Investment Q&A

Q: My son is in his mid-thirties and has very limited time available to actively follow/trade the markets. He is looking for a simple, passive investment portfolio with very broad exposure, a modest dividend focus, and that is rebalanced, ideally, once a year. Can you comment on the following proposed portfolio and allocations, assuming about $100k? Are there any alternatives he should consider? Should he modify his approach in a TSFA/RRSP? Thanks.

VAB - 20% (Canadian bonds)
VCN - 15% (Canadian equity)
VDY - 15% (Canadian dividend)
VXC - 50% (Global equity excluding Canada)

Q: Bought a small portion of ZWU(covered call utilities with 0.72% mer) @ $15.04 in mid 2013(now$13.33) & loss is covered by the 0.08pm distribution.Please advise if I should switch to T,BCE.FTS, CDZ(0.67% mer) or Zlb(.39% mer)In 2013,I did not know what stock in the sector to buy.Since I joined 5I,I learn a lot & now tend to prefer a stock that is suggested by You.Thanks for your usual great advices & services.

Q: Hi 5i:

I have a set percentage of my portfolio dedicated to fixed income, with a primary focus on safety, but also with the hope of some return. I have focused on short term bond ladder ETFs, corporate and gov't. Over the last few years I have seen the reported distributions drop, slowly but steadily, and also the price of the ETFs drop steadily. For example, CBO now shows a dividend of about 3.6% wile I'm down about 3.3% on the market value of the ETF. I would have been much better off over the last few years in a GIC. I have some of the latter and like the ETFs because I can redeem them at will. Is there any other alternative to these bond ETFs (most that I have looked behave similarly)? What about RBC's Target Bond ETFs? These are held to maturity, though it seems to me that this might not help if the main problem is that the bonds included in the ETFs are bought at a premium. Your advice would be much appreciated.

Q: Is this a good entry point for Stn today

Q: I was recently told that if I sell my investment in AGF Fixed Income Plus fund, there was a penalty to be paid. I could not get much more info from the broker or the AGF web site.Is this a portion of their MER or can you enlighten me.
Thanks

Q: What's troubling KBL?

Q: Hi Peter & team
This stock has been going up on heavy volume for the past week or more. Can you find any news that may be responsible. Would you buy a small position in this stock?
Thanks, Gerry

Q: Hi Peter and team,

I know the company release the earnings and the company has been sold off. What was the news so big that it drop so much in the last couple of day. Was there any changes about their strategy. Thank you.

Norwood

Q: Now Progressive Waste Solution is trading under the symbol WCN, will you be changing the company database symbol from "BIN" to "WCN" in the future? Or should we continue to search under "BIN" and "WCN"? As a side note, would you add WCN to the company database. Thank you.

Q: peter; Would OSB be tainted with the lumber stocks if the talks fail, as usual? Thanks. Rod

Q: Please provide your insight n this company. Results came out last evening, strong and increased dividend for 9 % but the share price continues to decline. What is happening? Thanks.

Q: "Constellation Software Inc. Announces Possible Cash Offer for Bond International Software plc


What will be total purchase price, Constellation needs to pay @105 pence for remaining Bond International shares, if a formal offer is made? Also, do you believe, this acquisition will add good value to Constellation Software ? Thanks

Q: I hold this REIT and was most please at the jump when the sale was announced. The sale price is 7.25. The price went up to 7.03 and I assumed that since the deal probably has little risk and it closes relatively quickly, I decided to wait since I saw NO real downside risk. The price then dropped. Is there a risk that I am not seeing?
Thanks

Q: With the upcoming new classification of Real Estate being formed out of the Financials under the GICS is there a best way to play this? A single REIT or just pick up an ETF? I've read numbers as high as 100 billion could pour into REITs as a result - what kind of spike in valuations will this cause or is some of this already priced in?

Q: I have a few hundred shares of cyh and zwe which makes up about 8% of my portfolio. Would you recommend reducing this exposure until the Brexit issue is resolved in June? If so,what percentage might you recommend,if at all? Thank you.

Q: With the aging population and growing need for home care, what companies do you recommend in this space.

Q: Would you consider cxr a good fit for balanced portfolio. Is there debt large enough to be considered a problem. Thanks

Q: Hi team, Im holding CSU for the last year in my TFSA account which is a 14 % holding , it hasn't done much over the year and Im thinking of selling the shares and replacing it by KXS , PBH or AEM , which of the 3 do you suggest.......Thanks.

Q: Hi, in my RRSP I hold most of the Model Portfolio holdings and I also hold 2 of the Growth stocks , XTC and DBO ,.....XTC Ive had for over a year now without much movement on the upside , I"d like to replace it with another of the Growth names, which ones would ou recommend, its worth appox $1300.00..........Thanks,

Q: 'We’re in a bubble': Record home sales in Toronto and Vancouver intensify fears of overheating.
This is all I have been reading for the past few weeks, coupled with bank CEO's stating that Ottawa should be taking necessary steps to regulate mortgages.
I cannot but think back while visiting in Florida 8 years ago, it was evidenced the very same concerns, a massive real estate bubble, I for one could not believe the construction real estate growth that was happening.
Within two years the bubble did break, and although mtge backed securities caused the massive financial problems the US continues to struggle.
My question is "should real estate collapses in Vancouver and Toronto, will this not create a major recession". What is 5i opinion going forward. As investors should we be taking the necessary steps to put some protection on.
I would appreciate you usual candid opinion and thanks