Investment Q&A

Q: The fourth article ("Dividends for the long run")in the last "5 from 5i" by Michael was kind of thought provoking. There was research by Credit Suisse that found that "Cash Cows" (high CFROI/low growth) and "Dogs" (low CFROI/low growth) had outperformed in cumulative shareholder return going back 4 decades. If I understood correctly the thesis seemed to be that performance is a function of expectations versus what really happens and that for stocks that were "Cows" or "Dogs" expectations tended to be consistently too pessimistic which actually ended up leading to better share performance as expectations were exceeded. Are there any Canadian companies that come to mind that you think fall within those two profiles just to help me relate to some real life examples? Thanks,

Q: It would appear that a 5% exposure to the Oil and Energy Sector is the current recommendation. Should energy midstream and infrastructure companies be included in determining ones exposure?

Q: Hi Peter and Team - Although nobody can predict the future prices of resources, with the knowledge and experience you have do you think we are in a long term bear market for oil and gas. Besides the effects of the supply side, is it possible that the investment in green energy and resulting increased production in those fields could work also on the demand side to keep the prices of oil and gas down at some point. With all this in mind, do you think it advisable for me to substantially reduce my holdings in oil and gas stocks. I am not really overweight in this area, probably in the 5 to 8% range.
Thanks.

Q: Dear 5i,

Please critique the following proposed index ETF portfolios (only equity portion provided, fixed income allocation will be identical in each)

1.
20% VCN
20% ZLB
40% VFV
10% VIU
10% ZLI

2.
20% XIC
20% ZLB
20% XUU
20% ZLU
10% XEF
10% ZLI

3.
40% XMV
40% XMU
15% XMI
5% XMM

With these portfolios, I am attempting to achieve greater sector diversification than if I went with strictly broad-market indices, with a defensive tilt. Which do you think is best (in terms of long-term, risk-adjusted total return potential) for long-term hold/accumulation with annual rebalance to initial weights, and what changes would you suggest (if any)?

Thank you.

Q: Diversification is my concern, but to have a good picture of my portfolio, where do I put (in which sector) ETFs such as hxx, vee, iwo, smin ?

Thanks for your help,

Jacques

Q: Morning Peter,
While the declines in oil prices are well assessed, whats the reason that other commodities like Coffee are hitting long term lows even though demand is high ? Is it also over supply ?

Q: My wife and I are voting these days on a number of proxy votes. My questions are about directors:
-- For some companies, particularly oil and gas companies, the proposed directors sometimes seem to be affiliated (director or executive) with a competitor. Is it reasonable that directors are affiliated with competitors?
-- Some directors who are a Chairman or CEO of one company are also directors of multiple other companies. How can they have the time to do this? How many outside directorships is it reasonable for a Chairman or CEO to have?

Q: OIL: it's seems to be in a downward spiral. What is your outlook for it, short and long term? Is it a commodity that one doesn't need much of in their portfolio?

Q: Hi.
Anecdotal?
During the past 5 months, my computer screen did not contain enough space (I had to scroll down) for all the new 52 weeks highs that came furiously
Just noticed over the past week my computer screen did not contain enough space (Ihad to scroll down) for all the new 52 weeks LOWS.
My personal A/D line.
CDJ

Q: Hello Peter,

I am planning on making a 30% capital contribution to my stock portfolio. With my holdings predominately being the Balanced Equity Portfolio, which stocks are OK to add to given the latest market activity and specific company outlook, regardless of weighting?

Thanks,
Angelo

Q: Could you confirm that dividends of companies domiciled in Canada, regardless of the exchange they are listed on, and paid and received in US dollars still qualify for the Canadian dividend tax credit? As such, I assume that there would not be any US withholding tax (non-reg accounts). It would only be the US dividends from US corporations that would have 15% withheld?

Thank you.

Paul F.

Q: Thanks for your reply to my fixed income question re: BCE and HR.UN. I was also looking for an opinion on my present holdings which are HOT.UN, FC, ECN.PR.C and KWH.UN. Are they good choices and can you rank the six stocks mentioned?
Thank you.

Q: Just a suggestion - we often see new members join, buy a portion of the portfolio and then are disappointed by the short term results. It may be helpful if you provided new members an overview of your philosophy, the portfolios, and the 'portfolio' approach to investing. i know this would have been helpful when i first joined.post if you wish!

Cheers

Q: I hold the following ETF’s in a Non-Registered account. It is sort of a general purpose portfolio with a bit of emphasis on the health care sector (just because I think it is coming due). My question is with additional cash to add should I look for another ETF or add to the existing ones? I guess I am saying do I need more diversification or is there another particular sector I could emphasize?

Canada
iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index Fund

US
Vanguard US Total Mkt Ind ETF
AdvisorShares Focused Equity

Europe
Vangrd FTSE Dev Europe All Cap

Health Care
BMO EqWt US HthCare Hedged CAD
iShares Global Healthcare ETF

Emerging Markets
BMO India Equity Index ETF
Fairfax India Holdings
Fairfax Africa Holdings

Q: Is there a way to determine whether the dividends paid out by a company will be taxed as income or will receive the dividend tax credit, in an unregistered account? for example: enb.to, enf.to, bep/un.to, bip/un.to, bns.to, ala.to, bce.to, eci.to, etc. I am looking for solid companies with growing dividends where these dividends will be taxed more favourably as dividends and not income. Would you have a list of suitable companies? Thank you.

Q: Thank you for answering my question on the names of the companies that have been deleted from the portfolios for underperformance. You told me in advance that it would take some time to respond, but you did. And that's why I subscribe. It's great to align with people who keep their word and are up-front. While some of the choices we make could turn out well or not, integrity can always be upheld. I hope you charged me about ten or twenty questions for the response. -Jerry

Q: Are there any disadvantages these days buying stocks in less than 100 share chunks?

Q: There are several answers today explaining that Friday's big drops in various stocks are due to Friday being a "quadruple witching day." Just wondering if it would be possible (and perhaps save you some time) if a Heads-up could be posted a day or two before to warn your members a "special" day is upcoming and we should all expect some unusual trading?

Q: KED P/E 2.2X, P/B 0.8X EPS $7.70 Div. 9.26% Debt/Capital 30.6% ROE 43% yet the share price keeps falling ? Why doesn't the market like this company, I think, fundamentally it s/b be closer to $30/share rather than the current $17.28. Please help me understand, would you think its a screaming buy ?

Q: I manage an income portfolio for my wife who is 69 years old. The sole purpose of this portfolio is to provide income for life. Therefore the dividends are important and the actually ups and downs of the price of the stock less so. Some of these stocks pay quite high dividends. My question is are any of these company dividends at high risk of being cut due to raising interest rates or a downturn in the market and should be replaced with stocks that have lower yield but with safer dividends. The stocks are:

A&W Revenue Royalties

Artis REIT

BCE Inc.

Bank of Nova Scotia

Brookfield Renewable Partners

Chartwell Retirement Residence

Chorus Aviation Inc.

Cineplex Inc.

Dream Global REIT

Enbridge Income Fund Holdings

Extendicare Inc.

Pure Industrial Real Estate

Richards Packaging Income Fund

Royal Bank of Canada

Sun Life Financial Inc.

TransCanada Corp.


Apple

Whirlpool Corp.