertible debentures (JE.DB.B) are available for not much more than 70 cents on the dollar. That’s a yield of around 8% while you wait for the 25-30% capital gain on redemption. If nothing else, wouldn't Pattison’s investment be a decent vote of confidence that the company isn’t going under anytime soon? What do you think?

Q: Information eventually for the community.
I spent a lot of time (trying to) getting info on reported earnings, disregarding completely the actual official reporting against estimates which are themselves constantly revised to match the `Beat estimate requisite during the quarterly `Urbi et Orbi financial results Mass`.
This morning I found wwww.factset.com that seems to do a good job reporting the real results. If you go to the site, you will see that 2Q earnings are dismal, born(should I say levitated) once again by financials that are reducing quarter after quarter their reserves to maintain earning growth.
Anyway, if you think it is worth, please publish.
CDJ