Investment Q&A

Q: I have been rebalancing my portfolio which has been heavily skewed towards Cdn Dividend payers as I am retired and use the income to supplement my Pension. My Cdn holdings are now fairly well diversified using your Income and BE portfolios as guides.
I have targeted 15% of my total portfolio for Cdn ETFs which hold US equities. The following are my current holdings and the % weighting: ZDY 9%; ZBK 2%; ZUH 2%. I am looking at adding 2% Tech exposure and am considering either ZQQ or XQQ.
Your recommendations for the Tech exposure and my overall plan for my US exposure would be appreciated.

Q: Imagine an investor setting up an RRSP with $15k, a 30 year time horizon, a desire to keep it simple (CAD ETFs), an ability to sleep at night when markets are down and a desire for a somewhat aggressive strategy. What CAD ETFs would you suggest as a portfolio? Thanks as always.

Q: Hi Peter and Staff
Like many subscribers confused now about what to do. I do like to keep a certain percentage in non dividend stocks and in the O&G sector have names like PPY,TOU,RRX among others.
In theory if these companies are making money but not paying dividends ,their stock price should rise and if I did need a dividend,I could instead trim say 5% of them annually and have the same value left as I would have if a dividend payer of 5% held flat in value.
I am confused like many as to why HSE would think paying a stock dividend is better than no dividend...after all we would own the same value of the company in theory whether we got no dividend or got more shares and our % of ownership in HSE did not change. Is it because they hope that if a cash dividend is not paid out, and their stock price holds steady, that we should be able to do what I outlined above for TOU,PPY or RRX if we wanted to raise cash?
Do you think all things being equal,this would actually happen..ie stock price per share hold steady so our value does increase due to more shares..cutting dividend for prudence sure did not help BTE price..wish I had sold it when they did cut the dividend.
Lastly ,do you have they will handle prorated shares that could be due to us on each dividend declaration?
Thanks for all you do
Dennis

Q: Hello,

I have all this stocks down.
FM -72%,
G -38%,
GSY -22%,
HCG -30%,
QST -84%,
SGY -63%
TOU -52%

The question is do I sell them (for tax purposes) and hope they will be around the same price in 30 days? buy some replacement now? which ones? or let them go because they are out of favor and move to something else? What do you recommend?

The amount to invest is aprox 200K.

Thank you
M

Q: Hi Peter & Co.,
I bought Husky years ago for the dividend, which has now been suspended in favour of additional shares. I am leaning towards selling the stock, but would like your thoughts on when might be the best time to dispose of my position. Will today's news of job cuts, salary freezes, and payment of dividends in shares actually help boost the share price in the coming weeks/months? If so, I can sell at a later date. But if this news is more likely to drive the price lower (beyond today's fall), I'd sell sooner. Your comments please. Thanks.

Q: Hello,
I own a 3/4 position in HSE and note it's just announced it will pay its quarterly dividend in shares starting in January. I don't currently need the income but when I bought HSE the dividend was a big part of the attraction. Do you think this announcement represents a change in fundamentals and I should move on elsewhere to perhaps Exon-Mobil in the US or Whitecap here in Canada (I already own Peyto and Chevron in the sector)?
Thank you.
Michael

Q: Thoughts on recent earnings release.

Q: Can you recommend a free site where I can find real time market/stock action.
The typical 15 minute delay on sites I'm familiar with, even my Questrade account, can be a problem when placing a limit order on something that's changing quickly. Questrade wants $20 a month for the privilege.
Thanks Peter.

Q: suncor offer for cos of approx. $9.75 expires on dec.fourth. I own 1000 shares and would like to sell covered calls for dec 18 at 10.50 for $0.40 bid price. does this make sense to you.

Q: Hello I am looking to add to my position on Chemtrade to add a good yield stock with potential for some although I recognize not huge growth. My question is would it be more interest rate sensitive than any of the Brookfield companies, and would one of them be a better choice? Thanks as always, Bill

Q: Hi,

Kelso looks pretty good to me right now. TD waterhouse shows 0 EPS for 2015 and 0.46 for 2016 which is a huge jump. They have a patent for what they do. The stock is trading at 1.40 with a 2.4% dividend that could be collected while one waits for the recovery. This looks like a total no brainer to me. Am I missing something? What is your long term outlook for the stock? And what risks are there at this price point?

Best,

Carla

Q: 5I Team,

Any thoughts in particular on TRP.PR.C? The 8%+ yield looks attractive, especially for a Blue Chip preferred, but I do see that the share price is down about 40% yoy as both the preferred and the energy sectors have come under pressure over that period. Would you touch this pfd now?

Thanks

Q: I would like to know your thoughts on CU. Does being an electric utility in Alberta give you concern such as Trans Alta. I have had it for years with a great gain so reluctant to sell.
Thank you
G

Q: Hi Peter
What impact will a rate hike in the US have on the stock price of Canadian REITs? I'm wondering whether the potential hike is already built in????
Many thanks.
Wayne

Q: Hi Peter and gang.
Nice seeing you all at the Money show. I'm looking to get exposure to the US market and I've yet to dip my toe into the ETF field. However the CLU seems to consistently be reported in Money saver in the top ten. Would you recommend this as a way to get diversification in the US and which of the three do you think would be most appropriate. All of my money is invested in Canadian stocks at this time.
GUY

Q: There seems to be chatter about a current shorting situation of a number of Canadian stocks. Can you comment on this chatter, and what advice you would give if I owned a stock that seems to be targeted by short sellers. Perhaps, what fundamentals should I specifically look at?

Q: I just discovered that this stock has been delisted from the Nasdaq. Can I sell my shares through the TSE? What are your thoughts on the stock/

Q: I know this isn't a chat forum but I am intrigued by Saeed's question and wished to comment. Perhaps food for thought for some other members. I took a close look at Valeant also, because some of the selling was motivated by fear, and this can represent an opportunity. I chose to pass because:
1) I don't really understand how they are making the profits they report. They buy established companies with valuable products. OK. But what are they adding that allows them to earn so much more than the original owner? It is hard for me to believe that they can continue to grow this fast for very long. Anyhow, if I don't understand the business, I don't buy the shares.
2) VRX response to Citron, to me, was all bluster and obfuscation. VRX never came out and said in plain language that all their sales were absolutely legitimate. Instead they seemed to emphasize that their accounting was technically legal. And, by the way, whenever any organization delays giving answers but instead hires a team to "investigate" themselves....that is a sure sign they have been caught doing something wrong. It is a tactic to delay and hide the truth.
I hope for Saeed and others that VRX wrongdoing is only minor and that the core of the business is legit. Would be good for us all if it bounced back. I'll be on the sidelines though.

Q: hello 5i:
in a recent question, asked by Justin, about the new Liberal gov't (hmm, interesting, I know his last name can't start with T), re: infrastructure plays, you advised that WSP, STN, SOX, AND BDT would be some companies that would benefit. I can see that, but wouldn't companies like SCL and BAD benefit even more? After all, they will be doing the groundwork where most of the money is spent and have the lowest valuations due to the hits they've taken.
Just wondering
Paul

Q: Hi Team,
I own atd.b and like it. However, I would like the perspective of somebody who might not like it (other side of the trade). Could you please give me possible reasons to not like it. Hopefully this won't be bad timing since it is having a small correction. I think it will be good practice to get an unbiased view.
Thanks, keep up the great work guys.