Investment Q&A

Q: For an income seeking investor who has built up a modest portfolio and wealth using institute financial advisors considering doing investing on their to save fees to create more wealth and income, how many hours/ week would one have to spend to monitor, research and buy/sell investments for their portfolio?

Second question/questions what basic investing knowledge should one have or perhaps a better way to ask this question is can you name a few investing courses one could take to be more comfortable investing without the assistance of a financial advisor?

Thanks and seasons greetings to all.

Q: Would appreciate your advice for RRSP - 15 to 20 concentrated ETF/stocks quality plus growth Portfolio for 3-5 years hold.

Q: I believe last April U.S markets entered a corrective phase. Do you think we are entering one now?
How often do they normally occur during a year?

Q: Dear Peter et al:

I enjoyed your article , "This December, free up some time by ignoring these investing issues". A timely article. Well written. As a long term subscriber, I know that you live by these "principles" even when we pepper you with questions on target prices! :)

You didn't mention about what would make you "sell"! In other words, what are your exit strategies other than trimming your position sizes in those multi baggers!

I ask this b/c of my experience with Knight therapeutics, Payfare and a few others. Do you look at "opportunity costs" in your portfolio construction?

I value your words of wisdom, always!

Q: We're approaching January, many of which have a lot of turbulence as fund managers sell winning stocks/sectors from this year to buy into what they think will be the winning stocks/sectors for 2026. Do you have any insight on what we should expect from them this time around? Canadian banking has been insanely good this year. Will they bet on that continuing or sell off to buy tech? Or will they go for gold or the long neglected healthcare or real estate sectors?

I presume there will also be a lot of retail selling of winners this year from people who put it off so the taxes would be delayed. Though I'm not sure how much retail moves the needle compared to funds.

Q: Hi 5i team,

I would like to hear your take on these three points:

1. AI is a low margin business like energy/manufacturing

The idea is that, unlike software, AI has high marginal costs per query. Serving 100M queries costs roughly 2x as much as 50M. So as models get more complex, computing costs (electricity and water)scale up linearly. Doesn't this trap AI companies in a CAPEX-heavy, OPEX-intensive, and low-margin game instead of the high-margin SaaS story everyone's betting on?

2. Anthropic has a better business model than OpenAI

OpenAI relies heavily on consumer subscriptions (ChatGPT Plus), which are volatile. Anthropic gets 80+% revenue from enterprise/API deals much stickier. So Anthropic's actually in a stronger position long term?

3. $1 trillion OpenAI IPO doesn't make sense

Above reasons plus they're burning $14B+ annually by 2027, mostly going to Microsoft for cloud credits. Plus, the circular logic of their investors funding startups that buy OpenAI credits. Sounds like WeWork all over again?

Best,
Matt

Q: I came across SMX stock. It shows 52 week from 3 to 66k. Is this worth investing. Can you please give your opinion.

Thanks for the excellent service

Q: Which website would you suggest to look at RSI?

Q: A young gas attendant was admiring my brand new Harley, he said he would never have enough money to buy one. I told him how I did, investing in stocks. He asked where is a good place for a guy that knows nothing about stocks to start learning?

Q: Dear Peter:

Given your long experience working with some giants like Sprott and running funds, given the current market conditions, do you think Fund managers will sell and lock in their profits for year end performance figures or buy into weaknesses for a better performance figure next few quarters? Won't their buying and selling behavior affect the volatility?

From whatever I read, it seems that year end performance bonuses are important for many in the industry!!

I am not asking to "time the market" but to withdraw money from my Registered account for living expenses:)

Q: How major of a roll do algorithms and AI play in the direction of the market today? Will the future be unkind to active managers?

Q: What would be your recommendations if one is looking for ''safety'' both in Canada and US markets.? Am anticipating important correction.
Please deduct as needed
Tks
Sherrill

Q: Hi team,
Any predictions on when the irrational selling in our favourite growth names will stop? The US government SD ends and the market wants to plummet in what it seems almost all growth stocks, quality names or not. The prediction of the bull continuing to play out does not seem correct lately. Seems like we are in free fall mode. What if any catalysts will bring calm to the markets ?

Q: Hello,

Is there a good source for earnings call transcripts? I can usually find the larger ones through various YouTube sources but the smaller cap companies usually it's posted on the website but not always and I struggle to find the transcripts.

Any good sites?

Q: Good morning, 5i Team,

My question is about the state of the markets, expectations, and catalysts.

I am, like other investors here, trying once again to find my footing and assume the stance that would fit the market. I saved and accumulated some cash for the much-expected pullback, and now that it is happening, with some big names being punished harsher than they "deserve" I am looking to you guys for bearings and guidance.

We cannot time the market, yet the timing of the position plays a huge role in one's returns.

What is your take on the environment we are in? It seems to me the appetite is low on the street, and fear is high, yet VIX offers no guidance. For the aggressive, risk-accepting investor, what would be the checkpoints and catalysts that would form the bias in this marker?

I would like to initiate positions, yet, I don`t want to false start.

Thank you,

Q: WSJ suggests that the AI boom is increasingly fragile.

Does 5i agree with that position?

If YES what companies would be most a t risk?

Thanks.

Q: Good day to all, SONDER went bankrupt over the weekend so thank you for helping me dodge that bullet!

On another note, when you issue a recommendation to "Buy/Sell/Hold" or when evaluating a company, what is your general timeline for investment?

Or is your report card grade more of a present and general evaluation of a company. The evaluations appear to me to be on point and detailed enough for my limited knowledge.

My investment psyche tries to be "buy and hold and enjoy dividends and growth" but everyone has their own timeline and strategies (or "strat" as my teens say)

As always, thanks for all you do.

Q: I am retired and looking for a covered call ETF for each sector. There are so many ETF can you please give me which ETF would you recommend are best to own for covered call CDN ETF for each sector.

Is there one covered call ETF that covers all the sectors.

Please deduct credit as necessary.

Thank you for your excellent service.

Q: Hi Team,
This week so far has been the worst ever for my portflio. Down 12% just this week. . The names I had conviction in are getting demolished this earnings season (Lmn , gsy, Prl , PNG , Rddt , Meta , nbis , nvda ) to name a few that are dropping big today . The market has felt jittery to me for a while now like a house of cards. Where do you see things heading from here ? Is it time to move to the sidelines ? Or hold out for more pain? On the other side of things are there any specific buying opportunities or stocks you are watching to buy or add to during the recent declines?

Thanks ,
Shane

Q: Re: Grant's question on where to buy gold (Nov 6). I started to build a position several years ago. I found that a reputable coin dealer may be the best place to buy gold. To find one, go to a coin show in your area and talk to coin dealers to find out who they view as reputable for bullion purchases and resale.

I have found the mint's prices to be very high and the Canadian banks even worse. You can easily find today's spot gold price and the gold content of common coins on the internet.

The key thing to watch is the premium you pay over bullion value and not all dealers charge the same premium. I pay 3% on purchases but only 1% on sales back to the dealer from whom I bought the gold.

Canadian Maple Leaf coins are well recognised and easy to buy and sell. For variety you can add in British Sovereigns or some US coins. If you are not a collector, coin quality is less of an issue than just looking at price vs bullion content. If you buy fancy coins celebrating pandas, dragons or some famous guy, understand that you will pay a premium that you may not recover on sale.

Good luck!