Investment Q&A

Q: Hi 5i Research team,
About investing in smaller cap, probably best named microcap: less than 30 or 50 millions $, or lower liquidity companies:
What would you generally consider low volume, low liquidity? How do you define it, volume as market cap %, volume as float %, absolute amount $ traded daily?
What maximum % of daily volume should an individual investor own, or not surpass?
What % of a portfolio can be dedicated to such investments based risk aversion (low, average, high)?
What is the minimum time horizon (holding period)?
During what segment of the economic cycle ou stock market cycle should we underweight and overweight?
What annual rate of return over the long term should be considered successfull?
Always under the assumption that the rest of the portfolio is well diversified and liquid.
Thank you for your collaboration, and best wishes for the new year. Eric

Q: Hi Peter and staff
Question is regarding changes In TSX composite index. When I read in Globe today that the index is down 20 percent since ..... Does that assume you spent your dividends or you lost 20 percent of your investment and the dividends as well- same question when they say for 2015 the index was down 11 or 13 percent - by the way which one was it - 11 or 13
Thanks for all you do

Q: I already hold a very small position of CSU in my TFSA that I purchased back in the $370 range (makes up 1% of my total portfolio). Technology is one of the sectors I want to increase my weighting in (7% currently, looking to go to 10%). Other Tech names held are GOOGL, ESL, AAPL, AVO, SYZ. I would add to GOOGL but paying +40% in USD at this point doesn't make it so compelling. So with it's recent pullback I'm looking at adding CSU. Can I have your straight up thoughts on adding CSU here? Thanks

Q: I don't own any gold stocks but am thinking of adding them as insurance. I would buy a bit each month for the next few months. Goldcorp seems to be the worst of them performance wise? Would you still suggest this is the one I buy or would you prefer Agnico or FNV? I was thinking about putting 5% of my portfolio in it. Which stocks should I choose and what percentage of this 5% should each be? Or is one enough? Is gold better in a TFSA, RRSP or non-registered?

Q: I own a fair amount of Er Eastmain resources
They keep finding more gold and they are at the phase of updating the quantity of gold in the ground and it looks promising
Do you think I should buy more
Thanks for your help
Ben

Q: What are your thoughts at starting to take positions in these giants. Great diversity and both are great stewards of capital with lots of cash. If not at these levels where would you see more value. Thank you

Q: Are there pros/cons when buying callable vs non-callable bonds where the effective maturity is the same?

Q: It is interesting that AQN and VNR have maintained their share prices in this downturn.Would this suggest that these companies could be purchased as part of a defensive income position at this time. thanks. Joe

Q: This stock seems to be going down more than the Canadian market in general. Is it tied to oil in some way.

Q: Good Morning
The yield on this stock is almost 10%. I am down quite a bit on this stock. Should I sell at this price or buy more. Is the yield sustainable?
Thanks

Q: hi, what do think about CPD? is now a good time to buy and hold...

Q: I currently own:

5i balanced equity except for goldcorp
6 Blue chips - TRI, BIP.UN, TD, L, BCE,FTS
10 stocks from the growth portfolio

I would like to take advantage of the market pull back. But I can't top up everything. Should I focus on the blue chips because we are entering a bear market, the 5i portfolio or would the riskier stocks be better because they've been hit harder?

Q: Is it a good time to add to utility names such as enbridge, trap, ipl, ppl. 5 year + time horizon? What is your recommended sector allocation for the averae investor ? Thank you.

Q: Should the earnings in the portfolios be a percentage instead of a dollar amount, or is there a dollar amount for the portfolios.

Q: Hi

Just wondering your latest thoughts on slyce. They've announced some deals lately but seem to have cash flow issues. Still waiting to see if there will be any uptake on short form prospectus which is overdue. Im in at 17 cents But wondering if I should hold or get out and into something like DBO? Thanks so much.

Q: I trade through the National Bank and they charge $468.00 per year to use there trading platform which is market Q. Is there another platform I can use at a better price with the same advantages I have with Market Q. I know there are free platforms but to date have not found anything suitable.

Q: Any idea why the price of this stock dropped 8% today ?

Q: The first reaction, for so many of us not well versed in a difficult market, is to panic. And then, this morning, I read this suggestion in one of your replies.

"But if you are not withdrawing capital from your portfolio, this is just another week in the markets."

Those words, more than anything I've read anywhere else, made the most sense to me, and put everything in perspective. Thank you!

Q: Could you please discuss the purpose of holding gold or gold stock(s) in a total portfolio? Is it best in a registered or unregistered account? And what would be your recommended weighting for a total portfolio? Thanks!

Q: Just to add I do not recall the HORIZONS BETAPRO S&P/TSX 60 INVERSE ETF (TSE:HIX) being mentioned for us Canucks on the TSX.

It is an ETF.

It is an inverse meaning it rises when the S&P/TSX 60 falls and coversely it falls when the S&P/TSX 60 rises. Similar to the U.S's VXX.