Investment Q&A

Q: Reading through 5i answers to questions regarding Cdn. coys that pay dividends in USD made me wonder if there is a way to increase my cash holdings in my USD account without incurring FX charges and being eligible for the foreign tax credit.

I currently have AQN and HOT.UN in my TFSA that pay dividends in USD that are converted to CDN$ with the extra wrinkle of HOT deducting withholding taxes that are not eligible for the foreign tax credit because it is held in TFSA. Also hold BAM.A and BEP.UN and BIP.UN in Cdn. cash trading account that also pay dividends and interest in USD$ and are converted to CDN$ when paid.

Can I as owner 1) TRANSFER my AQN (up about 150%) and HOT.UN (down 25%) shares this year from my TFSA to my USD cash trading account to get dividends/interest in USD and 2) do the same with BAM, BEP and BIP from Cdn. cash trading account to USD cash account to capture and keep the USD payments and avoid FX conversion fees and build my USD cash reserves in USD cash account without incurring any fees and charges from my online broker? Or do brokers and CRA have rules against clients benefiting from structuring dividend/interest transactions in a manner like this?

Obviously this would open up SOME space for extra contributions to my TFSA in early 2020 above and beyond the TFS $6000 contribution limit to provide for increased flexibility for sector rebalancing and re-allocation opportunities. Also this would make the USA withholding tax payment on the HOT.UN dividends eligible for the foreign tax credit when filing my tax return to CRA?

Comments?

Q: Further to the question on Brookfield prefs, the 5i response likely refers to BIK.PR.A (the Investment corp). I hold BIP.PR.C (Series 3) in a registered account because as can be seen from the link:
https://bip.brookfield.com/~/media/Files/B/Brookfield-BIP-IR-V2/2018-tax/2018%20Canadian%20Taxable%20Income%20Calculation%20Preferred%20-%20Series%203.pdf
the majority of income is foreign. All BIP.PRs are the same and I believe BEP also.

Q: From your previous advice to other members, I am aware that these securities are best held in RRSP/RIF accounts for tax purposes. My question is whether the same advice applies to each company/partnership for their Canadian dollar preference shares? Are the dividends impacted by withholding taxes and are the shares eligible for the Canadian dividend tax credit.

Thanks

Q: Good afternoon: could you please rate those three Brookfield units for total returns over 5 years. dividend payout and growth.
Thank you.

Q: Hello -
I currently own BIP.UN, BEP.UN and BPY.UN in a CAD RRSP account. These three stocks pay dividends in USD. I do already have a USD RRSP account that holds American stocks. Would it make sense to move these three Brookfields to the USD account to avoid the exchange conversion fee when I receive quarterly dividends? I don't believe there is any issue in holding Canadian stocks in a U.S. account.

Thanks.

Q: Please comment on today's earnings release for BIP.UN. It looks like a miss but the stock has reacted positively.
Is it Net Income or FFO that is used for comparison?

Q: Hi, is the distributions received from these stocks classified as dividend or R.O.C. ? What is your thoughts or can you suggest some good stocks that payout roc as I have a high income from dividends. I understand that roc lowers book value and in turn can increase capital gain. Thx Jack.

Q: I currently hold a global infrastructure f class mutual fund (CIBC Renaissance ALT062)in registered acct's. It has had poor resent performance with a big drop at the end of 2017. Cause?( It has a 15% investment in UK and top holding in Eurotunnel). Could you recommend an ETF or company as a suitable replacement. Also, would it provide more choice and liquidity if I converted to US dollars?

Q: With Logistec falling as much as it has, is it better relative here to BIP.un?

Q: I am a 65 year retiree and I have app $22000. in a TFSA and I am looking at adding another $3000. Looking at an income portfolio. Can you make a suggestion as to how to balance my portfolio and add to my portfolio.

Q: Do you have any dividend yield plays with this market correction,that a person could take advantage of? I prefer a yield with some growth,kind of looking at ENB,IPL,AQN. I currently have BNS,some preferred,debentures,etc. I would appreciate any suggestions you might have.

Q: Hello -
If I own 5% of each of BIP.UN and BEP.UN, would it make sense to own 5% of BAM.A as well (or any particular percentage) ?
If it makes any difference at all, I own BIP.UN and BEP.UN in an RRSP and would consider owning BAM.A in an open account.

Thanks.

Jim

Q: In addition to the question regarding Brookfield companies structure, I recently learned about the following just want to pass the info along.

We took the option to exchange Enercare shares with Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP shares which turned out to be NOT eligible in registered accounts, there are tax consequences if it is owned in registered accounts.

Our discount brokerage informed us there is an option to exchange Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP shares 1:1 with Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LPU shares which are eligible in registered accounts, however, the exchange triggers deemed disposition.

Owners of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners may want to check.

Happy Holidays to everyone !!

Q: I am pretty sure you have answered this before but I could not find anything with the search option, so here goes.

Brookfield companies have a complex structure and I was wondering in which category exactly their distributions fall with regards to taxation. For example I read that sometimes distributions from shares of BIP held in a TFSA were subject to the 15% witholding tax, while some other times they were not.

Could you please clarify the situation and also state your prefered account in which to hold BEP, BIP and BAM? I have them on my radar, so I want to make sure I maximize returns when the time comes to own them.

Thank you very much as always.

Q: I have a loss on Power Corporation.
I intend to sell the stock to take the capital loss.
Can you recommend a replacement?
Of course I like dividend and growth! But I could live with a smaller dividend and some growth,
65 an retired.
Thanks!

Q: Can I get your three top Canadian dividend picks, with regard to dividend safety, dividend growth and value. I am looking to add these names to my TFSA in Jan.

Q: Hello, I do need some help what to do I received a letter from my TD Direct investing broker about the brookfield INF stating :that
Exch LP became non-qualified TSFA investments in OCT 2018
"CRA will require you to pay a one time penalty of 50 % based on the FMV of any investment that is acquired or becomes non-qualified in a TSFA"

Value of non qualified assest were $2695. $

My exchange date for the shares was in Nov. 2018
I did get the BIP for the Enercare shares and try to find out what went wrong,

Greatly appreciate some explanation for this.

Margit

Q: hello 5i:
please ignore if a previous question on BIP is being answered. Can you comment on the quarterly report?

Q: CU has been dropping steadily from over $42 in June 2017 to just over $31 today wiping out over 5 years' worth of dividends. What is happening? CU has raised it's dividend every year for 45 years. Is this the end of the dividend growth ride? It makes me afraid to invest as a senior looking for for the 5% dividend. Your advice? What utilities would you prefer [ie "safer" less volatile] with growing dividends around 5%.
Thanks......... Paul K

Q: Hi Peter & Staff,
Would you recommend the above for a good income investment, or do you have some that you like better?