Investment Q&A

Q: We often hear about the trade deficits the U.S. has with Canada, but is it reasonable to frame the issue purely in terms of population size? How is it possible that Canada, with a population of about 40;million, buys roughly as many U.S. goods as the United States with about 345&;million people buys from Canada? The Chart Attack V.13 chapter on trade between countries was enlightening. Thank you

Q: I sold a PUT at a loss. I plan to buy another PUT of the same stock at a different strike price, which expires at a later date. Do I have to wait for at least 30 days to avoid a superficial loss?

Q: Do you feel that the international markets can continue to produce the returns that they have in the last year. If you look at S. Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Europe, Emg. Markets, these ETFs have outperformed the US market by HOME RUNS.
Thanks Again

Q: Dear Peter et al:

I know there was a nice article in either CMS or perhaps ETF&MF Newsletter about what to hold in RRSP/TFSA and Non-Regd accounts. Especially ETFs. US/Foreign and Canadian stocks. Tax advantages of placing them in individual "buckets" like Regd/Non-Regd and TFSA. For the life of me I can't locate it! Didn't save it. (GRRR). Can you point me in the right direction? Please and Thank you.

Q: I have read an opinion that Bitcoin may have run its course and I assume this would apply to other crypto currencies as well. Could you comment on how widespread this feeling is. Do you feel that there is a case to be made for the sector or might it be best just to exit and move on to something else.
Also how many crypto currencies are there - my knowledge in this area is weak.
My only holding in this sector is Galaxy (as far as I know). Does it have other components to its business that might carry it through if the crypto sector continued to falter or even collapse.
Thanks.

Q: On CNBC today Brad Gerstner, who i believe is one of the smart ones out there, said if software companies do not adapt to AI for revenue and profits, they are just about done. What do you think?
Thanks Again

Q: Hi, With ongoing correction, please suggest Five canadian dividend stocks at an attractive valuation. This would be for Non-Registered account. Thanks

Q: Now we have large cap companies taken down 10 to 20% if earnings top but guidance is not good enough for the analyst, i do not think it is the retail investor causing these drops, so what is the major concern of the big boys that they want out of these stocks, i know that they have made money on them but where does the cash go, are they just nervous like the little guy and want out.
Thanks Again

Q: Just a quick question about prices on charts. Do you use log or simple for prices? Using log charts, you don't see the peaks and valleys as much as a simple chart. Also drawing long term trendlines connecting the previous bottoms gives you different support prices when using simple vs log. Is there one that you favor or people use more than others? Thanks!

Q: Many markets around the world have outperformed the US market in the past year. Do you feel that investors have had enough of the KING and are looking elsewhere
to invest. Maybe that is why GOLD is rising.
Thanks again

Q: Strategy question - portfolio rebalancing
specific time of year to rebalance, is one month better than another?
Frequency - rebalance once or twice per year ?
How much off of the allotted percent of portfolio is the threshold for rebalancing- if target for a stock is 5 % of portfolio, is the cut off for selling and deploying elsewhere - 6 %, 7 % or more?

Q: I don't know who else to ask on this one. I trade on both TD Waterhouse and NBDC. On occasion, I find them giving quite different stock readouts. For example, right now, it's 12:52PM on Jan 19. NBDB is showing VXM at 49.80 -08% with a bid/ask of 48.77-50.92. TD is showing it at 50.79 +1.84% with a bid ask of 50.25-50.92. How can they have such widely different quotes?

I realize NBDB doesn't show live quote on its main page, but it does when you bring up the buy/sell pop-up. So these quotes should be identical. But this is not the first time I've found such wide ranges.

Q: Regarding Dawn's problem with transferring/contributing USD to TFSA/RRSP accounts with TD:

TD won't transfer USD cash into registered accounts like TFSA or RRSP, but *it will* transfer US assets in-kind . Actually, as far as I remember, you can do it yourself.

So, all you need to do is to buy a money market fund. I used at the time TDB2915 recommended by TD Direct Investing staff (worth confirming if it's still the best to use for this transfer) because there are no fees when buying/selling TD funds.

So, buy as many units of the fund as needed in your USD margin account , and then after a day or two you can transfer online the fund units in-kind into your *CAD* TFSA/RRSP account. Here, I don't remember if you have to move the units into your *CAD* margin account or not first, in order to be able to do the transfer in-kind online by yourself. Anyway, once you have your fund units you can ask the TD staff to do it for you, if you prefer.

Once into the CAD registered account, you can transfer them into your USD TFSA/RRSP account and then sell them for cash. No buying or selling fees should apply.

Hope this helps. Best regards.

Q: 5i has been a terrific resource for many things, including recommendations for great stocks that I would never have owned otherwise.. But... I now have too many 'favourites' and need to reduce the number of equities in each of these 3 sectors : Financial, Industrial and Tech. Your suggestions as to a rational approach to the decision making process would be appreciated . I assume there will be different factors for different sectors as well as adjustments to be made depending on whether the preference is for growth, income or a balanced approach. I have reached decision making paralysis - HELP !!

Q: Hearing the "options based ETF" category as a means of hedging against equity risk. Could you provide some comment and any specific favourites. Thanks.

Q: Hi Everyone!
It seems to me that Quantum computing is of great interest , having read the following: “ …last Nov. Photonic inc, Xanadu and Nord Quantique advanced to the second stage of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, led by the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a military backed research program that aims to build a useable quantum computer by 2033.”
Are any of these companies considered investable by you or are there any others, or are things premature at the moment? It would be nice to get in early in a company with good potential.
Cheers,
Tamara

Q: A question regarding portfolio construction.
Currently, my RSP portfolio includes 25% CAD financials, including (in roughly equal amounts) BAM, BNS, CIBC, GSY, POW, and SLF.
The balance of my portfolio is pretty well diversified and includes both CAD and US equities and ETFs, with no one sector accounting for more than 15% of the total and no one holding being worth more than 5%.
My question ... would you consider my financial sector concentration too high (even though it consists of a variety of types of companies) and, if so, in what order would you reduce holdings?
What general guidelines can you recommend?
Thanks for the help. Rick

Q: Hi,
You’ve mentioned a lot of small caps that have already had significant growth in share price. What are some small cap names that have not yet landed on everyone’s radar?

Q: Dear 5i
If i was to buy 10k worth of a US stock with CD dollars , would the Fx conversion costs be significantly more then if i bought the same US stock as a CDR considering a CDRs embedded fee`s ?
Thanks Bill C

Q: Undervalued sectors, I think the CAD banks are on the high side now, thinking of rebalancing with the gains I had, but looking into what sectors are now undervalued. Any suggestions.