Investment Q&A

Q: I have three accounts at my broker as follows: Canadian equities and American equities in my margin account (non-registered); Fixed income including bonds, bond ETFs, bond mutual funds, preferred shares, convertible debentures, REITs, international mutual funds, and Canadian equities (all are income producing and generally have a yield in excess of 3%) and RESP for my children. For diversification purposes you have said no one investment should make up no more than 5% of your portfolio. In my case I would consider RESPs a separate entity and unique investment strategy.For the sake of diversification would you combine the RRSP account and margin account together? I have investments in my margin account which exceed 5% of the margin account holdings which should necessitate a sale for diversification purposes. The result may differ if they are part of the combined margin and RRSP account. I eagerly await your reply. Thank you

Q: I bought these few years ago ..had to endure low valuation now came back but is slipping again..I bought them at 44....would like to recuperate as much as possible...I can wait a bit but not 4 years....when should I sell
or do you have another suggestion...I already lost on Nortel so i am pretty tight

Q: please give me your best suggestions for six U.S. stock buys at this time (even though US stocks are not your specialty until you start a US model portfolio) Thanks as always.

Q: What do you consider high MER fees for mutual funds? 2%, 3%?

Thanks
Sean

Q: I have subscribed to your 5i Research for a few years and have never learned more throughout my years of investing than I have learned over the few years with you. A question that I should know the answer to is a term used at BNN and by you all the time is a stock is trading at 10 times earnings. Does this mean it takes $10.00 of earnings for the shares to go up a dollar? Thank you. Dennis

Q: Article "Boomers Stuck in an Unfunded Liability"
Thanks for sharing this insightful piece. Could you please provide your view on this article. Do you generally concur with the premise that demographics and retirees/investors return requirements in a low interest rate environment is essentially creating an underlying put on risk assets that could perpetuate for years/decades to come. Also, could this imply a flatter than normal yield curve going forward as short term Fed rate hikes could be mitigated by pension demand at the long end, benefiting both mid to long term bonds and high yielding stocks. Also, I didn't see the name of the author of the article? Any idea who wrote it? Thank-you

Q: I have downloaded the latest (Feb) balanced Portfolio Excel file and I want to copy and paste the info to my own spread sheet. No problem in the past but this time it won't let me. Can you remove the need for a password?
Thank you

Q: Hello,i'am really concerned that the media and Democrates in the states are going to try and shut Trump down, or impeach him,with all they got to throw at him, real or not.
If they are to succeed, i'am thinking the market will take a big hit.
I was thinking of liquidating up to 40% of my portfolio and ride this circus out.
What would be the best way to do this GIC,Bonds,ETF or something else
Thanks

Q: Can you explain the difference between dividend payout ratio and adjusted dividend payout ratio? Which metric is more reliable in the evaluation of
a potential investment? Joe

Q: There have been media reports about the GOC increasing dividend tax rates in the next budget. Would this create some selling pressure on CDN dividend stocks? I remember when the tax rules on income trusts were changed, that had an impact. Your analysis please

Q: Hi: I have a small portfolio containing Bep.un, Drg.un, and Bns.( just starting out). Can you recommend a couple of stocks and etf's for further diversification. This would be for a medium to long term hold, risk tolerance is medium .
Thanks

Q: I am new to 5i, and investing based on the Balanced Equity Portfolio. Some of the companies in the portfolio have B and even C ratings. Why are they here if A ratings are the best? It seems to me I should get the best performance if I only invest in the A rated companies in the portfolio. Or am I wrong?

Q: I know the market has run up and may be getting "expensive". However I am wondering if you can recommend three or four mid or large cap Cdn. stocks that are still reasonably valued, excluding oil and gas and financials. I am well diversified so sector choice is not an issue. Thank you, Bill

Q: 1) i am a little bit confused , is the growth portfolio = the summary
2) you said that you have trim ` SHOP (shopify) ` but dont see this stock in either portfolio (balanced, income or summary )
3) you added BSM TECH (gps) but again dont see in either portfolios
4) suggestion: when you add or delete a stock IT SHOULD BE REFLECTED IN THE PORTFOLIOS AT THE SAME TIME
THANKS

Q: Good Afternoon,

I manage two well diversified portfolios. In each one of them I am missing investment in Canadian Consumer staples that pay a dividend. Could kindly suggest to me a few companies that would be good for long term hold?

Thank you

Paul

Q: how do you sign up for the etf and mutual fund news letters

Q: Just an endorsement: Subscribed yesterday to the ETF and Mutual Fund newsletter for two years and within an hour learned a couple things that will far more than pay for the subscription. I know there's lots of etf information available online, including within 5i. However, I find it beneficial to have it focused in one trustworthy place without ads, questionable motivations, or other distractions. So thanks!

Q: I understand your negative opinion of (most) mutual funds due to
high fees and human factors. I've found a few actively-managed funds that appear to "earn" their high fees by delivering superior returns over time periods up to 10 years.

Two examples: Fidelity Special Situations-FID1298 and Sentry Small/Mid-Cap Income-NCE721. Morningstar gives both 5 stars.

Comments please on these two funds and on the broader idea of willingly paying higher fees for higher returns.

Cheers, IslandJohn

Q: Hello, there - I currently own all the names in the Balanced Equity portfolio and a full position in Shopify. I will be adding a little bit of new money into my portfolio this month and am looking to either purchase another full position or 2 half positions. What would be your first and second top ideas with a growth tilt (excluding names from the BE portfolio and Shopify). Thanks!

Q: Hi Peter,

Due to some poor planning on my part, I ended up putting some high growth stocks (i.e. SHOP, PHO, HWO, CRH) in my non-registered account, while my TFSA has most of the stocks in the balanced portfolio. Should anything be done to shift the stocks, or should I just stay the course?

Thanks