skip to content
  1. Home
  2. >
  3. Investment Q&A
You can view 3 more answers this month. Sign up for a free trial for unlimited access.

Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: This is a market question. Yesterday, markets were up nicely until news of more US tariffs on China came out, then they plunged. But they plunged deeper in Canada than in the US. Would you have a try at explaining why that would be given our valuations are cheaper and US tariffs on China would have no impact on us? It seems every time US markets drop due to China tariff concerns ours go down more. Are we in a bear market in Canada? Morgan Stanley has said the US is now in a bear market and all rallies should be sold because it's going to get worse. Would you advise that here?
Read Answer Asked by John on October 31, 2018
Q: Hi team,
Just how big is this cloud anyway? Since IBM announced its purchase of Red Hat, it seems every tech stock and their brother claim to be a cloud company. I got several Seeking Alpha emails identifying about 20 or more companies that are now M&A candidates in the cloud. There are too many to list here, but two companies that I follow stood out to me; one that was there and one that was conspicuous by its absence.

I have been following DOCU for awhile. It was on the list. It seems it has a unique electronic signature software/platform that resides on the cloud and that would be an attractive functionality for bigger companies in the future for document authorization. The one that was absent from the list was BOX. I had been in that stock earlier the year but lost interest after erratic earnings. It looks like the risk/reward may be attractive here, but I just don’t see any real competitive advantage that it holds over many other cloud candidates. Earlier this year, you suggested that MSFT could potentially be interested. What sets BOX apart from many other cloud companies and is the outlook for DOCU and/or BOX enhanced or not by the IBM deal?

Thanks again for your thoughts,
dave
Read Answer Asked by Dave on October 31, 2018
Q: Please subtract two question credits if you feel that is correct. First, are REIT"S good to hold in a down market, i.e. bear or recession? I am thinking that ones pertaining to rentals would be? I hold TCN,CAR and IIP in my TFSA. TCN is not doing great and I am worried the future U.S. housing market if the U.S. economy tanks, will be affected by it. thinking of swapping it for PRV ( I like the dividend) or adding more to IIP and CAR instead. Looking for good income.... your thoughts please,
many thanks,
Jen
Read Answer Asked by Jennifer on October 31, 2018
Q: Just a general question about the "market". Do you have an idea about the makeup of the investor population? For example what percentage would be small independent amateur DIY investors like my self? I believe sometimes called retail investors? What percent would be big pension, mutual fund or other advisors or say ETF managers, etc?

I am interested to learn if I am mostly up against professional investors.

And if the market is mostly made up of professional investors I find it even more curious how the market seems to behave. All the ups and downs and seeming panic to euphoria don't seem very professional to me.
Read Answer Asked by David on October 31, 2018
Q: How is the term 'Financial Leverage' calculated? I'm referencing the term as used by Morningstar. I believe that the 5i website uses the term leverage ratio, correct?
Read Answer Asked on October 31, 2018
Q: Have you guys every considered a "like" or "thumbs up" feature for the answers section? I often see answers I really agree with, and would like to acknowledge and display appreciation.
Thanks for all your great work,
Lee
Read Answer Asked by Lee on October 31, 2018
Q: Why on earth would preferred shares be tumbling so much over the past couple of days? E.g. see ZPR, CPD, HPR etc. It can't be the threat of lower interest rates? Can it? And if so what does that say about the prospects for the economy and the stock market? Or is this an aberration and an opportunity to buy some preferreds?
Read Answer Asked by John on October 30, 2018
Q: G&M reporting that the Pres and CEO of Alta Gas sold 22,750 shares on Oct 9 @$21.01
This brought his total ownership down to under 3,000 shares. This should not be legal, given the forthcoming results. Can the OSC not do anything about this?
P.S. Not a case of sour grapes here. I was not a player of ALA. I just find the company's behavior, and this insider sell in particular, inexcusable. How can this sort of thing foster public confidence in our market?
Read Answer Asked by john on October 30, 2018
Looking for more? Sign up for a FREE 14 day trial! No credit card required

We invite you to sign up for a 14 day free trial of 5i Research!
Experience all the benefits and tools we have to offer; stock research, model portfolios, Q&A with our experts, and so much more. Join a community of like-minded investors today!