Investment Q&A

Q: Hi 5i Team:

If you had to choose between AbbVie (ABBV) and Actavis (ACT) at current prices for an investment of 1 to 3 years, which one do you think represents the best opportunity as far as valuation is concerned and which one has the best protential for growth?

Many thanks!

Q: Good Morning, I am looking for a Tech stock that has both a dividend and potential for growth. I was looking at C-Com and at first glance it seems to meet my criteria. Could I have your opinion on this stock. If you have any other suggestions I would appreciate your recommendations. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Q: Good Morning to all on this snowy day!! I would like to allocate some money to my kids TFSA's. Which would be a better long term holding..MX (Methanex) or Alimentation Couche Tard. Cheers, Tamara

Q: Hello Peter and team, could you give me your best non-oil and gas picks for growth over the next 12-18 months.
Thank you Dave

Q: Hello team
What do you make of INO.UN with its exposure to the euro and the probability of QE in the Eurozone. Will they benefit? They have a nice dividend yield but I am honestly not experienced enough to interpret the other numbers. The REIT looks relatively new to the market. Could you give us a short review of Inovalis Real Estate Investment Trust.

Thank You for your help
Clarence

Q: It's February (almost anyways) so it is time for my annual question on Aquila. May I have your comments on the latest press release? They seem to be selling stock in order to raise money. I presume management owns a sizeable chunk of stock. I understand the risks - I only have a very small weighting but am considering buying a little more - it would still be a very small weighting. The press release appears positive to me assuming they close the deal. Should I buy now or wait for the deal to close? On the negative side I find it hard to believe they have a mine with Hudbay dropping them but maybe that is just the way it goes in the mining business.
Thank you

Q: Do you have any recent info on CBI in US.
Thanks Shirley

Q: Hi Peter, Do you think the persistent low oil prices will affect LNG price? LNG export to Asian countries is profitable as long as there is a significant amount of price differential of NG between the exporter and the importing countries. Cheniere Energy (LNG) will be exporting later this year from Sabine Pass. I have significant gain from LNG. While it has not pulled back to my trailing stop to trigger a sell, under this environment, do you think it is wise to reduce or sell this position and move on to other growth areas? Various analysts have diametrically different opinions on this from "great time to buy with this pull back" to "a scary overvalued stock to sell". My best regards.

Q: The last enquiry on this stcok was April. Would it be prudent to nibble away at it at this time and why? Thanks.
Lou

Q: I find AGT interesting and have done some basic research. I had looked at it a few years ago when they were starting out. In hindsight it would have been a very good investment. That said you can’t buy much Beer with hindsight.

Since I first looked at it the growth has been very impressive and they have diversified into “Value Added” products.

I understand that Agricultural Commodities have a lot of risk and the Food Product business is very competitive.

That said it appears that AGT has found a “niche” that they understand very well.

I noticed that at one point that “The Carme Trust” controlled by Murad Al-Katib owned 26% of the company. In January 2014 that was reduced to 16.7%. It’s considered a good thing if management has substantial “skin in the game” but too much control by the CEO can be a double edged sword.

I don’t know if the reduction in the family’s holdings and control should be considered negative, positive or irrelevant.

Over the last year or so the growth in the company and increase in the share price has been impressive.

Another thing that I noticed unless I missed something is that the over-allotment on the recent Bought Deal (Nov 2014) at $28 was not taken up. If that is a fact it could suggest that the market felt that $28 was a bit expensive.

I am considering starting a position in AGT with the view to build it over the next few months depending on how things go for a mid or better yet long term investment.

The only other exposure that I have to Agriculture / Food is Agrium (AGU) and Premium Brands (PBH)

Your thoughts?

Q: Is there anytime that Segregated Funds make sense?
Heather

Q: Would be interested in your quick thoughts / summary on this stock.

Q: Your thoughts on this US stock as I am Intrigued.Bob

Q: I bought 1,000 shares @ $13 in mid-2011 as a medium term income investment. There was a dividend increase in June, 2012, therefore it has not disappointed as an income play. However, I still have an unrealized capital loss of almost 50% because of its ongoing weak unit value. Time to sell and find a better prospect?

Q: While working on a new spreadsheet to treat all accounts as a whole for portfolio mix/diversification purposes, I am wondering about having 5% of REITS for total portfolio in RRSP account rather than having 5% in each account. The idea is a top down approach first for all accounts - like have a portfolio mix and select "best" stocks, and buy them within the account that has the best income tax treatment. From a tax point of view, REITS are assigned to RRSP account and growth stocks for the longer term that pay no or little dividend at the present time are assigned to TFSA. The other idea would be to select stocks for a US dollar account where the TSX is thin, like Health Care, and/or where the business climate is more favourable for a particular sector. The outcome would be individual accounts being out of balance relative to the diversified portfolio mix but with all the accounts taken together, a diversified portfolio mix would be in place, achieved. Seems as if this approach is like a bolt lighting cracking overhead for me, being a newcomer to all of this....and I would appreciate your take.....Thanks....Tom

Q: Hello,which 3-4 Cdn pharma stocks do you think have the greatest chance of capital appreciation over the next 12-18 months?
Thanks
Dace

Q: Peter and team,

I currently hold CBO and HFR at 5% each of the portfolio. Rest of the Portfolio is currently stocks that are pretty close to the 5i model portfolio. Due to high personal exposure, I am thinking of selling TRP stock (5% of the portfolio) and adding XHY in its place.

I think the XHY should add some currency diversity to my portfolio as well as providing nice yield and it looks like the recent decline in value is finding a bottom.

Any thoughts here? By the way, my opinion on interest rates is that they are going to continue to stay lower for longer than anyone thought possible but I am cognicent that they can almost only go up from here and therefore have stuck to floating rate and short durations so far.

Thanks,

marc

Q: I hold CLS and VCM in my TFSA. CLS is up 9 per cent and VCM is up 66 per cent. Do you think I should continue to hold? I realize this is not diversifed but I have other accounts that are being managed by a professional.
Thank you.

Q: Hello Peter and Team, I,m wondering if it is time to take profits on my U.S. stocks as two of these are up over 100% and the others between 30 and 50%. Also the currency gain of almost 25% I receive over 2000.00 U.S. in dividends per year for an investment of around 80,000.00 U.S. This is in my cash account so I imagine I will pay a fair amount of cap. gains tax. Thank you Herb

Q: Ben Cheng (Aston Hill) was on BNN yesterday and chose this as one of his Top Picks. Despite a high valuation, he felt it was not over-priced and that it was poised for very good growth. He further commented that the managers are very good operators who have excelled at integrating their acquisitions. Acknowledging that your focus is not US stocks, I nonetheless value your opinion very highly. I am looking to add something relatively stable (i.e. med. risk) to a US RRSP portfolio, with a 2 year timeline on it, sector being relatively unimportant, as the portfolio is well diversified. This caught my eye, especially given the North American penchant to store up everything they can lay their hands on: in and of itself, exclusive of the company, I would think this is a huge growth area. Thanks for your advice.