Investment Q&A

Q: Just read this in Globe and Mail - Canadian individuals who own U.S. securities directly are subject to a 15 per cent withholding tax rate under the current treaty. Under the new bill the withholding rate could ultimately rise to 50 per cent.
If you were me, what would you do???......tom

Q: Hi
How is Section 899 of the proposed U.S. 2025 tax reform expected to impact Lumine Group (LMN) in the short and medium term, particularly in terms of tax liabilities and profitability, given that it is a Canadian company operating in the U.S.? Do these potential impacts make LMN less attractive as an investment at this time?

Q: What do you make of the news that QIPT has an offer to be taken private by Forager for $3.10 USD. What are your thoughts on its trading at $1.80USD..... the market clearly does not think this is going to happen or that a competing offer is likely. What is Qipt worth and does it make sense to hang on to see how this plays out?

A long suffering stock holder

Q: Long-term rates in the US are reaching above-average highs. Am I wrong to think that these rates are unsustainable in the long run and therefore they have to eventually come down? If this thesis is correct, doesn't that make TLT an excellent buy now? You are paid to wait and know that you will get your money back someday.

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: hi,
does 5i have any thoughts on why one would sell all NVDA holdings on May 22 (or 23), 2025? could there be too much risk re earnings coming out soon, and possible poor forward guidance vis a vis tariffs? any other issues?
cheers, Chris

Q: Hi 5i, thanks for the Market Update report today. It would be great to redo this employment analysis breaking out public (government) vs private (taxpayers) jobs. Thx.

Q: Hi Peter and 5i Team,

Just a followup to my question about ETFs that focus on long term and mid term Treasury bonds, are there any ETFs that focus on Canadian Treasury bonds, or are the ones that you suggested (TLT, SPTL, VGLT, IEF), the best options?

Thanks again for your great work!

Q: What are your thoughts about the stock price at this time? Will a meaningful re-org. will take place?

Q: I purchased these with a view to moving away from equities. I am retired and interested in dividend income. While capital appreciation would be nice, ensuring limited capital losses is more critical. I'm getting a healthy monthly income from all 3 but based on recent adjustment by RBC Direct it seems some of that is ROC ... so it's an inflated dividend percentage as it is clear capital is eroding. Seems like I may have made a mistake ... down about 7% as I sit today since I purchased. When you consider ROC I'm down over 10% on my original purchase price. Not the end of the world, but what is it going to take to get the share price moving back up for these 3? Would you continue to hold ?

Q: Good morning. I currently own the above 4 ETFs in the following shares of my portfolio:
ZDI: 9.56%
The combination of ZDY, EQL and EQLI: 15.9%
I have some other US positions while ZDI is currently my only ex North American position.
ZDI has been performing very well YTD with +13% total return (per my purchase cost) while The US EYFs are lower than 0% total returns.
Do you currently see the European momentum building or continuing ? And if so woul it be worth it to flip some of the US ETFs over to ZDI or any other ex-North America ETF ? THank you.

Q: General question about Microsoft. Historical data looks great, at least for the past number of years (when one looks at FCF, EPS, Share buybacks, Revenue growth, ROE, Debt - all appears to be great). Looking forward, what are your thoughts re investing in this company for the long term? My main concern is with valuation. It is trading at the high end of its average high P/E of the last number of years. What do you think are the plus, minuses and risk.
And as a secondary question, do you think there are better FAANG stocks, than MS (if yes, with a possible one sentence explanation)?

Thank You!

Q: How compelling of a buy is this one ? I read your most recent response to a reader after their drop on earnings? Would you buy here given the drop? If other large cap tech is more attractive (mag 7 already owned) please offer some names that you would rank above ANET. Thank you

Q: Some say this is the best service station food in the USA, what is so yummy about this company growth and should i put it on the menu for a buy today?

Q: Hello 5i,

With the USA facing a Trumponomic meltdown, do see an advantage of purchasing CDR's for US stocks today?

What is the recommended % of a portfolio for Canada, USA, Europe, International, and Emerging markets. It looks like a little more global diversity may temporarily dent impacts from USA rhetoric and threats.

Thank you
D&J

Q: Would you be a buyer of ISRG at this time? If not, what price would you consider it to be buyable?

Q: I was alerted that Whitecap is terminating it's U.S. reporting obligations what is the reason?

Q: Pick and shovel companies in the AI space.
Could you rank the above you think are the most attractive growth prospects with least risk?
Thanks
Jeff

Q: Your thoughts on FICO and why the big drop yesterday

Q: I am asking a question about Meren (MER) but perhaps I should still call it Africa Oil since I am not sure when the name change will actually happen. Meren is committed to paying $25 million in dividends per quarter and with the current share count and share price that works out to about an 11 per cent dividend yield. Meren's only producing asset is deep water offshore Nigeria and their other plays are still speculative. Last quarter Meren was able to pay the substantial dividend AND pay down about $160 million in debt. I was impressed but I noticed they received about $5 premium on Brent pricing for their oil (about $79 per barrel as per the average of $74 average for the quoted Brent pricing). How did they get a premium for their oil? Hedging? Superior grade? Luck? Obviously this quarter their selling price is going to be lower but management seems to think they can still pay $25 million in dividends? Are they hedged to protect their selling price? If so, how many quarters are has Meren hedged their oil sales? Meren is an interesting company and the fact that the Lundin family are major investors does give Meren some pedigree in my opinion. What is 5 i's take on Meren/Africa Oil? I guess if one wants a high dividend payor in the oil sector there are lots of choses in Canada, such as cardinal. In your opinion how does Meren stack up against oil companies that produce in Canada?

Q: Hello 5i
Could I have your current assessment of Chewy please?
Thank you
Dave